Usually yes for new builds and deep retrofits. Often no for an untouched older home.
Primary question · Is MVHR the right ventilation upgrade for my building, or am I overspecifying for a fabric that will never justify it?
The honest test sits in two questions. Is your home airtight enough that the ventilation system, rather than the wind, controls the air movement? Are you happy that the case for MVHR rests on comfort and air quality rather than on energy savings? Yes to both and the install is almost always worth the money. No to either and a PIV unit will deliver more of the comfort gain for a fraction of the disruption.
A reasonably airtight British home, ideally during a deep retrofit or new-build first-fix, where the household values consistent indoor air quality more than headline heating savings.
£4,500 to £8,000 in a new-build first-fix, £7,500 to £14,000 in a typical 3-bed retrofit, and £12,000 upwards in a designer-led premium install.
- Filtered fresh air in every habitable room without opening a window
- Quiet, predictable air changes that stay constant regardless of weather
- Recovers up to 90% of the heat that would otherwise leave with the stale air
- The unit is the cheap part, and the ducting and commissioning are where bad installs hide
- The system needs a sealed envelope to deliver its brochure efficiency
Get a blower-door airtightness test before you commit, so the install is matched to the building you actually own.
MVHR rewards households that have already done the airtightness work. It punishes the ones that have not. Pretend the brochure efficiency is on offer in a leaky building and you will spend twice as much for a third of the result.
Open the MVHR feasibility planner
It uses your home profile to suggest MVHR or PIV honestly.