Small House ERV Options

A homeowner building a small 900-square-foot cabin in northern Wisconsin asked for advice on ventilation for the project. The cabin will sit on a slab with radiant floor heat, kept at 55-60 degrees through the winter, with a mini-split (a compact heat pump with no ductwork) used to raise the temperature when the cabin is occupied, mostly on weekends. The question centered on choosing an ERV or HRV (energy or heat recovery ventilator, systems that bring in fresh air while recovering heat from the air being exhausted) sized for a small, part-time home, and whether bathroom and kitchen exhaust should run through the same system.

This is a homeowner forum post rather than a resolved story, and no replies had been posted yet at the time it was shared. So there's no specific product recommendation or verdict to report. If you're planning something similar, the same two questions apply to your own build: what size and type of ERV or HRV fits a small, part-time-occupied home, and whether kitchen and bathroom exhaust make sense combined into one ventilation system or kept separate. Kitchen exhaust in particular often needs its own dedicated fan because of grease and higher airflow needs, which can complicate combining it with a whole-house ERV or HRV system.

Anyone in a similar situation, a small cabin or seasonal home with radiant heat and intermittent occupancy, would face the same sizing and design questions before choosing equipment.