IMPROVING AIR QUALITY THROUGH CENTRAL VENTILATION
 |  |  |
The housing agreement concluded in February 2021 is both ambitious and necessary. The Netherlands needs more housing. According to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), half of these houses will be built in the cities or inner-city areas, and will therefore be high-rise buildings. High-rise or stacked housing is therefore on the rise.
STACKED HOUSING: THE CHALLENGES
New homes will be built in accordance with the applicable building regulations and will therefore need to be very well insulated. The challenge high-rise homes have been facing for years is the heat island effect. This is a phenomenon in which the temperature in urban areas is several degrees higher than elsewhere. Good ventilation is therefore extra important. The energy efficiency of the buildings must not be at the expense of the indoor climate conditions and therefore living comfort.
The usual decentralised ventilation systems often consist of grilles and a negative pressure system. This brings many disadvantages, particularly in urban areas: polluted air is sucked in, grilles are often closed due to drafts or noise nuisance, and the extraction ventilation box often generates noise during the necessary air movement.
The advantage in high-rise buildings is that the concentration of air pollutants decreases at a great height. Air pollution is spread and diluted by the wind, which means the concentration of particulate matter almost decreases proportionally with altitude. The most optimal place for drawing in fresh air is therefore from a central point and at a greater height, instead of being decentralised and/or through a façade or window grille. The central air treatment means professional filtering of the outside air is also possible. Maintenance in the homes is therefore no longer necessary.
CENTRAL HEAT RECOVERY WITH EXCEPTIONALLY LOW EPC < 0.15
The system developed by the Hiensch and Barcol-Air consultancy firm consists of a demand-driven balanced ventilation control unit (CERA unit) placed in the home. The CERA unit can also control the living room and bedroom separately. The unit is combined with an energy-efficient, central Liberty air handling unit in CERA version on the roof. Compared to conventional systems, energy consumption for ventilation and ventilation transmission can be reduced by 30% – 50% by setting up the system in this way.
The Zalmhaven in Rotterdam (NL), provides space for approximately 260 apartments and, at 203 metres, is the tallest building in the Benelux. In collaboration with Barcol-Air (part of HC Groep), this very prestigious project on the river Maas is equipped with a CERA system with 2 central Liberty air handling units.
These supply-exhaust units with cross-flow exchanger and an air volume of 40,000 m³/h each were lifted all the way to the top of the tower. This was a tough operation with casings of almost 4 metres wide and 4 metres high.
If you have any questions, please contact your account manager or our Knowledge Center.
