Sat 1 Dec 2007
Winter warmers
With winter now knocking at our front doors, Roger Hunt reviews the latest heating solutions on the market.
The future of heating is to recycle the warm air already generated within a home," believes Tony Woodward, Kingerlee Homes' managing director. "This is created, for example, from body heat and electronic appliances, such as computers and washing machines. By extracting the air via a heat exchanger system, over 70 per cent of the normally wasted heat can be returned."This revolutionary technology will often provide sufficient heat on its own, or can be supplemented with a small amount of primary heat source, if required. However, this can only be truly efficient if the property is properly insulated and airtight."
Ventilation specialists ADM claim that heat recovery systems improve thermal performance of a dwelling because up to 40 per cent of heat can be lost through opened windows, extractor fans and trickle ventilators. ADM's system works by using heat generated within the home to pre-heat fresh air from the outside during winter and pre-cool it during the summer; it is then released as fresh air back into the room.
"We are finding that many developers are realising the benefits of fitting a heat recovery system. They are a great way to meet the latest building regulations on thermal efficiency and ventilation, in addition to providing acoustic and energy saving benefits," explains Chris Marriott, managing director of ADM Systems.
"Energy efficient heat recovery systems also have benefits for the health of a building and its occupants. Being able to keep your window closed at peak noise levels such as rush hour is a good way of reducing the effects of noise and air pollution."
Altherma, from Daikin Airconditioning, is a total heating and cooling solution based on heat pump technology. Heat from the air is extracted via an outdoor unit, which upgrades it and transmits it to an internal 'hydro-box', where it is transferred to warm water and pumped to either the underfloor heating elements or radiators. It is claimed that the heat pump is able to handle the full heating load for 90 to 95 per cent of the year; an electric back-up heater handles the remaining load on the coldest days.
With climate change now at the top of the news agenda, David Green, senior sales manager at Daikin UK, points to the awareness of the importance of energy efficiency. "This, coupled with rising energy prices and government legislation introduced to combat carbon emissions, means there is even more pressure on homeowners to look for energy-efficient solutions."
Jason Tinsley, technical and product marketing manager for Mitsubishi Electric's heating department, says: "Over 250,000 heat pump systems were installed in Europe in 2006 so this type of heating is already proven and the advances made in this technology now offer huge potential to help the country reduce emissions."
Mitsubishi Electric has launched the Ecodan heat pump boiler, which gathers over 70 per cent of the heat energy it needs from the surrounding air. It is claimed that the system converts every kilowatt of input energy into an average of 3.6 kilowatts of output energy or heat.
Building on its reputation as a provider of underfloor heating solutions, DEVI is launching the Danfoss range of air source heat pumps. They retrieve energy from the air and are claimed to provide hot water and heating even when the outdoor temperature is -20¼C. With a compact footprint of around half a square metre, the heat pump may be located anywhere where there is an outside wall to site the external air module and can operate with wet underfloor heating or radiator systems.
Adam Groves, DEVI's project sales manager, notes that there is a lot of interest in wet underfloor heating when combined with heat pumps as this is a natural fit. "There is also increasing interest in electric underfloor heating combined with mechanical heat recovery technology as the market becomes aware that this is deliverable under the latest regulations."
While wet underfloor heating systems are widely accepted, installing the systems on upper floors has sometimes been seen as problematic. Building on the success of its existing Fastrack fixing system, Nu-Heat has launched ClippaPlate, a galvanised steel heating plate designed specifically to act as a thermal conductor, improving both response times and ease of installation into suspended timber floors.
Following the success of its original Greenskies FKC-1S portrait solar panel, Worcester has extended the range to include a landscape model plus portrait and landscape versions of a new, high performance, flat plate collector. The panels incorporate a number of features to reduce installation time. Recent additions include new wall-mounting brackets for collectors and in-roof fixing kits to allow for the flush fitting of panels.
Mike McDonald, managing director Elson water heating, believes that providing heating for apartment schemes is getting more complex. "Designers have to balance SAP ratings, planners who want renewable energy to feature in the systems and of course purchasers want to be warm with a system they can control."
Suited to situations where a central boiler is fed by an array of solar panels, the Coral CB from Elson is, in effect, a water-powered boiler designed for apartment blocks. A heat exchanger in the Coral unit transfers the heat from the central boiler into the store within each apartment so the user has control inside the apartment of time and temperature.
Noting that legislation is changing rapidly, Steven Pepper, sales and marketing director for Michael Shanly Homes (Thames Valley), is "fairly open minded" about which heating systems are appropriate. "Our new research and development department is constantly monitoring and testing sustainable energy solutions. "We began using solar panels for water heating in top-floor apartments two years ago and are now incorporating them on a large number of our properties. The feedback has been good with buyers saying they don't notice any difference except that their heating bills are far less than expected. Last year we installed the first heat pump at a development and are currently monitoring results. There has also been a definite move back from electric to traditional gas fired wet system central heating in apartments."
From Viessmann comes the Vitodens 333, a package with a condensing gas boiler and all its controls and connections mounted over an 86-litre fast recovery storage vessel for hot water. This means a flow rate of 19 litres/minute of hot water; enough for two showers together or a shower and other hot water demands.
Providing a hot water supply to a home with a bathroom plus en suite needs more thought than just putting in a combi boiler says Stewart Purchase, Viessmann UK's managing director. "The NHBC is steering designers away from combis, which struggle to meet peak water demands, especially in the winter. Added to that customer perception of a good hot water service is rising all the time."
Ideal Boilers has introducing the SEDBUK A-rated Ideal Esprit HE combination boiler. Available in 24-, 30- and 35-kilowatt models, it has a centrally positioned telescopic flue kit and other features to make installation simple.
Trianco is launching two, no-frills Boilerhouse condensing oil boilers, which provide heat outputs from 14.6 kilowatts to 26.3 kilowatts or 29.3 kilowatts to 37.9 kilowatts respectively. Delivering high performance at economic running costs, they are band B and A compliant.
Radiator manufacturer Stelrad has launched Softline, a range of 94 models in a wide variety of sizes and outputs. They are designed to provide a focal point in a room and bridge the gap between standard and more expensive radiators.
Karen Trewick, Dimplex marketing communications manager, believes it is important to be ready to work with the most appropriate system for a building's needs. "Electric heating offers a number of generic advantages over other fuels and, as the price of fossil fuels rise and resources dwindle, electricity will become the key power source of the future in the UK."The new Girona panel heaters from Dimplex have a glass front panel in a choice of black or white finishes. A sensitive electronic thermostat provides room temperature stability to + or - 0.3¡C. In addition, an extensive range of optional plug-in electronic timer modules improve performance.
French manufacturer Kalirel has launched its new electric central heating system which can be monitored and adjusted by a hand-held remote control. Using wireless technology all the information a user needs to manage the temperature throughout their home appears on the controller's screen.
Drayton Controls has launched the Digistat+ RF, a digital room thermostat which combines temperature control with the flexibility of a wireless system. It is operated by means of a conventional tactile dial control that can be altered in 1oC increments.
First published in Show House Magazine December 2007.
The greatest care has been taken to ensure accuracy but some information contained within this article may have changed since it was first published.
Posted by Roger Hunt
in ADM Systems, Daikin, DEVI, Dimplex, Drayton, Elson, Ideal Boilers, Kalirel, Nu-Heat, Product Portfolio, Stelrad, Trianco, Viessmann, Worcester on Sat 1 Dec 2007
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