ERV Intake getting blocked
I have a troublesome ERV intake and am looking for wisdom.
I have a Panasonic FV-10E2 running at 80 cfm constant. I had to locate the intake 24 in off the ground on the sidewall of the house because it was a retrofit/ remodel. There is a wild flower bed along that wall but generally the intake has 18-24 inches of clearance horizontally and about 12 inches clearance below from plants.
I used a Seiho SFX Hooded vent cap with a bug screen to terminate at the wall.
https://www.hvacquick.com/products/residential/Ventilation-Accessories/Discharge-Caps/Seiho-SFX-Series-Aluminum-Louvered-Vent-Caps-With-Hoods
The problem is the bug screen is a maintenance issue. It certainly is doing it’s job as it becomes clogged with bugs and small leaves in around a month of operation all year round. I realize if the screen wasn’t present all that debris would be sucked into the MERV 13 filter in the unit and foul the not cheap filter rather quickly. I have to stay on top of the vent cap screen cleaning as the unit becomes unbalanced otherwise.
Other than opening walls to run ductwork to penetrate the vent through the sidewall of the attic, is there anything I can do to cut down on the fouling of the bug screen?
Do I need to establish a wider clear area with no vegetation?
Use a non hooded vent cap?
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Replies
spenceday,
It's just a matter of surface area. I'd make a wood frame designed to hold something like this https://www.rabscreen.com/Air_Intake_Screens to cover the existing vent termination.
You can use hardware cloth with 1/2" mesh to make a support structure for something finer like window screen. You just need lots of surface area as Malcolm mentioned, which will make it take longer to clog up. If you can't get the particular matter thats causing the clogging to go away, then the next best thing is to slow down your maintenance cycle with more surface area so that it takes longer before it clogs.
Bill