MVHR Design & Installation Adelaide
Specialist mechanical ventilation with heat recovery for new builds, renovations and Passive House projects right across metropolitan Adelaide — designed for your building, not fitted from a catalogue.
- Zehnder · Aerofresh · Lunos
- Design, install & commission
- Passive House experience
- South Australian specialist
Ventilation designed for the way Adelaide builds
HiPer Haus is a South Australian building-performance company, and metropolitan Adelaide is where most of our MVHR installations happen. We design and install systems in new estates through the northern growth corridor around Gawler and Angle Vale, in architect-designed custom homes across the eastern suburbs and foothills, in renovations of established character homes in the inner and near-city suburbs, and in the small but growing number of certified Passive House projects appearing across the city.
Adelaide’s housing stock varies enormously street to street, and that variation matters for MVHR design. Slab-on-ground brick-veneer project homes in the growth corridors usually give us clean roof space to route ductwork through a dropped ceiling. Solid-wall villas and postwar cottages in Unley, Prospect and Norwood often have far less usable ceiling void, which is where a decentralised, through-wall system earns its place. Medium-density apartments and townhouses in the inner city bring their own constraints again — shared walls, limited roof access, and sometimes body-corporate approval for external grilles.
Adelaide’s climate rewards a well-designed system in both directions across the year. Summers run hot and dry, with extended stretches above 40°C that push hard on air-conditioning and make continuous, filtered fresh air valuable rather than optional. Winters are cool and damp, and a heat-recovery core means fresh air doesn’t come at the cost of the heating you’ve already paid to generate. Between the two, MVHR keeps humidity and CO₂ in check no matter which way the weather is running.
The four project types we design MVHR for in Adelaide — new NCC 2022 builds, architect-designed custom homes, Passive House and high-performance projects, and renovations and retrofits — each call for a different approach, covered below.
Why Adelaide homes benefit from MVHR
As Adelaide builds tighter to meet NCC 2022 energy targets, homes lose the incidental leakage that older houses relied on for fresh air. Once a home reaches 5 ACH50 or below, mechanical ventilation isn’t just good practice — it’s an NCC trigger. MVHR is the way to meet that requirement without opening windows in a 42°C westerly or a frosty July morning.
Heat recovery up to 90% means the energy you’ve spent heating or cooling the home isn’t thrown away every time stale air is exhausted — the incoming fresh air is pre-conditioned by the outgoing air on its way past.
Continuous filtration matters more in Adelaide than people expect: dust from the northern plains and Riverland on a hot northerly, bushfire smoke haze in summer, and pollen in spring are all filtered out before they reach living spaces.
Moisture control addresses the flip side of an airtight home — without planned ventilation, an airtight Adelaide home in a damp winter can build up condensation on cold surfaces and around thermal bridges. Balanced MVHR keeps relative humidity in a healthy range through the wettest months.
NCC 2022 treats airtightness as a ventilation trigger. If your Adelaide home is being built or has been tested at or below 5 ACH50, mechanical ventilation is required — and MVHR is the way to meet that requirement while keeping running costs down. Read the full MVHR explainer →
How MVHR applies across Adelaide projects
New homes
Growth-corridor project homes in the north and south give us clean roof space for a centralised, ducted system designed in from the frame stage — installed before ceilings are lined and commissioned near completion.
Renovations & retrofits
Character homes in Adelaide's inner and near-city suburbs often lack the ceiling void for full ducting. A decentralised, through-wall system delivers heat-recovery ventilation room by room without disturbing the existing structure.
Passive House
MVHR is mandatory in certified Passive House projects. We design to Passive House Institute standards, coordinate with PHPP modellers and certifiers, and commission with full airflow verification at every terminal.
Apartments & townhouses
Inner-city medium-density projects call for compact, often decentralised solutions that respect shared walls, limited service risers and, where relevant, body-corporate approval for external grilles.
High-performance custom homes
Architect-designed homes across the eastern suburbs and foothills targeting a tight envelope need ductwork designed alongside the airtightness strategy, not bolted on afterwards.
Volume builders
We work directly with builder trades to keep MVHR ductwork coordination simple within a standard build programme, supporting NCC 2022 compliance across a run of near-identical house designs.
What Adelaide’s housing stock means for MVHR design
Every home is different, but MVHR design decisions in Adelaide cluster around a handful of recurring conditions worth knowing before you engage a designer or builder.
Roof space and dropped ceilings
Slab-on-ground brick-veneer homes in the growth corridors typically have generous truss roof space, but ducting needs to stay inside the thermal envelope — usually via a dropped ceiling section over a laundry, hallway or robe, not run loose in the insulated roof cavity.
Solid-wall and postwar homes
Villas and cottages in Unley, Prospect and Norwood often have shallow roof spaces and no service cavities. A decentralised system installed through the external wall avoids the need to find a ducting path through a home that was never designed for it.
Terminal placement around living zones
Adelaide's popular open-plan living-kitchen-dining layouts need careful supply and extract balancing so fresh air reaches bedrooms and living areas evenly rather than short-circuiting near the unit.
External grille location
On exposed northern or western elevations, combined supply/exhaust grilles need placement that avoids re-entrainment of exhaust air and stays clear of hot westerly-facing walls where possible.
Coordination with air-conditioning
Most Adelaide homes still run reverse-cycle air-conditioning alongside MVHR. The two systems are designed to complement each other — MVHR handles continuous fresh air and heat recovery; air-conditioning handles peak heating and cooling load.
Airtightness as a prerequisite
MVHR performs best in a home tested at 3 ACH50 or lower. A blower door test before or during design confirms the envelope is tight enough for the system to deliver the heat-recovery efficiency it's specified to achieve.
For the full breakdown of centralised versus decentralised systems, see our MVHR explainer and our dedicated decentralised MVHR guide.
MVHR services available in Adelaide
Design consultation
Review of plans, airtightness targets and heating strategy before any drawings are produced.
Ductwork design
Full duct layout with supply and extract terminal positions, coordinated with your builder.
Centralised systems
Zehnder and Aerofresh ducted systems for new builds and larger renovations.
Decentralised systems
Zehnder ComfoSpot and Lunos through-wall units for retrofits and apartments.
Supply & installation
All components supplied and installed during fit-out, coordinated on site.
Commissioning
Every terminal measured and balanced, with a full commissioning report issued.
Passive House support
Design and documentation aligned with Passive House Institute requirements.
Servicing & aftercare
Filter replacement schedules and annual servicing for installed systems.
Why Adelaide builders and homeowners choose HiPer Haus
Design-first approach
Full ductwork drawings before installation begins — not a generic unit fitted to whatever space is left.
Passive House experience
Certified Passive House tradesperson experience and familiarity with certifier requirements.
Multi-brand specialists
Zehnder, Aerofresh and Lunos — matched to your project, not a single house brand.
Measured commissioning
Every terminal measured and balanced, with a report issued for handover or certification.
South Australian company
Adelaide-based, with local project experience across the metro area and beyond.
Builder friendly
We coordinate directly with site trades to fit around standard build programmes.
Independent advice
Recommendations based on your building and budget, not a fixed product line.
Aftercare included
Filter schedules and annual servicing keep systems performing for the long term.
Across metropolitan Adelaide
We design and install right across the metro area — from the foothills to the coast and from Gawler to Aldinga. Travelling beyond the metropolitan boundary? Our dedicated regional pages cover the Adelaide Hills, Barossa Valley, Fleurieu Peninsula, Mount Gambier and Riverland.
Adelaide MVHR — frequently asked questions
Learn more about MVHR and airtightness
MVHR — main service
Products, process and commissioning approach.
What is MVHR?
The full explainer — how heat recovery ventilation works and why airtight homes need it.
Decentralised MVHR
Through-wall systems for retrofits, apartments and homes without ducting space.
Blower Door Testing — Adelaide
Confirm your envelope is tight enough for MVHR to perform as designed.
Airtightness explained
Why uncontrolled air leakage drives heat loss, comfort and moisture problems.
NCC 2022 for SA homes
What the energy and ventilation provisions mean for Adelaide builds.
MVHR design & installation in other South Australian regions
We design and install MVHR right across the state. If your project sits outside this region, these guides cover the local climate, housing styles and design considerations in each area.
Adelaide Hills
Cold winters, bushfire-rated construction and condensation risk.
View Adelaide Hills →Barossa Valley
Stone homes, high thermal mass and hot, dry summers.
View Barossa Valley →Fleurieu Peninsula
Coastal salt air, holiday homes and intermittent occupancy.
View Fleurieu Peninsula →Mount Gambier
Limestone homes, decentralised retrofits and a cooler, wetter climate.
View Mount Gambier →Riverland
Extreme summer heat, dust and evaporative-cooling legacy.
View Riverland →Talk to HiPer Haus about MVHR in Adelaide
Tell us about your Adelaide build, renovation or Passive House project and we’ll confirm system options, design approach and pricing.