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JANUARY 10 - PASSIVENT LAUNCHES NEW OPTIONS TO FURTHER ENHANCE ENERGY EFFICIENCY



New developments which not only maximize the energy efficiency of natural ventilation-based systems, but which allow performance verification, are being unveiled by Passivent Ltd.

The company, which is a leading force in its sector, will be using its stand- 1844- at Ecobuild as the first public showing of its new Thermal Aircool system, and Airscoop Builder software tool. The new developments add further dimensions to Passivent’s established natural ventilation strategies, which are already proven in ‘real life’ to contribute towards an Energy Performance Certificate A rating, by harnessing atmospheric air movement to ensure a fresh, damp-free internal environment with minimal energy consumption. Passivent ventilation reduces energy consumption over air conditioned buildings by up to 50%, yield 15% savings on capital costs, 75% savings on maintenance costs, and eliminate the need for a separate plant room: in one installation the Passivent system is being calculated at reducing energy demand by up to 80%!

Siobhan McVicker, Passivent Commercial product manager, explains, “The new developments continue our heritage of being at the forefront of technology in natural ventilation solutions, and enable specifiers to not only select strategies which effectively ventilate with minimal energy consumption and recued ‘whole life’ costs, but which further enable them to ratify their designs before the expense of procurement and installation.”

Passivent’s new Thermal Aircool combines the established principles of Passivent’s energy-efficient Aircool natural ventilators with an integrated low resistance air flow heater coil, purpose designed for natural ventilation systems. An ‘off-coil’ sensor within the Aircool unit monitors the temperature inside and out, allowing accurate control of the supply air temperature. In colder weather, the external air is gently pre-warmed as it enters the internal space at low level; when air temperatures inside and out are less disparate, the Aircool provides unheated air, drawing fresh external air into the building. As a result, less heating in the building is required to maintain the required internal ambient temperature, optimising occupant comfort.

The company’s new software tool, Airscoop Builder, is the result of collaboration with leading software house Environmental Design Solutions Ltd (EDSL). The utility has been purpose designed to interface with EDSL’s established Tas building thermal analysis tool, which is the first dynamic simulation modeling (DSM) of its kind to be approved for both Building Regulation Approved Document L2 and the Energy Performance Certificate.

Passivent Airscoop Builder utilizes ‘real life’ test data in conjunction with experimental results to provide an accurate modeling tool. A key benefit of the new option is that it accelerates the assessment process, automatically providing the geometry, construction materials and performance parameters of each selected Airscoop model, eliminating the need to input manually and individually, and enabling adjustments to be made quickly and easily to optimize the building’s predicted performance, whether using a wholly natural or mixed mode ventilation strategy.

Passivent is a founder member of the NatVent EC-EU-funded project co-ordinated by the Building Research Establishment to develop practical natural ventilation solutions for the commercial sector, and is developing “smart” solutions to promote adoption of natural ventilation. The company has contributed to the BSRIA guide BG2/2005 Wind Driven Natural Ventilation Systems, and is a member of the DSCF steering committee on ventilation guidance for schools, Building Bulletin 101.

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