With cuts to public spending on the horizon refurbishment of existing housing stock looks set to increase. Lee Nurse Marketing Manager at Vent-Axia explains how continuous decentralised ventilation can be retrofitted to help homes meet Decent Homes standard and efficiency and carbon reduction targets.
Challenging times lay ahead for housing associations. With Government planning to cut public spending by up to 25%, housing associations are waiting with bated breath to see how this will affect them. Grant Shapps, the coalition Government’s housing minister has already admitted his desire to scrap the Tenants Services Authority. Meanwhile, the Treasury has announced a full review of social housing regulation as a part of the Comprehensive Spending Review, which will report back in the autumn.
In the mean time developers are concerned about the impact of potential social housing grant reductions on the construction of new housing. As well they might, since it looks likely housing associations will need to work with the housing stock they have instead of investing in a raft of new houses. This will in turn undoubtedly lead to an increase in housing stock refurbishment in a bid to ensure older outdated properties meet Decent Homes standards.
Not only will reaching Decent Homes standards ensure tenants have homes which are warm weatherproof and have ‘reasonably modern’ facilities and services, but it also has the added benefit of reducing carbon emissions to help meet local authority targets. One key area which when improved has the double benefit of improving living conditions for the householder and saving energy is ventilation.
By simply replacing old inefficient fans with new fans efficiently powered by Lo-carbon EC/DC motors can have a huge impact on reducing carbon emissions. Traditionally, ventilation systems have been driven by AC motors however over the last few years, DC motor and subsequently EC motor technology has advanced revolutionising the industry by allowing energy efficient motors to power the fans. These energy efficient Lo-carbon motors can save up to 90% in energy consumption in comparison to AC motors. Lo-carbon fans save energy and increase the longevity of the products, whilst reducing lifetime costs, thereby adding value. An additional benefit of EC/DC motors is that they can generate lower noise levels and less heat than conventional AC motors.
Not only can new efficient fans reduce carbon emissions but thanks to the Decent Home programme which has helped improve public sector homes in recent times, ventilation companies now understand more about building performance than ever before. As a result, we are able to develop sympathetic ventilation systems which are designed to fit not just our homes but also the way people live their lives.
Air infiltration, especially in existing housing stock will occur naturally and this can be used successfully as air replacement to aid ventilation systems. However, traditional intermittent ventilation systems (see graph) often provide peaks of high extract airflow which exceeds the natural infiltration rates. This means we are simply warming indoor air and extracting it to the atmosphere, which is not exactly energy efficient.
Instead, new continuous ventilation systems are designed to work with the natural air infiltration and control the air path from the building thus preventing the migration of damaging humidity and pollutants. This can be achieved by using continuous low speed running extract fans in the wet rooms (bathrooms, kitchens and utility rooms) with a boost via the light switch, an integral pull cord or sensor when higher ventilation rates are required.
By providing ventilation in this way the extract systems can run at a much lower rate all the time, rather than at a high rate for one or two hours a day. As a result the systems are energy efficient, so reducing unnecessary heat loss and saving on carbon and fuel bills for homeowners. Meanwhile, the lower speeds mean very low noise levels which in turn means homeowners will be unaware that fans are running continuously. Finally, there are no trickle vents required as the low rates mean that adequate replacement air is available naturally.
Housing associations will also be reassured to note that the changes to Part F and Part L favour continuous ventilation since it performs better in SAP, is easier to specify and easier to standardise, as trickle vents are not required. For Continuous Mechanical Extract, System 3 approaches, the guidance removes the requirement for background ventilation in dwellings designed with infiltration rates above 5m3h/m2. It is likely that these factors, along with the Dwelling Emission Rate (DER) benefits of SAP Appendix Q will combine to boost the adoption of whole house Mechanical Extract Ventilation systems (MEV and dMEV) and Mechanical Extract Ventilation systems with Heat Recovery (MVHR).
Following design advances the latest, dMEV solutions now feature exceedingly low specific fan power making them very energy efficient and near silent in operation, thus avoiding tenant complaints. For instance, Vent-Axia’s Lo-Carbon™ Centra, provides a near silent dMEV solution with the lowest specific fan power in its class, so offering households not only literal peace and quiet, but also peace of mind that electrical bills won’t hit the roof.
Ideal for retrofitting as low energy ventilation into bathrooms, this type of fan offers virtually silent operation, a fresh design, fits discreetly in modern homes and is simple to install. However, there are also decentralised ventilation solutions to suit demanding kitchen environments. For instance, Vent-Axia’s Quadra – a domestic fan suited to through-the-wall or ducted applications, provides a guaranteed installed performance thanks to an innovative switch ’n fit feature in the fan and features a range of advanced control options to boost efficiency, and ease installation and commissioning.
Compared to traditional intermittent ventilation options, the continuous ventilation technology now available is energy efficient, near silent in operation, simple to use and discreet. That’s why a de-centralised continuous ventilation system using products such as Centra and Quadra today offers housing associations a clear route to refurbishing existing outdated ventilation, thus providing a good indoor environment for tenants, reducing carbon emissions and improving energy efficiency in their existing housing stock.
Both Centra and Quadra are part of Vent-Axia’s Lo-Carbon™ collection. The aim of the Lo-Carbon initiative is to offer the latest low carbon ventilation technology in order to reduce building energy consumption and so carbon emissions. For further information on all products and services offered by Vent-Axia telephone 0844 856 0590.