The
requirement for managed ventilation in new homes grows as levels of insulation
and air tightness are increased to improve energy efficiency. Damp, stale air
needs to be collected and expelled from the house to avoid condensation and
mould which can lead to sick building syndrome which in turn results in
allergies and asthma.
Instead of expelling the damp, stale air outside as has been the convention in the UK, we can first recover the heat from the air and save considerable amounts of energy by using the recovered heat energy to heat water or fresh ventilation air.
Ventilation
Solutions
The
appropriate solution is dependent on the size of the property and how much air
needs to be moved. It is advisable to look at the property’s heating in
conjunction with the ventilation needs as often these can be served by the same
unit or combined in one solution.
On
the one hand, a property built to passive house (‘PassivHaus’*) standard
doesn’t really need any additional heating; heat from lighting, appliances and
the occupants being enough to heat it. Heat recovery ventilation is, however, crucial. On the
other hand, a new property built to current building standards needs both
ventilation and heating.
*PassivHaus
– This German term refers to a rigorously energy efficient standard for
buildings where the building must not use more than 15 kWh/m² per
year in heating and cooling energy. In Sweden this figure is 10 kWh/m² per
year.
Passive
House Ventilation Solution
Ecoliving’s
Temovex solution is the heat recovery ventilation
system maintaining a comfortable and healthy indoor climate in 95% of Sweden’s
homes built to the exacting PassivHaus standard. Temovex won the gold medal in
the Swedish Energy Authority’s prestigious competition to find the best heat
exchanger for ventilation.
New
Homes Ventilation Solution
New
homes over 90
m²
in floor area built to current building standards or better also benefit from
the Temovex whole house ventilation system.
Ventilation,
Heating & Hot Water
A
ventilation solution for new homes of less than 90 m² in floor area built to
current building standards or better is the NIBE Fighter 410P which pre-warms
the supply air to living areas from the heat extracted and recovered from the wet rooms. A
further advantage is that, using heat pump technology, the Fighter 410P also
heats water for the wet heating system and for domestic hot water. Ventilation,
heating and hot water are all delivered from the one unit the size of a tall fridge freezer.
Another
alternative for new homes of less than 90 m² in floor area is the NIBE Fighter
360P which is also based on heat recovery ventilation and delivers ventilation, heating and hot water but instead of
fresh air being supplied through the heat pump as in the case of the Fighter
410P, it is supplied locally to each room via trickle vents in the windows or
specially designed wall vents.
Heat
Recovery Ventilation with a Ground Source Heat Pump
Where
a NIBE ground source heat pump is used for heating a new home, a NIBE FLM heat
recovery module can be combined to ventilate. The damp, stale air from the wet
rooms is extracted and recovered to the FLM module (heat recovery ventilation) where the heat is recovered and used to
pre-warm the antifreeze/water mix coming in from the ground. For every 1°C
uplift of this temperature, the efficiency of the heat pump is improved by 4%.
Fresh air is supplied locally to each room via trickle vents in the windows or
wall vents.
These
solutions are intended as a guide and Ecoliving looks at the specific detail of
any project before proposing a solution. Heat and hot water demand as well
as ventilation flow rates are all factors that have a bearing on the most
appropriate solution for any project.