Heating and Ventilation

As social housing becomes increasingly airtight to improve energy efficiency, more homes are being blighted by condensation, mould and the associated problems they bring. And as the weather cools, residents are more likely to keep windows closed eliminating natural ventilation and allowing condensation to thrive. With the condensation and mould season now upon us, social housing providers will be pleased to know that Airtech has developed a comprehensive service over the last 25 years to offer landlords solutions to overcome this problem and help create healthy homes for residents.

Condensation and mould can wreak havoc. Not only does it create the need for redecoration, it can cause costly damage to the fabric of the building. Add to this the fact that it leads to poor indoor air quality (IAQ), which can have health consequences for households, and landlords can have a serious problem on their hands. In the English Housing Survey 2016: stock condition by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, the report found that the most common type of damp was serious condensation and mould.

The continuing housing shortage and the demographics of an ageing population are increasing the popularity of apartment living as well as sheltered housing schemes, and also fuelling rapid growth in the uptake of communal or district heating schemes.  The new EVOLUTION boiler ranges from Stokvis Energy Systems are ideally suited to power such projects. 

The R40 EVOLUTION and R600 EVOLUTION series represent the latest generation of Stokvis Energy Systems’ long-established and widely-specified boilers, which can be installed along with the manufacturer’s H Series Heat Interface Units (HIUs) to supply heating and domestic hot water to individual dwellings.

The UK is the world’s sixth largest economy and that’s a fact, so too is the rise in fuel poverty, where one in ten households is now affected. Terri Taylor, Marketing Executive, Intergas Boilers, discusses the importance of partnership to illuminate, educate and eradicate.
Fuel poverty – a combination of low income, high energy prices and energy inefficient housing – is not new, in fact it’s been a political issue since the early 1970s, but it entered the nation’s conscientiousness almost 20 years later when, in 1991, Dr Brenda Boardman wrote Fuel Poverty. This book became the reference text for anyone interested in this growing problem.

For any residential building project, it would be fair to say that time saved on site is hugely beneficial for developers, contractors and housing associations alike, helping to reduce project costs and enabling residents to occupy properties as quickly as possible. With this in mind, Evinox Energy has introduced remote commissioning and warranty validation for their ModuSat heat interface units (HIUs), which can significantly reduce the cost of commissioning and time spent on site by engineers manually checking and adjusting settings.

Many other heat interface units for communal and district heating developments require an engineer to physically attend site to set-up every individual unit manually, adding time and cost to the project. Evinox’s electronically controlled ModuSat HIU’s feature SmartTalk communication technology and can be connected over the internet to remote servers, enabling Evinox to check the operation of each unit remotely and adjust settings where required.

The boiler performs many operations during its normal working day, but access to its brain would provide social landlords with useful, sometimes vital information; when you can act on that information remotely and instantly, then you have control on an unprecedented level. Terri Taylor, Marketing Executive, Intergas Boilers, discusses why insider information will improve efficiency and deliver the evidence for more accurate long term planning.

The 18th century proverb ‘look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves’ is as relevant today as it was then. The idea that very small savings will eventually make a big difference is understood by the many, but over time is possibly practised by the few. While some of us could spend weeks, months or years looking for the big idea, the Eureka moment that will make massive savings, it’s the small actions that can be made today which relieve long term financial and environmental pressures.

A brand new residential development in Manchester is meeting its environmental planning requirements thanks to an Ecodan system providing community heating to 105 new homes.

The Aaben is a modern development of 105 homes, all available for market rent, on Leaf Street in Hulme. Located just south of Manchester’s city centre, Hulme boasts a creative art scene, independent restaurants and cafes and a thriving local community.

The development itself is named after an old building dating back  to the 1920s which was situated close by until it was knocked down in 1993. For decades before it had served as a community cinema and, for a short time, a bingo hall.

The rigours of modern life mean we may spend around 90% of our time indoors. Sadly however, the air in our homes can be up to 5 times more polluted than the air outside. 

As UK homes become more airtight due to energy efficiency requirements, accumulated pollutants are being prevented from escaping. The concern for indoor air quality is increasing, not least because poor indoor air quality is linked to a host of serious health conditions and loss of life.