AIR HANDLING UNITS
Setting new standards in air handling
As building owners look for practical ways to reduce energy use without compromising indoor air quality, air handling units (AHUs) are becoming far more than ventilation plant. Andrew Latus, Regional Sales Manager for Klima-Therm, explains why the next generation of AHUs will be defi ned by heat recovery, tighter construction standards, intelligent controls and compliance with increasingly demanding UK and European requirements.
"Additional cooling capacity, particularly where it is delivered through heat pump technology, will increase electrical demand at both building and site level."
F
or many commercial buildings, the air handling unit has traditionally been viewed as a necessary background component: moving air, maintaining ventilation rates and supporting comfort. With net zero targets, high energy prices and growing concern about indoor air quality all converging, AHUs are now being asked to do much more. By adding heat recovery to the mix, the unit becomes a central part of the building’s overall heating, cooling and climate control strategy. Heat is recovered by reclaiming thermal energy from extract air and transferring it to the incoming fresh air stream, allowing modern AHUs to pre-heat air in winter and pre-cool it in summer. In well-designed systems, this can recover up to 90% of otherwise wasted thermal energy and reduce building heating demand by 25–40%.
In some applications, particularly where a packaged AHU is
integrated with a heat pump, the unit can make a substantial contribution to heating and cooling provision and may reduce the need for additional wet heating infrastructure. As buildings become more airtight to improve energy performance, ventilation has to be designed carefully to avoid trapping pollutants indoors. The UK Health Security Agency has warned that energy effi ciency measures can inadvertently
increase indoor pollutant concentrations if they are not paired with adequate ventilation. AHUs therefore ensure that low- carbon building design does not come at the cost of occupant health.
For commercial buildings in urban or high-traffi c locations, bringing outside air in must be done in a controlled way, with appropriate fi ltration, pressure management and thermal treatment. Poorly performing ventilation can compromise comfort, wellbeing and productivity; high-performing AHUs can help address all three while supporting wider sustainability objectives.
A tightening regulatory landscape The Energy-related Products (ErP) directive already requires new non-residential ventilation units to achieve minimum effi ciency standards, and bi-directional units must include an energy recovery system with a thermal bypass. Further tightening is expected towards the end of 2026, with the next phase of ErP anticipated to raise performance expectations for ventilation products, fans, motors and heat recovery systems. For those investing in new plant now, it is wise to choose AHUs that go beyond today’s minimum requirements, remaining robust against future regulation. Healthcare guidance is also infl uencing the wider market. HTM 03-01 sets out demanding requirements for ventilation in healthcare premises, including construction quality, thermal performance, fi ltration, hygiene and maintainability. The principles behind this guidance are increasingly relevant across offi ces, education, laboratories, pharmaceutical facilities and other spaces where air quality and resilience are critical. In the UK, Part F of the Building Regulations establishes minimum ventilation requirements, while BS EN 1886 provides a framework for classifying AHU casing performance, including mechanical strength, air leakage, thermal transmittance and thermal bridging. These measures have a direct eff ect on energy loss, condensation risk, fan performance, fi ltration eff ectiveness and long-term operating cost. To support high fi ltration performance and effi cient heat recovery, the casing must limit leakage and heat loss. Specifi ers
20 September 2026 •
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