geek4me: We are in a newly built Golden Home for 2 years now. It has double glazing, a heat pump but no HRV system. We have had condensation issues both winters.
The main problem is the double glazing was done (cheaply) without an insulation layer between the outside and the inside metal frames. The cold outside temperature transfers directly to the inside metal causing bad condensation on the metal and inside glass requiring the windows to be wiped dry each winter morning.
Keeping bedroom doors open at night reduced the problem, if closed water would condense and drip from bedroom light fittings.
An HRV would definitely help reduce this condensation as would (more expensive) insulated double glazing in my opinion. Sub standard bathroom heat-light-fan extractor units which do not extract the required volume of damp bathroom air do not help the situation.
Thats why it is important to spend the money initially on a well designed house with passive solar heating and natural ventiallation, and with high quality componentry. What you would need is thermally insulated aluminum profiles, as you get condensation on the cold aluminum window frames, and that is a common issue. The alternative is to use timber or PVC frames. The aluminium frames should have a drip tray at the bottom, with a drain to the outside, to drain out the condensation.
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