I think there's a number of topics combined into one thread here
Heat recovery ventilation (HRV) is not a renewable technology although these units are often used in conjuction with new technologies and building methods as it is far easier to incorporate into a new build than to retrofit.
In essence, the units remove stale air from bathrooms etc., pass this air through an exchanger where residual heat from this air is transferred to the incoming fresh air, and then expel the fresh, slightly-warmed air into the living spaces of the house. The idea is that there is a constant flow of fresh air into the house and a percentage of the heat is kept within the house. Most systems come with bypass cores which can be used in summer which do not do any heat exchange and most have dust filters.
The system promises advantages in terms of energy efficiency, air quality, and vapour/moisture control at a cost of running the fans and taking meticulous care/detail into building detail around openings etc. - i.e. there isn't any point in having an open fireplace but on the flipside you don't need room trickle vents.
So, these units will, to some degree, distribute the warmed air from a point heat source around the house but they are not the same as forced air heating which was in vogue a few years ago - where electrically-heated air was expelled through grilles in the floor (with usually a cat lying on top of it) or air-conditioning.
So the use of these units is entirely independent of the heat source used - boiler, WPB, GSHP, whatever. They may, possibly, allow you to reduce use of central heating and use a point heat source only on those marginal days, particularly if additional insulation is specified.
SSE