Panasonic FV-04VE1 WhisperComfort Balanced Air Solution ERV - Quiet, Long-Lasting Ventilation Fan

I installed this into my finished primary bedroom ceiling. Confirmed by Panasonic Support, this is not the normal way of installing and will leave about 1/4in of space on either end of the unit if you're careful about your drywall cutting. Fortunately, these gaps are covered by the grille cover and easily air sealed by spray foam or caulk. To minimize the drywall cutting, temporarily remove the junction box on the rear of the unit before hoisting through the ceiling cut. As for controlling the hi/lo and on/standby settings, the traditional way is wiring up a switch accessible from the living space, but if like me you install into a finished space it is not a simple or clean task to fish wiring down the wall cavities. Wiring the on/standby switch is important, as the main power switch inside the unit cuts the power to the outside air damper, leaving it open. Standby closes the damper.So I wired in two Zooz Zen51 dry contact relays that are z-wave controlled. The control wiring on the ERV cannot accept the 120v house wiring so you need to use a dry contact relay to ensure that power isn't sent to the control board. Wiring goes as follows: Orange is wired to both IN wires on the relays, OUT on one relay is connected to Blue and OUT on the other relay is wired to Yellow. Both relays L and N wires are added to the pigtails (I used WAGO Lever-Nuts for all connections) for the house L and N wires already connected to the ERV power.

Updated review:We have moved this to a permanent installation in our ceiling after using it temporarily mounted in a window. The new exterior vents exit under the soffits up high, whereas the temporary vents were about 4’ off the ground. Grabbing higher air has made a notable difference in the indoor air quality, and this combined with sealing of cracks in the attic sealing giving air paths into the house with many cans of foam has made for a notable reduction in interior radon levels.The 40cfm this unit provides in this configuration has made a notable improvement inside our home, and most of the time we leave it running on the lower 20cfm speed. My preference is now that any energy efficient, reasonably sealed home would have one of these.There’s a few reviews about difficult manufacturer support. This is one of the more complicated units with multi speed fan, electronic damper, temperature monitoring. I hope it lasts.Original review:After installing this HRV I must say I am impressed with the quality of engineering. I installed this in the basement of a 3600 sq foot house and the whole house air quality is improved. The home does not smell as stale upon returning home. It is not effective at radon mitigation, though it’s lowered that number by about a third.This hrv has a computer controlled fan and a servo controlled damper, and it regulates air speed based on outside temperature and air flow. It will sense restrictive piping and increase the motor speed to compensate. Below 37 degrees in enters a slower mode of operation and fiddles with the damper to prevent ice buildup in the core. It really does scavenge heat out of the inside air as it brings in cold outside air and warms it up. On high speed (40 cu ft/min) it’s essentially silent. As temperatures drop, it will reduce the fan speed to ensure efficient thermal transfer as a priority over blasting cold air. The owners manual describes its cold air program.While it’s not designed to support an entire house, I am pleased with the difference it’s made in ours.

This ERV is a great buy for quick installation as a retrofit or new construction. Our project was an extension of the existing house, and we built it really tight with spray foam and caulk on all of the joints, so an air exchange method was absolutely necessary. Being that we built the house really tight for energy saving reasons, we also wanted to retain that energy when exchanging the air. This is where the Panasonic WhisperComfort ERV comes in.I have tested the machine at 33 degrees outside, 66.7 degrees inside and the air being brought into the house is coming in at 54 degrees. Given that this machine is more efficient in the summer, I am impressed with the results so far. The machine is as quiet as a whisper, even our fridge from 2011 is louder than it.Installation was generally very easy, but the installation manual contains quite a bit of useless information, and thus makes it somewhat confusing. I was able to find out how to install the machine, with two separate switches, one for on off, and one for high and low power. Also the manual notes that the power in should not be connected to the control switches. Make sure of this when installation the machine. During installation I discovered that it had two power options that you can choose from, 40/20 cfm and 20/10 cfm. This is selected by plugging the control wires to respective slots. I wish that the machine had a better way of controlling this, such as having separate switches under the decorative plastic cover.Note: Underneath the decorative plastic cover, there is a hard shutoff in addition to the control wire shutoff.Pros:quietefficientCons:Installation manual confusingNot dynamic enough to switch between 40, 20 and 10 cfm without messing with the electric junction boxOverall this machine has been great this past week, and I am very happy with it so far. I will update when summer comes around when I get to see how it handles humidity.

Works amazingly well!I'm using it in a climate much colder than what it's designed for... And it's still providing me with fresh air and higher efficiency than what I had before.The bearings actually died.I'm hoping the manufacturer can give me some help..It's been having the symptom for a couple months now the product isn't one year old.So far not looking so good.If you want something for longevity this might not be the product for you.