ERV vs HRV
Choosing HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilation) or ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilation) depends entirely on your climate — in Australia, Victoria (VIC) or Far North Queensland (FNQ). In an ideal situation we might have both, the option is available to us by swapping out the heat exchanger cores.
HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilation) is where stale exhaust air exchanges heat with incoming fresh air without any contact. HRV will remove humidity from the dwelling but only in colder climates where the intake air is dryer. HRV will not capture water vapour suspended in the air as humidity, it will boot it out with stale exhaust air and then will only bring in what is available from the outside air. This makes HRV useful in areas of cold/low humidity outside like Victoria.
ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilation) exchanges some humidity along with heat from outgoing exhaust air to the incoming fresh air. ERV, also known as Enthalpy Recovery Ventilation, will maintain humidity at a reasonable level in winter, but in summer the humidity transfer reverses removing incoming humidity from the outside. This is where ERV is useful in more humid/warm environments such as Far North Queensland.
Whether you decide to employ HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilation) or ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilation) depends entirely on your climate situation. Ultimately Your dwelling may need a combination of both in which case your HRV heat exchanger core can be swapped out for an ERV heat exchanger core (or vice versa) in quality mechanical ventilation systems.