Vent-Axia is pleased to be once again supporting Noise Action Week (24-29 May 2021) and is raising awareness that ventilation doesn't need to noisy by offering seven steps to silence. Since the start of the pandemic, we have all been spending more time at home, which has led to increased noise pollution. Not only do we have to put up with extra household noise, many are also noticing more noise from neighbours as we all work and socialise at home more than ever before. Ventilation doesn’t need to add to these noise levels, with near silent options now available. This is good news for both our ears and our wellbeing as sustained noise can have an adverse effect on physical and mental health. 
Noise Action Week, co-ordinated by Environmental Protection UK, raises the profile of unhealthy noise and the impact it has on our health. With many people using their homes and gardens to entertain, Noise Action Week is reminding everyone to be aware of when and where they are making noise. Excess noise can lead to a number of health problems including: increased stress levels, sleep disturbance, depression, anxiety, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. The Chief Medical Officer’s 2017 Annual Report ‘Health Impacts of all Pollution’ confirmed the effects of noise pollution, stating: “Noise stands second to poor air quality in terms of the burden of ill health caused by a single pollutant.” Meanwhile the World Health Organization (WHO) claims that increased exposure to noise can lead to cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment as well as negative effects on sleep.
With the health implications of noise very clear, making a quiet home environment is even more vital. With many people actively seeking out quieter alternatives for many home items, Vent-Axia recommends seven steps to choosing quiet ventilation. The steps are: looking for third-party accreditation; selecting the right size; choosing high efficiency motors; silent scheduling; avoiding nuisance running and finally, where to site a fan.
“We are delighted to be supporting Noise Action Week once again. There are many benefits of silence and quiet ventilation helps create a peaceful environment, which leads to a healthy and happy mind and home”, said Lena Hebestreit, Marketing Manager at Vent-Axia. “Vent-Axia leads the way in silent-fan design with both our Silent Fan and Lo-Carbon Svara awarded a Quiet Mark again for 2021. To properly unwind and relax, it’s vital to surround yourself with silence in your home. So, this year we are sharing seven steps to silence including how to select and site an extractor fan to help create tranquillity in your bathroom.”
Independent third-party accreditation is essential in finding products that are as quiet as they claim to be. Offering a solution to noisy extract fans, Vent-Axia’s Lo-Carbon Svara and Silent Fan have both been awarded the Quiet Mark, the independent global certification programme associated with the UK Noise Abatement Society charitable foundation, which identifies the quietest products and provides reliable and independent information about the sound a product makes with the primary focus to improve health and wellbeing.
Vent-Axia’s innovative Silent Fan is ideal for refurbishment projects and is the quietest intermittent fan available, operating at just 14dB(A). Offering ‘visual’ silence as well as acoustic silence, with simple, clean lines and an attractive slimline fascia that looks like a bathroom tile it ensures is unobtrusive for households who can relax in comfort, free from noise-related stress. Meanwhile the highly sophisticated Lo-Carbon Svara ensures quiet, disturbance free running with good indoor air quality and comfort. Easy and flexible to install and maintain, it offers a range of features that avoid nuisance running, a clever light sensor that recognises room occupancy and an effective humidistat, which reacts to sharp changes in humidity.
Other low noise options include Vent-Axia’s Lo-Carbon Revive which has been designed to meet the specific needs of the social housing sector, providing good indoor air quality and comfort for residents, while being quick and easy to install, low maintenance and reliable. Revive’s innovative Multi-Vortex™ technology has a high-pressure hybrid impellor that is powerful and efficient, yet quiet. And for the new build sector the Sentinel Kinetic Advance Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) offers exceptional efficiency, near silent operation, high pressure development and improved indoor air quality. Featuring trickle settings of up to 40% that still stay below 20dB(A), the Advance boasts a specific fan power (SFP) as low as 0.38W/l/s, combined with up to 93% heat recovery [in line with Product Characteristics Database (PCDB) data] and a high-pressure airflow of 100l/s at 150Pa. Maximised airflows and minimised noise and energy are achieved through cutting-edge EC motor and highly sculpted interiors.
For further information on low noise ventilation, visit https://www.vent-axia.com/refurbishments/low-noise-ventilation. For further information on all products and services offered by Vent-Axia telephone +44 (0)344 856 0590.