Breathing Buildings, a leading provider of controlled natural and hybrid ventilation systems, has introduced the new NVHRe to its award-winning range of Natural Ventilation with Heat Recycling (NVHR®) systems, raising the bar on energy efficient ventilation.
Breathing Buildings
The key difference between the original NVHR® range and the new Natural Ventilation with Heat Recycling and Heat Recovery (NVHRe) is an addition of a low resistance heat exchanger cell within the unit. This allows the unit to benefit from both heat recycling and heat recovery, reclaiming even more heat than previous models, saving more energy, providing great occupant comfort, and allowing users to include it within the building energy assessments (SBEM).
Boasting the lowest energy consumption for a hybrid heat recovery ventilation unit in the industry, the NVHRe combines 46% heat recovery efficiency with low Specific Fan Power (SFP) of 0.093 W/l/s to help maximise a building’s energy savings. In addition, the NVHRe has several different operating modes to minimise energy use, enhance indoor air quality (IAQ) and improve occupant comfort. An intelligent hybrid system, the unit automatically decides when and if mechanical operation is required, ensuring it only operates when absolutely necessary.
Providing excellent thermal comfort and enhanced IAQ, the NVHRe is designed to suit a diverse range of commercial and public buildings with high heat gains, such as schools, colleges, leisure centres, offices, theatres and even churches. The inclusion of the low resistant aluminium cross plate heat exchanger to the unit lowers energy costs by reducing the reliance on space heating to maintain thermal comfort in a room. It operates during colder external temperatures, typically below 7ºC when mixing recycled air alone is not enough to maintain the desired temperature for occupants.
The range also includes units that can be the primary source of heat; needing no radiators, as well as a system that can offer further cooling. The British designed and manufactured units come in three models with product variations to suit every need with the standard NVHRe 1100 an NVHRe+ 1100 which includes a heating coil and is ideal for buildings in cooler areas; and an NVHRe C+ 1100 which features both heating and cooling coils for year-round comfort and full temperature control.
Louise McHugh, Product Manager at Breathing Buildings said, “The NVHRe marks the next step in hybrid technology. Offering an industry-leading ventilation product for schools, which boasts the lowest energy consumption, Breathing Buildings’ NVHRe delivers 46% heat recovery efficiency with extremely low SFP levels to help building owners achieve their sustainability targets on the journey to Net Zero Carbon. With energy costs high, building owners are increasingly looking for energy efficient ventilation solutions, the NVHRe offers this plus its heat recovery reduces the amount of energy used for heating.”
The NVHRe hybrid ventilation system’s ultra-efficient facade-based mixing ventilation allows single-sided, enhanced natural and hybrid ventilation in deep plan spaces whilst making the most of internal heat gains, with the addition of heat recovery to deliver superb thermal comfort and indoor air quality. Hybrid ventilation focuses on the vital balance of indoor air quality, thermal comfort, and efficiency by choosing the most appropriate mode of ventilation based on the internal and external conditions, allowing the NVHRe to be in the most energy efficient mode possible at all stages.
NVHRe comprises both natural and mechanical ventilation, as well as heat recovery. Allowing low-energy hybrid natural ventilation, even in buildings with limited facade and roof space, highly efficient mixing fans mitigate cold draughts in winter and provide a ventilation boost in summer, with the addition of heat recovery to bolster winter thermal comfort, minimising the need for a primary source of heating for the space, in return reducing energy costs. Supplied with an external temperature sensor, and an internal temperature and CO2 sensor, as well as an intelligent controller the system monitors conditions to create an ideal indoor environment, boosting both productivity and wellbeing.
NVHRe optimises indoor air quality, comfort and efficiency by automatically switching between natural, hybrid, mechanical ventilation and heat recovery, maximising benefits. The unit has four modes: Summer Natural Mode, Summer Mechanical Mode, Winter Mode: Mixing and Winter Mode: Mixing with Heat Recovery. The Summer Natural Mode enables the unit to maximise the benefits of passive ventilation by opening the damper and ventilating with zero cost. The Summer Mechanical Mode enables the hybrid technology to maximise ventilation and cooler air. In Winter the Mixing Mode and Mixing with Heat Recovery strategies offer huge heating-bill savings as they recycle and recover heat while providing ventilation to ensure excellent indoor air quality and thermal comfort that enhance occupant comfort, health and productivity.
Featuring easy-to-use controls with manual override NVHRe allows buildings without a Building Management System (BMS) to benefit from the technology while also offering full BMS integration. Furthermore, the NVHRe has ultra-easy app-based commissioning for a faster, safer, and more accurate installation.
Aesthetically designed to meet the requirements of a variety of commercial and public authority applications, the NVHRe is ideal for both concealed or exposed installations. Manufactured using high quality components, the unit is easy to install and maintain. All core components are easily accessible with access gained from beneath the unit. Each component can be serviced to ensure it operates efficiently and for as long as possible enhancing the overall longevity of the unit, rather than needing to replace a whole unit. Breathing Buildings has given careful thought to the entire lifespan of the NVHRe, ensuring that all key components are recyclable at the end of use.
The NVHRe is ideal for optimising learning conditions in schools throughout the day and to further assist classrooms with pupils who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) the NVHRe controller has a ‘dark’ option whereby the lights on the controller are very low. It has a trusted controls algorithm delivering excellent thermal comfort and indoor air quality, and is exceptionally quiet. Designed to meet thermal comfort and air quality criteria of: BB101 (2018) and CIBSE TM52, the Breathing Buildings NVHRe also offers quite operation meeting BB93 – Acoustic design of Schools, performance standard and is fully compliant for classrooms, science laboratories and offices. In addition, when installed appropriately the NVHRe also meets DfE Annex 2F – Department of Education guidance on Mechanical Services and Public Health Engineering. In addition, the unit meets Part F and Part L 2021 performance and SFP requirements.
Breathing Buildings’ multi-award-winning natural ventilation with heat recycling (NVHR®) range won the Energy Efficient Product of the Year Award at the prestigious Energy Awards, and also recently won three awards for providing ventilation to the East Anglian Air Ambulance project with the Breathing Buildings’ NVHR® range.
For further information on NVHR®, NVHRe and E-stack ventilation, as well as other products and services offered by Breathing Buildings, please contact us using the details below.
