An architect in West Yorkshire has achieved high levels of energy efficiency thanks to a heat recovery (MVHR) systems from ADM. In a highly unusual refurbishment, the visionary champion of energy efficiency, who is a RIBA architect, carried out the work on his own property. “My practice focuses on offering clients a complete sustainable solution and so you could say I was practicing what I preach when I refurbished my own home,” said Richard Dawson, Architect and owner of the property. His practice has been improving the energy efficiency of clients’ homes for many years, and he has been a member of The Sustainable Building Association (AECB) since 1992. The energy efficiency features designed in his property include integrated solar thermal panels, improved insulation, ultra low water use, along with an MVHR system from ADM. “Visually the house looks just the same as it did before the refurbishment,” admitted Richard Dawson. “However, we are delighted with the results because it is what you can’t see that really matters. We are now saving around £1,500 a year on heating bills alone, which has been achieved through the MVHR system as well as upgrading insulation and fitting a new condensing boiler.”
Tackling condensation caused by high levels of insulation The MVHR system helped address the potential issue of condensation in Richard’s house, which would have resulted from the lack of natural ventilation created by installing very high levels of insulation – a common problem in modern, draught-proof properties. Moist, polluted air, if allowed to remain in the dwelling, leads to condensation, which is visible with streaming windows, peeling wallpaper, damp bedding and eventually unsightly mould growth leading to permanent damage of the building fabric. Mechanical extract fans are one method of providing adequate ventilation, however, Richard realised that they lead to significant loss of heat, as they don’t provide any form of heat recovery. An MVHR system ultimately provided the solution, because it creates adequate levels of ventilation whilst achieving excellent energy efficiency. It does this by recovering over 90 per cent of the heat from the outgoing, stale air before delivering this into the house as warm, filtered, preconditioned air. Crucially, the system dries the excessive airborne moisture, greatly reducing the relative humidity of moist rooms like the bathrooms and laundries, resulting in much less condensation. This ability to constantly change the air within the property provided another benefit as it allowed Richard to increase the habitable space by converting storage rooms at the back of the house into a living and dining room. Without the MVHR system, it would have been difficult to provide adequate ventilation to these rooms as they are below ground level, this is a result of the house being cut into the hillside. Other energy efficient upgrades on the property include solar panels and a wood burning stove that provides all the hot water. 300mm of insulation was fitted in the loft along with double glazing and lining external walls internally with insulated plasterboard. Chris Marriott, Managing Director at ADM Systems, explains: “Existing properties contribute to around half of all carbon dioxide emissions in the UK, which is why it is so important to focus on improving the energy efficiency of these buildings. We are delighted that we were able to help Richard achieve his goal.”
How the MVHR system works The MVHR System works by a series of ducts that collect stale moist air from inside the property, from areas such as the kitchen, laundry and bathroom. This stale contaminated air passes through the heat exchanger unit and is exhausted to the outside. Clean fresh air is then simultaneously drawn from the outside and, as the two air streams pass each other, the heat is transferred from the outgoing stale air to the fresh incoming air. There is no mixing of air streams.
Information Updated on: 20 October 2011
