Set in the picturesque Leicestershire countryside, Coppice Farm with its five barns and elegant manor house is full of classic, original features. However, incorporating a mechanical heat recovery and ventilation unit around such features posed a fair challenge to developer Andy Winterton of Conquest Homes.
With the square footage of the smallest barn reaching an impressive 2,500 sq ft, and elements such as beams and vaulted ceilings to contend with, Mr Winterton needed a ductwork system that offered both flexibility and ease of installation. Disappointed with the original MVHR flat duct system chosen, he switched to Airflow’s new Airflex Pro Semi-Rigid Ducting and the Duplexvent DV72 Heat Recovery unit because of the small diameter and remarkable flexibility of the pipe.
“We were able to run the Airflex Pro through vaulted ceilings and hide it easily within the wall insulation,” commented Mr Winterton. “The installers found it to be incredibly easy and quick to run the 75mm diameter pipe through the various rooms of the house to the unit in the loft space. Where the ducting needed to run into the vaulted ceilings in the main living space we were able to position the ducting unobtrusively in the insulation and in false beams.”
Site manager, Trevor Waites agrees: “We initially used the alternative system because of box sections, however, with vents in almost every room it proved too much for the system and we found it noisy when we switched it on due to the numerous joints. Airflow’s system handled the job well, proving to be more effective than a flat duct system by connecting each room individually. In addition, it was extremely quick to install, which is excellent when building to a tight deadline. We were even able to bend it round to almost a 150mm radius in order to get it through tight joist spaces.”
In addition to the flexibility of the ductwork, both the Airflex Pro ducting and the Duplexvent DV72, which offers over 90 percent heat recovery, are inputs into SAP calculations via Appendix Q.
Airflow Marketing Manager, John Kelly, who recently visited the Coppice Farm site, said: “This type of installation is exactly what the Airflex Pro is designed for. It has given the installer the freedom to run numerous pipes comfortably through narrow, confined and awkwardly shaped areas in order to deliver a highly efficient MVHR system, providing a comfortable, healthy indoor environment and thereby reducing the building’s overall energy usage and carbon emissions.”
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