Installing a Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) ventilation system is a lifetime investment which will provide you with improved indoor air quality by extracting mould, damp and stale air while supplying fresh, filters air into living areas in your home.

The Purpose of Heat Recovery Maintenance

By regularly maintaining your ventilation system you will increase its lifespan and improve the effectiveness of your ventilation system and by checking your system regularly you will avoid bigger complications further down the line.

Most maintenance jobs can also easily be done by an owner, (electric work must be carried out by a trained electrician.)

Maintaining your Heat Recovery System

If you have noticed more than normal condensation, a stuffy environment of at worst dust around the air valves it is now time to service your system.

It is not complicated and most regular maintenance tasks are suitable for any competent DIY person to do.

Your systems should be commissioned and set up so that a user will have little to no alteration to their MVHR system but we would recommend that if you adjust or replace the room air valves that you have the system recommissioned.

As maintaining your system will ensure that no problems can arise from having poor ventilation, problems will be noticed earlier if there is anything needing fixed and check regularly is preventing problems from greatly worsening.

To help with future maintenance it is recommended that when installing the system that the following areas are easily accessed:

- The MVHR unit can be easily worked on, removed, or replaced

- The controller is in a convenient location to check performance

- Access to filters are unrestricted

- Condensate drain is easy to check

- If installed in attic that the area is floored with good lighting

- If accessed through a loft ladder that the opening is large enough

Maintenance Checklist

We recommend thorough checks are done at the time of installation but also to be done frequently to ensure that your system is working to full capacity.

-Check and clean filters every 6 months*.
-Change filters every 12 months*.
-Ensure all connections are well sealed and that there are no air leaks, repair any seals that may seem loose.
-If your unit has a condensation drain, check this to ensure it is not blocked as this can cause a build-up of bacteria.
-Check that controls are working properly.
-Clean air valves and grilles (both inside and out) as dust and dirt can begin to settle on these surfaces.
-After 5 years some units will require the heat exchanger to be cleaned, please refer to owner’s manual or contact our team to find out more on how to do this as units may differ.
-Any electric work must be taken out by a trained electrician.

*We recommend that you change/clean your filters at least once a year, and more in often in areas with high pollution.

Please remember that if you are replacing or adjusting the air valves that your system may need rebalanced so that your airflows are correct.

Everything You Need to Know MVHR Filters

A good way to think of your MVHR filters is like a vacuum bag, when they get full of whatever they may be collecting, it is time to change! You would not vacuum your home will a full vacuum bag, why ventilate you air with unclean filters?

Filters ensure that air is cleaned before entering your home, but over time these filters will become dirty with the dust and particles that they are filtering. Filters will ensure that dust, dirt, and pollen will not enter your home from the outside air being brought in. They are amazingly simple to check and change, most units will have service doors to the MVHR filters. Filters will start off perfectly white, turn grey with build-up and can eventually go black if not changed.


Not changing filters frequently enough can make your system noisier as the system then has to work harder to push air through dirty and blocked up filters.

Units with integrated controllers may also have a filter warning. For example Vent Axia units will remind you to ‘check filter’. Once cleaning filters in a Vent Axia systems, you need to press the up and down button to reset the filter change icon. Check Vent Axia units here.

The Perfect Time to Maintain Your System Is… Now!

Now is the perfect time to think about maintaining ventilation systems whether it be because you are working from home and need good indoor air quality at home. But it is also important as a lot of building for work start to become gradually reoccupied.

"Now is the time to check ventilation in homes and buildings to ensure there is enough airflow to dilute the virus in the air and improve indoor air quality. Ventilating for longer and opting for ventilation with higher airflow volumes will help reduce the risk”

–Jenny Smith

Head of Marketing, Vent-Axia

https://www.twinfm.com/article/cibse-confirms-importance-of-evaluating-ventilation-systems

With higher risk of infections spreading, it is important to improve indoor air quality and humidity levels and it can decrease the spread of germs. Get in touch with us today if you are putting in place a ventilation strategy in your home or workplace.

More Information

If you require any help or more information about the maintenance of your MVHR system, or need to find out which filters you may need, contact our technical team at technical@bpcventilation.com and we will get back to your as soon as possible. Alternatively you can purchase your required products on our website or speak to our sales supervisors on 028 2827 5150 / +353 1526 7452.