A suitable void three bedroom mid-terrace property in Mottingham was identified in January 2008, and a range of eco measures, including Vaillant’s ecoTEC high efficiency boiler and recoVAIR heat ventilation system, were put in place to help reduce C02 emissions. It is estimated that the new technology could reduce the residents’ fuel bills by as much as 65%, which equates to approximately £600 a year.
Paul Kellaway, Commercial Manager at Mears, commented on Vaillant’s contribution: “The Vaillant boiler ticked the boxes required for use in the Hyde house project. Recommended to us by our preferred supplier partner, Travis Perkins, the selected ecoTEC plus 612 is reported to give the greatest energy efficiency to output currently on the market and this was a key aspect for us. Vaillant’s quality of service and supply was also extremely important and, based on our recent experience of Vaillant, we’d be happy to specify the range for other environmental projects.”
Mark Elton, Head of Sustainability at ECD Architects, explained how the project used various technologies to provide a template for future housing stock: “Retrofit initiatives in the past have focused primarily on installing individual renewables or other low-carbon technologies. However, we agreed that the aim of this project would be to establish the most effective overall package of retrofit measures necessary to achieve the 80% reduction in CO2 emissions, and to monitor the performance of the low-carbon improvements in use.”
He continued: “The project will record the impact of the retrofit on the incoming tenants over a 24 month period. The results will be assessed through a range of measures, from heat meters on the Vaillant boiler, to the tenant’s energy bills. As no actual code for existing sustainable homes exists, the project will be used as the basis of a Hyde consultation paper, identifying the most effective measures that can be practically replicated in future retrofit projects.”
The ecoTEC plus range of high efficiency condensing system boilers is SEDBUK A rated, and represents the most compact system boilers ever developed by Vaillant. They offer simple installation and unrivalled siting flexibility. All six models (612, 615, 618, 624, 630 & 637) have a two year warranty and offer outputs of 4.9kW - 37.0kW CH. Each ecoTEC plus boiler has a fully modulating low NOx burner and fan which delivers improved energy efficiency and is compatible with the full range of Vaillant accessories and controls. It has a built-in display with comprehensive status and diagnostic information, as well as push button programming for easy use, and a single electronic circuit board which makes it easy to commission and service. In addition, it has a built-in two stage frost protection to prevent damage caused by freezing.
The recoVAIR offers maximum energy efficiency, as the unit is capable of recovering up to 95% of heat from exhaust air. Running costs are kept low, as the unit uses two integral speed-controlled DC fans – one for the supply air and the second for extraction. These can be matched to the ventilation requirements, reducing the need for wasteful and noisy duct dampers. The airflows are managed so that each passes through the heat exchanger in a ‘counter-flow’ way to transfer heat from the extracted air to the incoming fresh air supply. This brings the temperature of the incoming fresh air close to room temperature, reducing the amount of additional energy needed to heat the property to homeowners’ requirements.