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HEATING, VENTILATION & SERVICES
through overheating. With this in mind, there will be less of a drive for heating in new builds and an increased focus on cooling. And yet people will still want it. Therefore, it is vital that building designers consider a heating and cooling strategy that works efficiently and seamlessly together. Within the UK Building Regulations, Approved Document Part O provides guidance to building designers on mitigating overheating in residential buildings; reducing the effects. The prescriptive approach within the Approved Document architects on optimising glazing, solar shading and natural ventilation clearly outlines preferred solutions to keeping a building cool.
But problems occur when external factors dictate that passive ventilation can’t be used to control internal temperatures. In this scenario, a mechanical ventilation system such as MVHR forms the base of the strategy for overheating.
Incorporating an integrated system that cools when required can mitigate overheating from the outset, and this can then be adapted accordingly to ensure compliance with best practice guidance (CIBSE TM59) for residential properties.
Space saving and optimised delivery
When planning an integrated system into a build, it is not only important to get the delivery of heating and cooling set up in the best way but also specify the best installation for the services. Design consideration should be given to aesthetics at this stage – how the room will be used and how occupants will operate in the space. Traditional methods to heat and ventilate the property don’t always need to be used. Heating and cooling systems can be provided in combination with existing specifications to assist with the delivery of air into the living areas via many different means.
Semi-rigid ducting for example can take 8 kN of weight on top of it, so it can be laid into the screed of the building and won’t affect its performance. This extends the options for ducting installation and allows for supply air to be delivered from below as well as through the wall or ceiling. Heating and cooling from below can also be done via trench systems – a comprehensive heating solution that is
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An ability to cool as well as heat is essential for futureproofing homes
installed into furrows dug beneath the floor, where an insulated steel box casing is discreetly hidden away from view. Generally, this heating system is installed around the perimeter of a room to create a heat curtain across large windows, but can also be adapted to deliver a supply of fresh air into a room via the integrated ventilation system.
Heating and cooling from above should also be a consideration. Floor and wall space is often at a premium, so using radiant heating panels for heating and cooling in the ceiling can free up precious space in the room for furniture. It also makes maintenance and servicing easier and more accessible.
Discreet supply and extract valves can also be installed into the corner of a ceiling to distribute airflow evenly across the ceiling and into a room. Using an innovative airflow pattern known as the Coanda effect, the air dissipates directionally using blanking plates, so no downward draughts are felt, yet clean air is delivered optimally into the room it serves.
Designing for the future Homes of the future will see systems working together as one, adopting climate strategies for the property that fundamentally change the layout of a building to assist with how we live in it – creating more space, better indoor air quality and cost savings through more energy efficient systems.
Imagine a home that is powered by
solar, driving energy into a heat pump that provides heated or cooled water into a ventilation system that also delivers additional heating or cooling by feeding radiators or radiant panels on the ceiling to create whole house climate control – all systems working together like cogs in a machine, unseen and unheard.
Only when we look outside the norm and imagine a different approach to a building ecosystem, will it significantly improve not only the health, but also the wealth, of the homes we design and build.
Jason Bennett is national business development manager at Zehnder Group UK
ADF MAY 2024
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