MVHR and building physics knowledge for a healthy, comfortable and energy efficient home
Heat, Space and Light Ltd has completed the design, supply and commissioning of a Passivhaus-specification MVHR ventilation system for a luxury new build in the northwest of England. The home was also tested by our building airtightness team and achieved an incredibly airtight result of 0.76 m3hr/m2 @50Pa. It’s only slightly shy of a fully-certified … Read more
Heat, Space and Light Ltd has completed the design, supply and commissioning of an MVHR system in a four-storey London terraced home. The property has undergone a deep retrofit to EnerPHit criteria, which is the retrofit standard for Passivhaus. Passivhaus building standards are a stringent methodology using high levels of insulation, airtightness and ventilation with … Read more
Lately we’ve been seeing a few MVHR manufacturers offering “free” MVHR ductwork designs with their product sales. If you’re planning an MVHR system in 2022 for your build project you will have likely been offered or found a free MVHR design service yourself. At Heat, Space and Light we charge for our MVHR detailed ductwork … Read more
Are eco-friendly passive houses for rich people? Eco warriors? Self-builders? Housing associations? Or are they only the preserve of our more logical, engineering-minded continental cousins in Germany? Passive Houses are for everyone. To build a Passive House, ie, one that runs at ten per cent of normal household bills, doesn’t need any extra technology like air-source heat … Read more
Modern homes are shifting towards increasing levels of airtightness in order to secure heat-saving benefits. With increasing levels of airtightness comes a need for a ventilation strategy. For Passivhaus, this means an MVHR system. Heat from the home is lost in two ways: through the fabric elements as it passes through our walls, windows, doors, … Read more
Not many UK builders have embraced PassivHaus principles yet. Below are a few ways that builders in the UK can ruin low energy homes, either by ignoring or failing to understand the new wave of low energy design and build techniques that help create modern, ultra-comfortable, money-saving eco homes. 1) Ignoring the airtightness membrane UK Building … Read more
Building physics is a relatively new science that’s only recently started to gain ground in the UK construction industry. A lot of builders nod agreeably when you mention “PassivHaus”, but not many know what it means when it comes to actually building your future home to that standard. PassivHaus takes a “fabric first” approach … Read more