An affordable housing scheme in Sandiacre, Nottingham, has been completed as part of a multi-million pound regeneration programme by emh homes — with a number of the properties achieving Passivhaus standard.
Regeneration works on the Sandiacre affordable housing scheme in the greater Nottingham area began in March 2014 with the aim of replacing out-dated properties with high-quality, economical family homes with low running costs. Now complete, the development comprises of 40 semi-detached properties as well as flats, all of which are energy-efficient, well insulated and impeccably hermetically sealed. As a result, four of the homes have received Passivhaus accreditation.
The development required a cost-effective and Passivhaus certified ventilation solution. As such, the team at Passivhaus consultancy firm Encraft specified a range of state-of-the-art DUPLEXVENT Professional Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery (MVHR) units from Airflow Developments to ensure residents benefit from healthy indoor air quality and comfort levels, as well as a low-energy consumption.
MVHR technology extracts stale, damp air from inside a building; stripping heat energy from it via a heat exchanger whilst filtering in clean fresh air from the outside. In effect, it offers a ‘whole house’ approach to ventilation and helps create a healthier indoor environment, combating the build up of moisture, condensation and the associated effects.
The Passivhaus accredited DV96SE MVHR unit, installed within the Sandiacre properties, is capable of extracting up to 320m3/hr at 100 Pascals (Pa) and encompasses a triple filter design to ensure occupants benefit from a clean and hygienic indoor atmosphere. The compact unit also features an innovative Smart Frost Protection facility that significantly reduces energy consumption and protects against freezing of the heat exchanger during the winter months. In addition, the unit runs off a highly efficient EC motor and can deliver over 90% thermal efficiency — lowering running costs for residents.
Improved thermal efficiencies
“With a focus on low-energy design and increased airtightness, Airflow’s MVHR systems were the ideal solution to meet the need for effective ventilation and energy efficiency,” explained Helen Brown, head of building physics at Encraft. “The MVHR units provide an excellent thermal efficiency rating, are compact and aesthetically pleasing and effectively extract pollutants whilst simultaneously filtering in fresh, clean air.
“As the MVHR DV96SE unit is Passivhaus accredited, we could be sure that the ventilation systems would perform well in the thermal modelling stages of the design. This was extremely helpful in predicting the internal comfort levels and energy demands of the homes, and allowed us to hone in on our biggest challenge – the air tightness of the homes. The Airflow MVHR system ticked all the boxes and was an invaluable asset to the Sandiacre affordable housing scheme.”
John Kelly, marketing manager at Airflow Developments added: “MVHR technology offers a ‘whole house’ approach to ventilation and helps create a healthier indoor environment, combating the build up of moisture, condensation and the associated effects.
“This development is a great example of how super-efficient and intelligent MVHR systems such as the DV96SE unit can be utilised alongside a robust and well integrated plan to achieve highly economical results — in this case with four of the homes achieving Passivhaus accreditation.”
With thanks to Airflow Developments for preparing this article.
