I know it does not seem like this belongs here, but thought somebody might be able to help (George Mills?)
This thing is hanging in the drop ceiling of my dining room for years without being used…can anyone tell me what exactly its purpose is. From what I can tell there is a return grille connected to it which I assume takes the air from the dining room and vents it to the outside. I do have a conventional HVAC system but just wondering how this can help if anyone has any ideas…thanks!
The unit is a make up air system it brings in tempered air from the outside and expels inside air . I cannot guess as to why its there if you have a HVAC system.
Hi George! Appreciate the reply! If I can remember correctly the Bldg Dept forced us to add this to provide make up air to the dining room (we have a separate unit in the kitchen). There is only one duct line with one opening inside and one grill to the outside. So I guess the air goes in & out through the same line. Will follow up with a local HVAC company to see if this will benefit our existing heating/cooling system in the dining room.
This is a heat recovery ventilation unit (HRV) which provides your dining area with preheated fresh air with the heat recovered from your room exhausted air. There should be to ducts, that lead into the unit as well as 2 leaving it. The cold freshair (or hot in AC mode) passes through its heat exchanger as the warm (or cold in cooling mode) air is disgarded outside. This is typically separate from your heating or cooling system, as it’s strictly for supplying ventilation, not heating nor cooling. It probably has 3 speeds, which should be set based on indoor air quality requirements. It has a fresh air filter, that should be replaced at regular time increments. It’s an energy saving measure if it is setup correctly and serviced.
since this post we replaced the old HVAC system with mini-splits and are renting out the space to another restaurant and built a new place next door. They asked us about that unit as the split systems would require make-up air so hopefully they can make it work. Thanks for the reply!