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Until relatively recently, traditional methods such as fires and trickle vents have been used to heat and ventilate Irish homes. Ardent Ireland have chosen to achieve the nZEB standard at Bower Hill by using a fabric first approach, combined with a renewable electricity air to water heat pump and heat recovery ventilation. We believe that all homes in Ireland should be built to this standard by ensuring optimal air quality, with comfortable temperatures, low running costs while protecting the environment.
All homes at the Bower Hill development will be built in compliance with the Nearly Zero Energy in Buildings (nZEB) standard.
The building sector is one of the key sectors to achieve the 20/20/20 targets of the EU. Beyond these targets, Europe also aims at bringing about drastic reductions of greenhouse gas emissions in the residential and service sectors of 88% to 91% compared to 1990 by 2050.
European regulations require an nZEB building to have a very high energy performance, where nearly zero or a very low amount of energy is required to maintain comfort. Energy that is required must to a very significant extent, be supplied by renewable sources produced on-site or nearby.
Lower heating requirements due to reduced heat loss and air infiltration.
Breathe easy, with constant clean fresh air & mould free rooms
There is a constant supply of fresh. Superior quality air throughout your home without any need to open windows or doors.
Advanced filters clean all incoming air ensuring dust or other airborne particles aren’t introduced into the home.
Constant supply of fresh air through the mechanical heat recovery system (without any heatloss from open windows, or traditional ‘normal’ room ventilation).
The UK Government recently stated “Research shows that being in a room with fresh air can reduce your risk of infection from the COVID virus by over 70%, as fresh air dilutes the particles1”. Using ventilation to either introduce, or increase fresh air circulation in the home is therefore central to reducing virus infection rates.
Humidity control reduces mould occurring, protecting the whole family, including those especially vulnerable, like children, the elderly
and those with respiratory conditions.
Airtight homes allow less external noise into the home than a traditional ‘leaky’ home that has open wall ventilation.
Studies have demonstrated that homes with
lower external noise provide health benefits to occupants such as :
Improved sleep quality reduced risk factors for cardiovascular diseases such as:
– hypertension
– myocardial infarction
– stroke
– diabetes.
The MHRV system is a whole dwelling ventilation system that continuously supplies and extracts air at a low rate. It removes stale warm air from “wet rooms” such as kitchens and bathrooms and supplies all other rooms in the home with fresh air. This ensures odours and unwanted moisture are removed from the home. Before exhausting the stale air out of the building, the valuable heat contained in the stale air is efficiently transferred into the incoming fresh air to ensure it isn’t lost and is distributed around the home.
The heat exchange unit is installed in the loft space and hidden rigid ducting supplies fresh filtered air around the home. Supply and extract diffusers are fitted to the ceilings and are adjusted to balance the system.
Each “wet room” will also have a boost switch to temporarily ramp up the extract when needed. The system works most effectively when left running with windows closed but there is nothing to stop homeowners opening windows on summer days.
Air to water heat pumps (AWHPs) absorb heat from the outside air to heat your home and hot water.
These incredibly efficient heat pumps can still extract heat when air temperatures are as low as -15°C. This means they can work far more efficiently at low temps than a standard boiler system would. An air-to-water system distributes heat via specialised, designer radiators.
The system will ensure that you have a warm comfortable home all year round with an abundance of hot water.
AWHPs use a vapour compression cycle which is the same as that used to extract heat from a domestic fridge. This means that an air to water pump can offer between 1-3 times more thermal energy to a home than the electricity it uses to run. They always deliver precisely what is needed without any input from you, saving money, time and the environment.
