By 2016 the Government has stated that all new build homes must be zero carbon and already we are seeing countless developments within legislation to help point the industry in the right direction. The raised standards of Part L of the Building Regulations (England and Wales), the introduction of the Code for Sustainable Homes and the guidelines set by the Energy Saving Trust all promote the benefits of airtight homes in the quest to reduce energy wastage, but it is important to understand the repercussions of this energy saving method before efforts to seal-up dwellings are undertaken.
With the necessity to meet Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes in the Public Sector looming in April 2010, it is envisaged that specifiers and property developers working across both the public and private sectors will apply the public sector standards in their private sector projects at the same time, thus setting the trend for the industry to follow. Next year Private New Build will need to meet Level 3 of the Code, whilst Public Sector (Government Funded) New Build must meet Level 4.
Traditional forms of ventilation will not meet our future needs. Standard extractor fans cannot offer the energy efficiency performance required for the latter stages of the route map, while opening windows causes expensively generated heat to escape and lets pollution and, often, unacceptable noise in. This means there will be an increased use of continuous ventilation.
Whilst the words ‘continuous running’ and ‘energy saving’ are rarely used in the same sentence, continuously running fans can now be more efficient than intermittent fans. Two whole-house ventilation systems available on the market are MEV (Mechanical Extract Ventilation) units, and MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery) units. The running costs of such a system are so low, that with the benefit of reduced fuel bills, the occupant is 'quids in'. (see www.itho.co.uk for example)
Continuous mechanical supply and extract ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) – System 4 –is proving to be the modern solution. A continuous balanced system can be positioned in a loft or cupboard space. An integral heat exchanger recovers a large percentage of heat energy that would have otherwise been lost.
As featured in the Energy Saving Trusts’ ‘Demonstrating Compliance - Best Practice’, in order to meet reduced CO2 emission targets, MEV and MVHR units have been set certain standards. MEV units must have a specific fan power (SFP) of 0.6 W/L/s or less and MVHR units must have a SFP of 1.0 W/L/s or less and a heat exchange efficiency of 85% or above.
One of the most efficient and versatile MEV units available is the Appendix Q eligible CVE ECO 2 which surpasses every other ventilation system within its class. It is equipped with a quiet, low consumption DC (direct current) motor that ensures the unit functions using considerably less energy than conventional MEV models.
Allowing for an even greater level of efficiency to be reached, the Appendix Q eligible MVHR unit – the HRU ECO 4 - offers an unbeatable combination of heat recovery efficiency and Specific Fan Power of <0.5 compared to SAP currently at 2.0 and Energy Savings Trust at 1.0. Even though it achieves heat exchange efficiencies up to 91% it is this excellent SFP where the real money is saved.
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