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Home ventilation

MVHR installation for homes

Whole-home heat recovery ventilation, designed room by room and airflow-tested at handover.

  • From £4,450 inc VAT per home
  • Free survey on the UK mainland
  • Airflow tested and recorded
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Wall-hung MVHR unit with insulated ducts in a boarded loft

MVHR (mechanical ventilation with heat recovery) is a whole-home system that pulls stale, damp air out of kitchens and bathrooms and supplies filtered fresh air to living rooms and bedrooms, passing both streams through a heat exchanger so most of the warmth stays in the house. We design the duct layout for your rooms, fit the unit and ducting, and measure every valve before we leave.

How it works

A single unit, usually in the loft, a utility cupboard or a garage, runs all the time at a low, quiet speed. Insulated ducts carry extract air from the wet rooms and supply air to the habitable rooms. Inside the unit the two airflows pass each other across a heat exchanger without mixing, so the incoming fresh air picks up heat from the outgoing air. Filters on both sides keep pollen and dust out of the house and keep the exchanger clean.

MVHR works best in a home that is reasonably airtight: a new build, a deep retrofit with insulation and new windows, or a renovation where ceilings are coming down anyway. In a draughty older house it still ventilates well, but less of the heat-recovery benefit is felt because warm air escapes through gaps instead of the unit. We check this on survey and tell you plainly if a simpler system would do the job for less.

Options we fit

Retrofit in an occupied home

Ducts routed through the loft and down through cupboards or boxed corners. Most semis are done in 3 to 5 days.

New build or full renovation

Ducts go in at first fix before plasterboard, which is the cheapest and neatest time to fit MVHR.

Radial semi-rigid ducting

One small duct per valve from a manifold. Quieter and easier to balance than branched rigid duct in most homes.

Summer bypass and boost controls

Bypass lets cooler night air in without heat recovery; humidity or switch boost for showers and cooking.

Signs you need this

  • Condensation on windows every morning in winter
  • Mould coming back in bedrooms or bathrooms after cleaning
  • You are insulating, re-windowing or making the house more airtight
  • A new build or extension where the SAP or building control needs a ventilation system
  • Stale air or cooking smells that hang around
  • Pollen or traffic pollution you want filtered out

Guide prices

MVHR installation guide prices
WorkGuide price
Whole-home MVHR retrofit, 1 to 2 bedroom flat (per home)£4,450–£6,950 inc VAT
Whole-home MVHR retrofit, 3 bedroom house (per home)£6,450–£9,450 inc VAT
Whole-home MVHR retrofit, 4 to 5 bedroom house (per home)£8,950–£13,950 inc VAT
MVHR in a new build or full renovation (fitted at first fix), 3 to 4 bedrooms (per home)£4,950–£7,950 inc VAT

Guide prices using West Midlands (our baseline) rates. Home prices include VAT at 20%; business prices exclude VAT. A guide price is not a quote: we confirm a fixed price in writing first. London is about 20% higher and the North East about 8% lower. Ventilation fitted while a brand-new home is being built can be zero-rated for VAT when the work is done for the person building it; we confirm the VAT position on your quote.

What happens, step by step

  1. Survey and room schedule

    We measure rooms, look at the loft, cupboards and routes, and agree where the unit and each valve go.

  2. Design and airflow rates

    We size the unit and duct runs to the Part F rates for your bedrooms and floor area, and send a written fixed quote.

  3. First fix

    Unit mounted on anti-vibration supports, ducts run and insulated in cold spaces, condensate drain connected.

  4. Second fix and valves

    Ceiling valves fitted, controls wired, roof or wall terminals sealed and made good.

  5. Commission and hand over

    Every valve measured with a calibrated flow hood, system balanced, commissioning sheet and filter instructions left with you.

The rules that apply

England

In England, ventilation is covered by Part F of the Building Regulations and its guidance, Approved Document F (2021 edition). For homes, it sets minimum extract rates such as 15 litres a second for a bathroom and 30 or 60 for a kitchen, and expects mechanical systems to be airflow-tested.

Wales

Wales has its own Part F ventilation guidance, published by the Welsh Government, and work is checked by building control. We design to the Welsh rates and commission mechanical systems so the results can be recorded.

Scotland

In Scotland, ventilation is covered by the Building (Scotland) Regulations and section 3 of the Technical Handbooks, and most building work needs a building warrant first. We work to the Scottish ventilation standards and record the airflow achieved.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, ventilation is covered by the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) and Technical Booklet K. We design to the Northern Ireland guidance and measure the airflow achieved.

Questions people ask

How much does MVHR cost to install?

A typical retrofit costs £6,450 to £9,450 including VAT for a three-bedroom house, and £4,950 to £7,950 when it goes in during a new build or full renovation. Flats start lower and large detached homes cost more because of the duct runs. We give a fixed price after the survey.

Is MVHR worth it in an older house?

It can be, but the payback is best in a home that is fairly airtight. In a draughty house MVHR still gives steady fresh air and condensation control, but a PIV unit or continuous extract fans may solve the same problem for far less. We will tell you which on survey.

How noisy is MVHR?

Correctly sized and balanced MVHR is very quiet on normal speed; most people stop noticing it within days. Noise problems usually come from undersized ducts or a unit running flat out, which is why we design the rates first.

Do I keep my trickle vents with MVHR?

No. Under Approved Document F, background ventilators should not be installed with a whole-home MVHR system, so we advise closing or removing them once the system is commissioned.

How often does MVHR need servicing?

Filters usually need changing every 6 to 12 months, and a full service with a clean and airflow check once a year keeps the system efficient. Clogged filters are the most common reason MVHR stops working properly.

Can MVHR cool the house in summer?

MVHR is not air conditioning, but a summer bypass lets cooler night air in without warming it, which helps take the edge off hot rooms. For real cooling you would need a separate system.

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