If you ran a Formula 1 racing car, but hired in a local, unqualified mechanic to service it, would you really expect it to perform to its full potential? To cover himself, the mechanic ticks off questions on a checklist confirming he has done all that is expected of him. But who is to say he has done this correctly and the car is at peak performance?
We all, surely, have the commonsense not to hire in this type provider for our most important services, and yet this is the scenario that is being utilised in the installation of energy efficient ventilation products that have been tested by SAP Q. The product should perform fantastically and meet or exceed the necessary requirements, but if it’s installed incorrectly, who’s to know whether it’s reaching the standards?
SAP is the Government's Standard Assessment Procedure for Energy Rating of Dwellings. It is adopted by Government as part of the UK national methodology for calculation of the energy performance of buildings and is used to demonstrate compliance with building regulations for dwellings - Part L (England and Wales), Section 6 (Scotland) and Part F (Northern Ireland) - and to provide energy ratings for dwellings. Appendix Q allows the energy performance of new technologies and advanced versions of existing technologies to be evaluated for inclusion in SAP assessments.
At present, SAP Q (www.sap-appendixq.org.uk) provides an Installation Guide and Checklist, but in the next Approved Document Part F of the Building Regulations, the Government is looking to include installation guidelines. This is all well and good, but who is going to ‘police’ the installations? Surely it cannot be the installer, so whose responsibility will it fall too, to ensure that the installer is ‘competent’ to install the product? At some point along the line we must trust that the installer has the competency to install the ventilation system correctly, following the new Guidelines thoroughly, to ensure that the system performs at its peak level and provides the most energy efficient ventilation.
It seems the logical choice to expect the manufacturer of the products to provide trained Design Install Partners, who know the product in depth, understand the intricacies and details of correct ducting and installation, and understand how to test and measure the output of the system. But how many manufacturers provide this back up service?
Says Chris Marriott, of air management company ADM Systems: “We support the idea of Installation Guidelines being incorporated into the Building Regulations. End users can purchase the best product in the world, but if it’s installed or maintained incorrectly, they needn’t have bothered. Cutting corners and costs when it comes to the installation results in shoddy workmanship and poor quality ancillaries. It is this lack of attention to detail that often leads to noisy systems or poor performance.
“Unfortunately, the end user often does this unknowingly. They think they are getting a better deal by shaving some cost off the contract, but they do not know what is being compromised to give them this discount. There is some naivety that it’s a ventilation system and will do as it says on the box, when in reality it’s not just about the system, but the correct installation of it that is an important part of the project.”
He adds: “By including the Installation Guidelines in the Building Regulations, this should educate the industry and Building Control.”
Itho Ventilation is one company that definitely embraces the ethos of training the installers fully from day one. The company invests a great deal of time in providing free training workshops to installers and on site support to any installer of the system.
The company also advocates understanding at an early stage and runs three 1 hour CPD (Continuing Professional Development) courses. Energy Efficient Ventilation and the Future of Ventilation Systems covers the growing need for energy efficient ventilation systems, how these are being developed, up-to-date industry news and a look at future requirements. This course is relevant to anyone involved in the planning, design, construction and marketing of new homes as well as for those renovating older dwellings to a high standard of permeability.
Duct It Right covers the all important subject of the correct positioning of the units plus how the terminations and ducting of a ventilation system need to be installed to achieve the maximum energy efficiency. This course covers the different ventilation strategies available and how they work, the importance of installation practice versus system performance, the critical elements that ensure maximum system performance, installation guidance, planning, design and commissioning.
Design Considerations covers how ventilation systems are now an integral part of living, eco designs and must be thought about at the very first stage of design. Unit location, ducting routes and the correct placement of terminations - all need to be given careful consideration before the build begins.
Each of these is run in-situ, but all three can be combined into a hands-on one day course at Itho’s Headquarters in Burton on Trent in their fully equipped training facility. Attendees receive a CPD certificate at the end of the course.
No doubt the recommendations for Installation Guidelines in the Building Regulations need further thought. It is the end user who is currently not necessarily getting the most efficient performance from their ventilation system, so it falls to the manufacturers to ensure the customer gets the very best of service.
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