Vent-Axia has been made preferred ventilation supplier for the 'livinhome' housing project, a new approach to affordable housing developed by Geraghty Taylor Architects and Guildhouse-Rosepride.
The livinhome initiative - which is currently being piloted in Croydon, Salford and Aylesbury - aims to provide 'environmentally friendly, functional living spaces at affordable prices'.
The concept of livinhome is to offer flexible, easy to live in accommodation suited to all generations 'by bringing together high quality design and emerging technologies for excellent cost and energy efficiency', explained Vent-Axia.
A livinhome is constructed using SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels) and built around a central chassis, onto which a range of exterior and interior building systems can be fitted. These properties are designed to suit changing lifestyles; houses can be adapted by simply changing internal walls, to create a duplex or a series of apartments.
Key benefits of livinhome properties are said to be high thermal performance and air-tightness, which simply means the heat used to warm the air in the house stays in the house. This air is kept fresh throughout the house using a ducted heat recovery ventilation system.
Vent-Axia has been contracted to provide all livinhome houses with its Lo-Carbo Sentinel Kinetic mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) and Sentinel Kinetic Cooker Hood range of fans. Specifically designed for new build constructions with a high level of insulation, the Sentinel Kinetic is claimed to be ideal for increasingly air tight homes and complies with the latest Building Regulations Document F 2010 for wholehouse ventilation, System 4. The system is designed to produce 90 per cent heat recovery, which will help reduce the DER of livinhome properties.
The exact ventilation rate can be set on the LCD display at normal, boost or purge speeds to match the volume of the property. This operation is said to be enhanced by a range of internal and external, plug and play control and sensor options which can account for changes in humidity, air quality, PIR (Passive Infra Red), CO2 and temperature. In addition, a user enabled night-time purge facility can help reduce summer overheating.
The system's operating temperature settings can be pre-programmed for automatic operation of the summer bypass, providing free summer cooling. Wireless control options are also available.