Engineers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Cold Climate Housing Research Center announced on Apr. 1 the development of a new ventilation system component designed to improve indoor air quality in cold climates while saving energy.
The Arctic Dual Hood for Heat Recovery Ventilation is intended to simplify the installation process for heat recovery ventilators, known as HRVs, by allowing both intake and exhaust through a single wall opening. Traditionally, HRVs require two separate openings: one for bringing fresh air in and another for exhausting stale air. The heat exchanger inside these systems helps reduce heat loss by transferring warmth from outgoing to incoming air.
Existing combined intake and exhaust vents have proven impractical in cold regions because exhaust openings tend to ice up. The newly developed Arctic Dual Hood addresses this issue with a specially designed shape that reduces ice formation significantly.
“The Arctic Dual Hood simplifies the installation of HRVs in cold climates and makes them accessible to more people,” said Tom Marsik, lead researcher on the project and professor of sustainable energy at UAF’s Bristol Bay Campus and Alaska Center for Energy and Power.
Development took over seven years, including prototype testing in a research freezer at UAF. The hood has been patented through the UAF Office of Intellectual Property and Commercialization and is now available via Ventilation Solutions in Fairbanks. Student researchers Riley Bickford, Conor Dennehy, and Stuart Lutton contributed alongside Marsik. Funding came from the Alaska Regional Collaboration for Technology Innovation and Commercialization program as well as the state of Alaska.
Marsik was recently inducted into the 2026 Alaska Innovators Hall of Fame. His position at UAF was created jointly with both the National Laboratory of the Rockies’ Alaska Campus and CCHRC.
