VENTILATION
30,000: The number of new MVHR installations a year in the UK
Air apparent The drive towards energy efficiency has often come at the cost of air quality in the home, threatening human health and driving the need for mechanical ventilation. Installers have an important role to play in this – but have responsibilities too
Piranha Photography
By Rob Shepherd
32
I
n recent years the need for greater energy efficiency within the built environment has driven the move towards low carbon-emitting structures. A far cry from the draughty buildings of yesteryear, modern homes are now designed to retain as much of their heat as possible in order to
adhere to energy efficiency legislation. With high energy prices, retaining heat makes sense from an economic as well as an environmental point of view. Indeed, 2014’s amendments to Parts L and F of the Building Regulations tightened up the focus on energy efficiency, and the former included a six per cent uplift in standards for new homes, compared with the 2010 version. It also introduced the Fabric
Energy Efficiency Standard (FEES), which focuses on the efficiency of the fabric of a new home. “There is a drive to deliver a fabric-first approach to energy efficiency, and this means increased air tightness and insulation,” says Michael Bates, associate product manager at Elta Group. “The drawback is that the natural infiltration of fresh air is reduced.” Taking into account that each of us exhales between 10 and 75 litres of
Winter 2015-2016 Connections
32-34 Ventilation.final.indd 32
18/01/2016 10:01
