Modern homes and buildings are achieving greater levels air tightness with and have requirements for substantial levels of insulation. This dramatically affects how the building performs from a humidity, moisture management and fresh air point of view. The number of studies carried out on existing buildings are limited but generally conclusive. Natural ventilation can be demonstrated to comply from a regulatory point of view but real life testing conflicts.

There are many ventilation options on the market at the moment from centralised to decentralised heat recovery to demand controlled, positive pressure ventilation, passive stack ventilation, natural ventilation, trickle vents and purge ventilation. Studies tend to prove that without adequate mechanical ventilation in the appropriate locations it can  lead to moisture build up and condensation issues. This follows on to mould growth and poor indoor air quality.

In renovation projects increased insulation in walls and roofs is called for to increase building performance. If naturally follows that airtightness is improved in upgrades. Prior to the renovation the ‘leaky’ building fabric provides enough unplanned fresh air to maintain air quality – comfort and heating costs are sacrificed in this scenario. The safe solution is, to install an adequate mechanical ventilation system that best suits you and your house. These could be any of the options below

1. MEV – Mechanical Extract Ventilation. Manually controlled Extracts  to wetrooms and fresh air supplies to living rooms – LUNOS Silvento ec + ALDR
2. DMEV -Time, Temperature and humidity controlled Extract Ventilation controlled Extracts  to wetrooms and fresh air supplies to living rooms – LUNOS Silvento FK + ALDR
3. Hybrid Systems-  Timed Extracts to wetrooms and Heat recovery to living rooms – LUNOS Silvento ec + E2 +Nexxt
4. MVHR Systems Timed Extracts to wetrooms and Heat recovery to living rooms – LUNOS EGO + E2 + Nexxt

Some relevant topics that need to be noted and discussed when choosing a ventilation system are not only the cost.

• SFP specific fan power or energy consumption, this can fluctuate depending on the system
• CE marking-  have they been tested and references of where they have been used?
• Noise level or db level and at what distance is that measured away from the fan. LUNOS measure at 1m, where most supplies measure at 3m.
• Pressure difference. Is it capable of maintain the extraction rate regardless of external conditions or meeting the air extract demand of a dwelling eg. Wind, exposed area, coastal region. LUNOS radial fans are superb in this area.
• Warranty with the system, are parts easily replaced if something breaks
• How often do filters need to be changed or cleaned
• Efficiency of the system
• If it is a heat recovery system how much heat does it recover summer ventilation mode
• Can the system be upgraded

One of the largest general studies was carried out in Germany- 5530 units!. Building standards are higher there and yet 21.9% of apartments had visible moisture damage. Visible damage is a sign of serious issues but health can be affected much earlier and so it is likely that up to 50% of said dwellings have issues. 

 Causes are poor ventilation, high moisture/humidity and thermal bridging. Solutions would start with non user controlled ventilation.

The following study ”Evaluation of the Impact of Retrofitting a Mid-terrace 1950’s House in Dublin on Indoor Air Quality” in 2010 *concludes in a monitored test environment that good indoor air quality is not assured when complying with building regulations through the input of intermittent vents and fresh air supplies. .

Natural ventilation is flawed for many reasons but the uncontrolled fresh air supply on cold days or exposed houses often mean that said vents are blocked. The actual extract would normally create the demand for fresh air intakes but if the extract fans are not running constantly at a minimum speed fresh air will not be maintained.

Lunos have three main types of system solutions,

LUNOS- Demand Controlled Ventilation system or decentralised MEV as it is noted under the SEAI DEAP software. This performs very well in practice and in DEAP software.  The SFP is only 0.35 W/l/s for the RA 15-60 . This is a cost effective solution which can be upgraded to heat recovery in the future as it also uses the LUNOS 160 series sleeves. Air supply is attenuated for sound, air flow and is also filtered. The sound difference from inside to outside is quite high of 55db. Filters are of a high grate G2 filter class which can be washed dried and reused. The system is uncomplicated to install as  air supply vents are non mechanical while extractor fans in the wet areas can be wall or ceiling mounted, humidity sensors can controls the speed of the fan boosting or slowing the fan depending on the humidity in the air.

Lunos – MVHR decentralised mechanical ventilation with heat recovery has one of the highest heat recovery efficiency on the market has an average heat recovery of 90.6% for the e² and incredibly low SFP generally but the lowest reading is for the LUNOS e²neo model with 0.54W/l/s. There are three types of fan units for the Lunos MVHR system – e² Nexxt and e^go. The e² is for all the habitable rooms and the e^go are used for all the wet rooms, The Nexxt unit is larger and can ventilate large areas. E² operate in pairs they are made up of a honey comb designed ceramic core element making up the majority of the unit, internally the unit has a fan which alternates direction from extract to supply every 70 seconds. While the fan operating in extract the hot air is charging the ceramic core heating the unit and then after 70 seconds the fan changes direct and supplies fresh air. While the new fresh air is passed though this now heated ceramic core element it heats up and ventilates through the house. 

Lunos – Hybrid decentralised heat recovery ventilation incorporates both types of Lunos systems together MVHR and DCV. This is system would have an approximate efficiency of >80%. It consists of e² units in all the habitable areas and extractor fans on timer delay modules in the wet areas. The extractor fans would be wired to operate to come on every 4hr for 15mins and can be manually operated also. The majority of the ventilation would be by the e² units.  

* Source – ”Evaluation of the Impact of Retrofitting a Mid-terrace 1950’s House in Dublin on Indoor Air Quality” by Aereco  

We would like to welcome Ken Todd and Phil Slater to the LUNOS network. Together they operate  MGO  - Sip systems throughout the UK and bring a wealth of experience to an exciting line of product development from LUNOS. They will be available for sales, design assistance,  product demonstrations and CPD’s for Scotland.

Ken has been involved in offsite construction and property management/development and brings a keen understanding of the requirements and issues with ventilation in new and old properties.  Phil is technically focused, innovative and creative – a natural fit for LUNOS decentralised ventilation systems.

LUNOS are market leaders in the German decentralised ventilation market and pioneers of decentralised heat recovery ventilation. Decentralised heat recovery has continued to grow in Germany (The most developed MVHR market worldwide) where centralised MVHR had a decline of approximately 8%. The decentralised ventilation market is becoming more important worldwide and LUNOS as market leaders are continuing to develop incredibly efficient systems while maintaining customer a focused design ethos. This is particularly evident in the new Nexxt unit which is available of this week.

To contact the team please visit LUNOS UK here

MGO SIP Systems

Suite 195, Station Square,
Inverness IV1 1LD
01381 620708
www.mgo-sipsystems.co.uk

Since 01 January 2016 Directive 2009/125/EC with Commission Regulation (EU) no. 1253/2014 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 1254/2014 have been bindingly implemented in the EU. Due to the uncertainty of the values to be calculated, LUNOS Lüftungstechnik GmbH für Raumluftsysteme has always assumed the lower energy efficiency class with some devices and is now publishing the new, actual efficiency classes.

“Our units e2 short, e2mini and ego have each been upgraded by one energy efficiency class from B to A,” explains Michael Merscher, technical manager at LUNOS. “The e2 neo has now been classified into the energy efficiency class A+ instead of A.” The already strong e2 fan with heat recovery could thus improve once again. Even the fgo is actually by some classes more energy-efficient than previously indicated. 

Since the ventilation expert initially assumed the lower values with respect to the applicable standards and regulations in ErP Labelling due to the fluctuations that currently prevail in the market, some products were first classified into the lower energy efficiency class. “Our clients even benefit from this, because they bought the powerful and energy-efficient units anyway, and now they can see how little power they actually consume”, Merscher states. All clients can download the respective new labels for their devices indicating the actual energy efficiency class from the company’s website. “In this way, the users obtain written confirmation that their LUNOS devices are indeed more efficient than initially indicated in early January,” adds Merscher.

Originally passed in 2010 to replace the old EU Framework Directive 92/75/EEC, the Energy Labelling Directive 2010/30/EU was intended to make an important contribution to the increase of energy efficiency in Europe. On this basis, regulations were issued for selected product groups, which include detailed, product group-specific requirements and labelling information valid throughout the EU. Regulations (EU) no. 1253/2014 and (EU) No. 1254/2014 are applicable to LUNOS ventilation units.

New efficiency classes at LUNOS Press Release LUNOS Lüftungstechnik GmbH LUNOS Lüftungstechnik GmbH für Raumluftsysteme ∙ www.lunos.de ∙ info@lunos.de All ventilation units with heat recovery and all units with an energy consumption of more than 30 watts need to be labelled. The new exhaust air unit LUNOS Silvento ec is so efficient and economical that it must not be labelled at all, since its energy consumption is less than 30 watts.

LUNOS Lüftungstechnik GmbH für Raumluftsysteme is a long-established Berlin company and has been known worldwide as a manufacturer of innovative and energyefficient ventilation systems for more than 56 years. LUNOS engineers are constantly working to develop new devices for efficient use in apartments and buildings. This is how LUNOS has managed to establish itself not only as the market leader for energy-efficient ventilation units, but also as a reliable partner whose clients can always be sure of the quality and durability of its products. The core competencies of LUNOS lie in the field of controlled home ventilation with and without heat recovery and the development and manufacture of energy-efficient fans and outer wall air vents. Furthermore, LUNOS develops all associated components and many other products such as exhaust fans and façade ventilation systems with hidden vents. LUNOS also provides services such as technical advice and the creation of ventilation concepts.

For more information and information material on the Directive 2009/125/EC see www.lunos.de

Chosen by Germany’s specialist craftsmen and retailers

Plus X Award honours 5 brands as ” Fachhandwerksmarke des Jahres 2016″:

• Vigour (sanitary facilities)
• Buderus (heating)
• LUNOS (air-conditioning & ventilation)
• Jung (electrical & media technology)
• Würth (tools)

This special award “Fachhandwerksmarke des Jahres 2016″ honours the brands that support the skilled crafts with their concepts in a particularly cooperative way. Specialist trade and skilled craft businesses were encouraged to vote for their favourite brands.

“The high level of participation from specialist retailers and skilled craft businesses shows the importance of a successful partnership between the stationary trade, traditional crafts and conscientious brand management. Especially in times in which the end users increasingly obtain information and services via the Internet, a straightforward and pragmatic cooperation between the two partners is more important and valuable than ever. In view of the ever-changing markets, the Plus X Award, one of the largest projects to protect and strengthen the trade and trade brands, attaches particular importance to the presentation of top performers thus aiming to provide a building block in the cooperative partnership between the two parties”, says Donat Brandt, president of the Plus X Award.

LUNOS is particularly pleased with this award. We thank all those who voted for us. Of course, we will continue to set a high value on good service at all times.

For further information see www.plusxaward.de.