Heating and Ventilation

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.

Leading ventilation manufacturer Vent-Axia has launched the Lo-Carbon Calido, decentralised mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (dMVHR) unit, to help social housing landlords tackle condensation and mould while reducing energy bills. Offering up to 80% heat recovery the Calido is designed for retrofit properties, allowing landlords to easily install discrete decentralised mechanical ventilation with heat recovery in existing homes, improving indoor air quality and energy efficiency. With pressure on social housing landlords to both tackle condensation and mould in their housing stock, while reducing carbon emissions the Lo-Carbon Calido’s dMVHR is the ideal solution.

Condensation and mould specialists, Airtech Solutions, is offering expert advice and help to social housing providers following the Rt Hon Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, writing to council leaders and social housing providers regarding damp and mould. His letters highlight landlords’ responsibility to take action to protect residents from hazardous damp and mould following the tragic death of Awaab Ishak. As a result, the minister asks both council leaders and social housing providers to treat damp and mould more seriously.

Leading HVAC manufacturer LG has recently launched a New Build Design Service, to assist new build developers including social housing developers when specifying heat pumps into new homes. In the short time it has been in place, it has already been welcomed by new build developers taking advantage of the new service.
This new service is for developments of 6 or more plots and will provide full designs for plumbing and heating layouts along with equipment schedules that specify the heat pump required, radiator or underfloor manifold heating positions, pipework type and length and controls to ensure that the system which is specified will provide the necessary heating and hot water solution for any house archetype. Furthermore, LG also offers a unique service for CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) analysis, determining the optimal location and performance simulation of the outdoor units.

With autumn now our doorsteps, Tom Bowland looks back at a scorching hot summer in the UK and what this means when it comes to overheating and building design.

I’d like to say that as I write this blog in the fading heat of what was a really hot summer, I am sitting in the comfortably air conditioned Mitsubishi Electric offices in Manchester. Unfortunately, I’m working at home, with no cooling other than an open window and plenty of ice cubes in my drink.

Here in the UK, our buildings have primarily been designed on the principle that this is a cold country, leaving them ill-designed to cope with heatwaves. Years of legislation aimed at reducing energy use (with the best intentions) have resulted in air-tight buildings that effectively lock in the heat when temperatures rise.

by Scott Ditchfield, Head of Sales Network - Residential Product Group, Mitsubishi Electric

Decarbonising the built environment is one of the biggest focuses in the UK today, in order to reach the ambitious goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Heating and hot water are big emitters of carbon, so changing the way we heat homes is vital to achieving this – and housing associations embracing low-carbon heating play an important part.
 
For social housing, keeping tenants warm and comfortable while ensuring energy costs stay low is critical. As we head into the colder months, it’s important that housing associations are supported to be able to move towards technology like heat pumps, which can provide heat and warm water to multiple homes or apartments, while being efficient enough to keep both energy use and costs to a minimum. 

Electric heating is continually becoming an increasingly viable option for heating properties in the UK. New Government legislation heralds a change in how SAP determines a properties ERP Rating – to almost the same as gas. This change allows widespread use of electric radiators and electric boilers, which are widely understood as having low installation costs, no flue requirement, low maintenance, rapid heat up times and high efficiency. This modern method of heating is shaping up to be a popular choice for the future of home heating within the UK.

Electric Heating Systems are 100% efficient at the point of use. If you pay for 1kW of electricity, you will benefit from 1kW of heat. This is much higher than alternatives which can lose heat through flues etc. When paired with solar PV panels, efficiency of electric heating systems improves, and the carbon dioxide produced reduces.