Natural ventilation assists social housing provider in the search for cost effective sustainability

A pioneering project by St Albans City & District Council to assess and implement cost-effective sustainable energy solutions in social housing is being helped by Passivent.

The Council is creating a pilot ‘ecohome’, refurbishing a three-bedroomed 1950s built semi-detached home in Smallford to include equipment that will reduce energy consumption and encourage recycling, such as a domestic wind turbine, recycling of rainwater for toilets, and Passivent natural ventilation systems.

The performance of the systems will be monitored, and used by council staff and private individuals to determine which solutions would be effective to incorporate into future refurbishments.

The kitchen, bathroom and WC in the home will feature Passivent Passive Stack Ventilation extracts, whilst the habitable room windows throughout the home will incorporate Passivent Energy Saver tricklevents.

Passivent Passive Stack Ventilation functions primarily using natural air movement, 24/7.
A humidity sensitive extract in the ceiling is linked via ducting to a terminal on the roof. The extracts respond automatically to changing moisture levels in the room and modulate the ventilation rate accordingly.

Warm, moist air (and odours) in the, kitchen, bathroom and WC rise up the duct by natural convection; enhanced by wind blowing across the roof (the Venturi effect), ensuring efficient extraction of the damp air, thus providing constant condensation control and maintaining a dry, fresh environment within.

The system has no mechanical parts to go wrong or need replacing, operates silently, does not need any electricity, and is not dependant on human input switching it on or off for operation.

The Passivent Energy Saver window vents contain humidity sensitive cassettes, which open and close in response to individual room humidity levels, ensuring an appropriate flow of dry, fresh air from outside . The vents direct any incoming air upwards, eliminating any risk of draughts. Because they open and close as required, there is no need for occupant operation, making them ideal where manual control is difficult because of the location of the window or vent or because of human limitations such as infirmity or disability. The vents can be installed either in the window frame with a suitable external grille, or on an Overglass Vent Bar.

Paola Munn, St Albans City & District Council, commented, “I am keen to show that these sustainable technologies can be successfully installed and provide significant cost savings to the family that will live there.”

Passivent supplies a comprehensive range of natural and assisted ventilation solutions, from complete ‘whole house’ systems through multi-occupancy buildings to through-window and through -wall trickle ventilators, with the added comfort of BBA certification. Passivent is part of the Building Product Design Group, which specialises in developing innovative yet practical ventilation and roofing products in line with changing market requirements.

Passivent are highly experienced in the field of offering tailored ventilation solutions to Housing Associations. Key issues associated with low energy and sustainability are always at the forefront of design considerations, whilst also ensuring that system performance and indoor air quality are not compromised.

Passivent can offer the following to care home providers to ensure adequate ventilation solutions are specified:

• Free on-site technical assistance
• Free CPD seminars
• Online SAP calculations
• Predicted Energy Assessments
• Free estimate and design service

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