VENTILATION & HEAT RECOVERY


Air pollution and existing homes


Wendy Thomas, residential product manager for Nuaire explores the mitigation techniques to keep pollutants out of existing homes


high concentrations of pollutants is harmful to our health, and the effects are cumulative. Elderly people, children and those with existing health conditions like asthma and heart disease are particularly at risk. Reducing exposure to air pollution is now a major government initiative, but the challenge is vast.


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The government has a statutory obligation to keep concentrations of some pollutants below a certain level. These are fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2 and NOX), non-methane Volatile Organic Compounds (NMVOCs), ammonia (NH3) and sulphur dioxide (SO2). These pollutants come from many sources, including road traffic, industrial processes, agriculture and domestic fuel burning. In a recent report by the World Health Organisation, it was highlighted that 37 of 43 air quality zones across the UK have failed to meet EU limits on NO2. With what is now known about the health effects of air pollution, focus has turned to mitigation techniques to keep pollutants out of the home. Technology for air filtration in new build developments is


ir pollution is now recognised to be the greatest environmental threat to human health in the UK. Exposure to


A spoonful of activated carbon equates to the surface of a football field. The pollutants are attracted and held on the surface of the carbon, trapping them before they enter the home


making great strides, with highly-effective carbon filter products that work as part of a ducted Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) system. Nuaire’s inline IAQ-BOX system, for example, removes up to 99.5% of NO2 and up to 85% of PM2.5. Protection for occupants in newly built homes in high pollution areas already exists and, in many cases, is becoming a planning condition. But when you consider there are 27 million existing homes in the UK, compared with 170,000 new homes built each year, the disparity is clear. The industry has been waiting for a solution for the millions of existing homes that are


blighted by poor


air quality. As MVHR systems with


carbon filtration require ducting


Nuaire’s Noxmaster removes up to 99.5% of NO2 and other harmful pollutants generated by traffic emissions and industrial processes


through the property, they are highly intrusive to install in existing homes. But now technology has been developed for existing homes. It combines Positive Input Ventilation (PIV) with high-efficiency carbon filtration to deliver clean, filtered air into the home to within safe levels. Nuaire’s Noxmaster is one such solution that removes up to 99.5% of NO2 and other harmful pollutants generated by traffic emissions and industrial processes. The secret weapon here is activated


carbon. The carbon media held inside a cartridge is microporous and has a much larger surface area than its external dimensions suggest. A spoonful of activated carbon equates to the surface of a football field. Through a process known as ‘adsorption’, the pollutants are attracted and held on the surface of the carbon, trapping them before they enter the home. An additional benefit of combining


New technology combines Positive Input Ventilation (PIV) with high-efficiency carbon filtration to deliver clean, filtered air into the home to within safe levels


carbon filtration with PIV is the reduction in humidity levels which prevents condensation dampness, and the ability to flush out pollutants generated inside the home from the use of household products, cooking with gas and burning fuel. £20 billion is the estimated cost of air pollution in the UK. Reducing exposure to pollutants whilst at home can save lives and improve the quality of life. With the right technology, the control of pollutants in existing homes is now achievable. While we wait for a long-term solution to air pollution, the new breed of mechanical ventilation systems featuring carbon filtration should help reduce diseases like asthma, heart disease and cancer, and increase life expectancy for thousands of people.


32 December 2018


www.heatingandventilating.net


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