Air Heat Exchanger? Passive house?

[mozar]

So my co-op is about to engage in a multi-year project to update all of our townhouses (building envelope, hvac). There are some requirements, and the rest we have to pay for on our own. I will be asking for all of the insulation. My question is I currently have an air conditioner I don't use. I grew up in the tropics so 100+ heat doesn't bother me. I live in the mid-atlantic. But I do want something so my roommate doesn't die. I was wondering if anyone had experience with air heat exchangers (heat recovery ventiliation, erv???). Would I have enough insulation to do this? Here is the list from the co-op (I have frame, built in 1941):
Required Items:
·        Crawlspace improvements
·        Sealing attic perimeters, sealing and
          insulating attic hatches in frame and brick units
 
Optional Items to be paid for by individual members who select to have them:
·     
·        One (1) inch insulation board on exterior walls
          of frame units - I want this
·        Increased attic insulation to a R-38 value
          for frame and brick units - I want this
·        Bathroom exhaust fans - I want this
·        Time controller and humidity controller
          for bathroom exhaust fans - maybe
·        Kitchen exhaust fans - no
·        New storm doors - no
·        Split-system heat pumps - I already have electric baseboard heat, we will get new ones of these as they are 30 years old
·     
And feel free to comment on the other options as well. Thx.

 Edited: They will be replacing all our windows and I plan to ask for triple pane.

[Syonyk]

I *think* the air exchangers you're referring to are designed to recover heat from inside the house as you vent air outside.  I'm not sure they'll be very effective with cooling things down or keeping heat out.

If you have roommates, and wish to continue doing so, you should probably consider some form of AC - if it's not whole unit AC, some standalone window units or something for the room you rent out.

[APowers]

By "split system heat pump", you mean one of these? If so, I would consider opting for it, as it will be WAY more energy efficient than electric baseboard heat (assuming your house is laid out in such a way that it would work). It will also be able to provide A/C if you wish.

[mozar]

Yes that mini split system. I read somewhere that with a very insulated house that baseboard heat can be efficient. And that the mini split is not efficient below 20F. I only care about heat once it gets below 20F at night, so what's the point of mini split?  And it's $8000 bucks...

I should clarify about the roommate, she has an A/C unit and separate temperature control for heat in her room.

[Abe]

It seems you should have very good insulation with the proposed upgrades, the baseboard heat should be sufficient given your tolerance for hot and low temperatures. I would not spend the extra money on the ductless system as it will require a long time to recoup costs. This assumes you have sufficient wall insulation already and the 1in board is just for additional insulation.

[mozar]

The co-op said that the current insulation is r-13, but I'm not sure if that's good or bad.