Six prompts that choose ERV or HRV before we quote

Furnace Direct installs recovery ventilators throughout Golden Valley and the inner west metro. We do not stock exchangers for counter sale. This decision sheet is the path: your answers, one installed number.

Prompt 1 — Local exhaust still doing real work

1. ATTENTION (damp): shared bath fan for two rooms, or a kitchen hood that only recirculatesWeak spot exhaust is how a sealed Golden Valley ranch keeps shower and cooking vapor into the evening. Damp column.
2. CLEAR: each bath holds a tissue, kitchen hood terminates outdoorsLocal exhaust is fine; remaining issues belong to whole-house recovery.

Prompt 2 — Cold-morning window film

1. ATTENTION (damp): beads or ice along the lower bedroom sash before dawnIndoor vapor is hitting the coldest glass. Strong damp mark.
2. ATTENTION (dry): glass bone-dry, carpet shocks, chapped lips by late fallThe shell is already stripped of moisture. An HRV that sheds more vapor outdoors will deepen the problem. Dry column.

Prompt 3 — Era plus what you already tightened

1. 1950s–70s ranch or split still on original glass and atticClassic Golden Valley stock — leaky enough that accidental infiltration once acted like ventilation. Record the decade; wait on a column until upgrades land.
2. Same stock (or a 1990s two-story) after new glass, siding, or attic sealingYou closed the leaks without redesigning airflow. Expect damp or dry marks next, driven by who lives there.

Prompt 4 — Lower level and lake-lot water

1. ATTENTION (damp): spring sump overtime, Sweeney or Twin Lake walkout smelling earthy by late summerLake-edge and low postwar lots push ground moisture upward. That load sits on the exchanger all warm season.
2. CLEAR: dry finished lower level, quiet sump, no musty cornerHumidity tracks people and showers, not the ground.

Prompt 5 — Household load and habits

1. ATTENTION (damp): five or more people, back-to-back showers, tanks or dense houseplantsBodies and hobbies add pounds of water daily. In an open remodeled ranch it hits glass first.
2. ATTENTION (dry): couple only, frequent travel, fireplace most winter nightsLow occupancy plus combustion both strip humidity. Dry column.

Prompt 6 — What success feels like next February

1. ATTENTION (damp): clear glass, no clammy upstairs hallYou want vapor leaving with stale air — heat recovery.
2. ATTENTION (dry): fewer nosebleeds and shocks without a humidifier stackYou want vapor kept while air still turns over — energy recovery.

Attach these notes with the sheet

Damp versus dry tallies, build decade, and whether you sit on a Sweeney/Twin Lake lot or an inland postwar street. If a box already exists, a phone photo of the label beats a model guess. You get one core recommendation, intended routing, and the installed number — never a link to buy hardware yourself.

Decision-sheet questions from Golden Valley