Keep it Cool - Overheating in Homes with MVHR
Ventilation systems, such as Heat Recovery Ventilation systems can work to both increase and reduce the temperature of the air being supplied into the rooms of your home. A lot of ventilation systems will have inbuilt heating and cooling components, although sometimes extra methods may be required.
Recently, homes are built to be more insulated and more airtight. Air tightness is good to prevent heat loss in your home and to help save in heating costs. Although a good thing, this can also cause problems in the warmer months when air cannot escape due to this airtightness and insulation of a property.
What is Overheating?
Ventilation systems, such as Heat Recovery Ventilation systems can work to both increase and reduce the temperature of the air being supplied into the rooms of your home. A lot of ventilation systems will have inbuilt heating and cooling components, although sometimes extra methods may be required.
Recently, homes are built to be more insulated and more airtight. Air tightness is good to prevent heat loss in your home and to help save in heating costs. Although a good thing, this can also cause problems in the warmer months when air cannot escape due to this airtightness and insulation of a property.
What is Overheating?
Overheating is more likely to happen on warm summer days, in rooms with large glass panels and in buildings such as higher in tower blocks and in homes for the eldery.
Heat Recovery Systems and Overheating
There are features within a heat recovery system that can help reduce the risk of over heating. These clude:
Purge ventilation: purge is intended to ensure that any build-up of pollutants or heat can be quickly evacuated. Purge ventilation may not be the best solution for overheating in summer as it would need to be controlled manually or by triggering through sensors which can have extra energy use and noise implications.
Controls: it is common that MVHR systems have boost control. Controlling ventilation systems has a small part to play in reducing summer overheating but must be weighed against the hassle of limiting occupant interaction and noise levels
Summer By-Pass: It is recommended that all new MVHR ventilation systems are supplied with a summer bypass. A summer by-pass will open and allow the incoming air to bypass the heat exchanger automatically when the temperature of the extracted air reaches a certain temperature. This will allow the incoming air to be the same temperature as the outside air
A ventilation system does work to improve your indoor air quality but may not be effective enough on its own to improve over heating in homes as they do not cool air further than the outside air, The addition of a cooling solution to your ventilation system will mean superior comfort in warm weather
Quiet-Vent Comfort Cooler
Check out our newest cooling solution addition to your ventilation system!
- The Quiet-Vent Comfort Cooler is the only available system that can be both easily installed or retrofitted into new and existing MVHR / ventilation systems
- It has been designed to be an affordable and easy to install solution to combat overheating with a cooling performance of 1.7Kw reducing the air to a comfortable temperature.
-It can be connected to any make or model of home ventilation system using 125mm to 200mm ductwork.
- This cooling addition works to create a comfortable indoor air temperature for your home! It simply connects to your MVHR system to lower the incoming air temperature by up to 10°C.
- It contains a small heat pump to cool a sealed water system that does not require any water mains or external units and has minimal energy use
- Available with numerous options to suit your ventilation system.
The Quiet-Vent Comfort Cooler is positioned beside your ventilation unit supplying chilled water to the Cooling Coil. A Cooling Coil is installed on the main air supply ducting, chilling the air being supplied to your home. Each unit comes prewired with a duct sensor, antifreeze kit, insulated hoses and all required reducers and fittings.
You might be wondering what the difference between the Quiet-Vent Comfort Cooler and air conditioning is?
The two systems cannot be compared to each other as air conditioning systems recirculate the stale air, but a Comfort Cooler delivers fresh, filtered and chilled air via your home ventilation system. The Comfort Cooler does not require a specialist to install or maintain. An air conditioning system requires both a large internal and external unit with interconnecting pipes, carrying refrigerant that require specialist contractors to install and maintain, the comfort cooler is a much more compact and simpler to use and install.
More Heating and Cooling Solutions
There are a range of heating and cooling options available at BPC Ventilation that you can add to your ventilation system. These systems include:
MVHR Geothermal System: Connects to your MVHR system and is installed below ground. It will supply free heating or cooling of approximately 10°C all year. It works to provide additional preheating to your MVHR unit during the winter and can also help to cool the air during the summer.
MVHR Water Battery: Water batteries are used to either heat or cool the air by using hot or cold water supplied from your heating system.
MVHR Duct Heaters: Electric duct heater can be installed as pre-heater for frost control or as a post heater to supply warm air to rooms.
Komfovent RHP Units: RHP units have 5 in 1 control, providing the perfect indoor microclimate. Komfovent RHP units provide ventilation, cooling and supplementary heating.
If you require any more information on heating, cooling solutions or on the Quiet-Vent Comfort Cooler please call our sales and tehcnical teams on 028 2827 5150 / +353 1526 7452.
