Heating and Ventilation
LG Electronics has recently achieved the Quiet Mark accreditation for its leading air to water heat pump – the Therma V Monobloc ‘S’. LG has been awarded the Quiet Mark for a wide range of more than 100 of its home appliances – washing machines and the like - but this is the first Air Solutions product to receive the accolade and now joins the esteemed line up of Quiet Mark certified products available from LG.
Vent-Axia, the leader in low carbon ventilation, has launched its Net Zero Retrofit Solution to help social housing providers meet carbon targets. The range has been specifically developed to provide increased ventilation whilst minimising unnecessary heat loss through heat recovery technology. The UK is committed to meet Net Zero targets by 2050. This sets a tough challenge for social housing providers to improve their energy efficiency and so lower the carbon emissions in their properties, without detrimentally affecting the indoor air quality (IAQ) in their homes. Increasing airtightness in homes to improve energy efficiency can create areas where moisture condenses, leading to mould growth which blights many homes across the UK.
The majority of Britain’s tower blocks have originally been designed to provide affordable and safe housing to a large number of residents. With great views and surrounding public open spaces, many of them were created to replace damaged or unsanitary pre-war dwellings, with the aim of modernising our cities and improving the living conditions of many.
However, despite the designers original intentions, tower blocks are now notorious for high energy bills. This is due to the fact that most of these high-rise, multi-occupancy buildings use electric storage heaters that are expensive to run and don’t provide adequate temperature control. This challenge is especially serious in the case of social housing blocks, where residents are particularly vulnerable to fuel poverty.
Mainstream media has been buzzing these last few weeks with stories about households being forced onto prepayment meters because they have been unable to pay their bills. British Gas has come under particular fire due to employing bailiffs who have allegedly used threatening behaviour to enter people’s properties and install prepaid meters.
This has generated a lot of negative reactions - and understandably so. People are being expected to find sometimes hundreds more pounds a month from incomes that have not increased in line with inflation, to cover household bills and everyday shopping essentials, the costs of which are spiralling out of control.
A national trade body is signposting social housing professionals to a range of services to find a trusted route to solve damp and mould issues in properties.
The Property Care Association, which has been in formation for ninety years, is the UK trade body for companies and professionals who specialise in the diagnosis, control and management of dampness in buildings.
Its members understand all the different variables which can affect moisture levels in properties, such as the building’s construction, style of occupation, heating, thermal performance of walls and floors, and the provision of air exchange.
Fuel poverty is a serious issue across the UK, especially for families living in old, energy inefficient housing. As the temperatures drop and the cost of energy rises, tackling this issue is high on the agenda – and housing associations, among others, are addressing it as a top priority. To reduce costs, an increase in energy efficiency is a must, and action needs to be taken as soon as possible to lift households out of fuel poverty.
Alongside fuel poverty, achieving net-zero is another key national issue. For housing associations that we at Mitsubishi Electric are working with, these heating options are not mutually exclusive. Not only does an implementation of energy-efficient measures reduce operating costs, it also slashes the carbon impact of providing power to tenants.