Vent-Axia has helped the Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO), East Durham Homes, to meet the Decent Homes standard, improving indoor air quality and tenant comfort for council housing in Horden, Peterlee and Seaham with Lo-Carbon™ Safety Extra Voltage (SELV) Centra dMEV ventilation.

East Durham Homes manages approximately 8,500 homes on behalf of Durham County Council and is committed to providing decent homes for all its residents. As part of this commitment, Vent-Axia’s Lo-Carbon™ SELV Centra continuous running fans were specified for a major upgrade of 600 properties within the area. Attracted to the Lo-Carbon™ SELV Centra dMEV solution because of its low noise, ease of installation and high efficiency, East Durham Homes has successfully provided a comfortable indoor environment for tenants, eliminated condensation and mould problems and helped to reduce carbon emissions.

“When it came to providing a fan in these properties it made good sense to opt for Vent-Axia’s Centra” says David Steel of East Durham Homes. “Because they are always operating silently at a low level, Centra fans have enabled us to improve the indoor environment in our tenants’ homes, keep maintenance costs low and cut tenant fuel bills as well.”

Ideal for retrofitting into this type of project, Vent-Axia’s Lo-Carbon™ Centra offers virtually noiseless operation with sound levels as low as 6dBa. Its clean design fits discreetly and easily into any home. The unit offers continuous trickle ventilation and includes a boost feature which can be utilised as necessary based on specific room requirements. Adjustable ‘Normal’ running speeds make it suitable for kitchens, bathrooms, toilets and utility rooms.

Specifying Centra eliminates the risk of the fan being switched off because it is perceived by tenants to be either noisy or energy wasteful which can lead to damp and mould growth problems. Meanwhile, its versatility ensures that social housing specifiers can, if they choose, simply specify Vent-Axia Centra for any wet room in the property. The Centra is capable of achieving up to 90% energy savings and a 62kg carbon reduction.

Unlike traditional intermittent fans, continuous ventilation systems work with the natural air infiltration to prevent the migration of damaging humidity and pollutants. This is achieved through continuous running, low speed extract fans in the wet rooms with a boost via the light switch, an integral pull cord or sensor when higher ventilation rates are required. Systems can thus run near silently at a much lower rate all the time, rather than at a noisy, high rate for one or two hours a day. The unit’s energy saving Vent-Axia Lo-Carbon™ DC motors further improve its efficiency and carbon reducing capabilities, bringing up to an 90% reduction in fuel consumption over traditional AC fans.

Centra is part of the Vent-Axia Lo-Carbon™ collection of energy saving ventilation solutions. 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 the Centra, please click: http://www.vent-axia.com/range/lo-carbon-centra.html