This is a kit that includes all the components you need to make the Version 5.4 Beta OpenERV, except the printer filament.

It may take some time to fill some orders, depending on parts availablity.

The picture includes I think everything in the kit. It may not be exact, the kits will be though.

It includes:

• Top quality, long lasting, quiet, high pressure 4 pin fans. These are centrifugal fans, I think most people will prefer these, you can also use high pressure axial fans but there seems to be little or no advantage.

• Gimbal motor

-motor driver board

• some rubber washers (3d printed)

• hex cap screws for use with plastic (made of steel)

• screws for the motor mounting

• Raspberry pi Pico

• Electronics board (blank protoboard)

• Electronics components (capacitors (not all shown), resistors (not shown), wire, potentiometer and knob, power plug, brushless motor Driver module, voltage regulator)

• Toothed belt for thermal wheel drive

• Bearings (photoshopped into pic)

• 12v Power supply

• regenerator media (coffee stirrers), 4100 stirrers (4.1 boxes of them).

You will need:

• Solder

• Silicone caulk or other sealant (shoe goo can work, too)

• Hex key, 3mm and 2.5 mm

-screwdriver for motor, or super glue

• Dremel and sandpaper to post process the printed parts

• Filament for printing (takes about 2 kg of filament, PETG recommended for temperature resistance, but PLA is a bit easier, if you live in a colder climate, that may make sense).

• wire cutters/stripper

• A 3d printer

• Glue stick or other bed adhesive, for the big parts (even for PLA, but especially for PETG)

-Probably a few other basic tools that are always needed when 3d printing, like calipers, scraping tool to remove the part from the bed, etc.

There is a basic document that gives some tips on printing in the documents section.

The printer should be capable of 230mm deep by 230 wide by 170 mm high parts, including the brim.

You can save more than the cost of your printer just by printing a single ERV! You may wish to have more than one, one for each level of a home, for instance. Typical international standards actually recommend 20 CFM per room in a house, which would be one unit per room. An OpenERV gives about 28 cfm on max setting.

Print more and give them as gifts!

Print more and sell them! Print them in rainbow colors and glow in the dark!

Check out the cost of off the shelf single room ERV units for motivation: The Lunos ego is a legitimate comparison point: https://shop.buildwithrise.ca/products/lunos-ego%E2%84%A2-hrv-system?variant=39888871784635¤cy=CAD&gclid=CjwKCAjwyryUBhBSEiwAGN5OCOqbb33kwTLd5Z3QlWhqwp2gvgIYVGTwrvUR0ok1RMP6ufMheIJBZBoCIdkQAvD_BwE

Or the lunos e2.

If you want to buy a printer but couldn't justify the cost, you now have a way to do so.

This unit is the only unit on the market which is made to be mounted in a window, like an air conditioner, so it's good if you are renting or don't want to cut a hole in your wall (there is another one, but it's not actually in production right now and hasn't been for about 2 years, so I wouldn't count on that). You can still mount it in a wall if you wish to do so, but holes of this shape and size are a bit awkward to cut in a wall, still I'm pretty sure it's not that hard with a demo saw.

Why did you make it?

I made this kit to encourage people to use the source code to make the OpenERV, and to help raise funds to pay off the development costs. You can save money by buying this kit rather than getting everything shipped separately to you, save time shopping around for compatible, to-spec parts, and also save shipping time, avoid the frustration and costs associated with getting more parts than you need, incompatible parts or whatever.

Last but not least, you are supporting the project, like buying a genuine Arduino, which helps the open source hardware community.

What makes it special?

The figures for financial payback period (money saved per year vs. cost of equipment), carbon saved per dollar, kg of carbon saved per year vs carbon released during manufacture, are all significantly superior to PV panels! That's an important benchmark. See openerv.org for more details and spreadsheet which help you calculate figures for your area etc.

You can use it even if you live in an apartment, are renting, or don't want to make a huge investment. It's also a good size for an RV or Tiny House, off grid cabin or whatever.

Whether you seek to save money or save the environment, or both at the same time, this is a tangible, real option. That's actually pretty hard to deliver, especially with only small capital investment, standard parts and 3d printing.

I have used the open source Raspberry Pi Pico, where even the silicon chip is open source.