Commercial/Residential Between Room Ventilator
The Between Room Ventilator (BRV) is a low-cost solution to common air pressure problems in American homes with HVAC systems. The BRV requires minimal installation and effectively equalizes pressure between rooms in a house. Balanced air pressure is necessary to achieve optimal performance in woodstoves and fireplaces.
The problem with unbalanced air
When the heat comes on in your house, a significant quantity of air is pushed and pulled throughout the house. Ideally, equal amounts of air should be delivered into and out of each room. Most houses do not have supply and return ducts in each room, however. For example, a bedroom typically only has a supply duct, relying on the door to allow air to flow back to a return duct in a hallway.
If anything impedes the airflow, such as a closed door with insufficient clearance underneath, then the return air duct must exert excess pressure on the rest of the house to make up for the poor circulation. This negative pressure can cause fireplaces, stoves, furnaces and other appliances to fail to ignite or exhaust properly.
A simple, low-cost solution
The BRV acts as a passageway to reconnect isolated rooms to the return air duct, much like an open door, but with the benefit of blocking the transmission of sound and light between rooms. With air flowing freely throughout your house, you avoid creating unbalanced air pressure, facilitating efficient performance from your fireplace or heating stove.
The path to balanced air pressure
The BRV has a pair of 6 inch square wall grills connected by a 4 inch round duct, which telescopes to accommodate varying wall thicknesses. The duct has cleverly-designed acoustical foam partitions to deaden sound transmission and completely block light, while still allowing air to flow freely between rooms. The BRV is typically installed over an interior door. Installation takes only a few minutes to complete. If desired, the polymer louvers can be painted with any latex paint to match wall colors.