A ventilation heat recovery unit was installed in an Electricity Council Research Centre test house. The unit consists of a cross flow heat exchanger augmented by a small heat pump. It supplies warm air to all inhabited rooms, while extracting air from kitchen and bathroom. Trials were run during the winter of 1986/87. The unit provided a ventilation air flow of 180 m 3 h-1, and a gross heat input to the house of 1.7 kW; this figure is averaged over time, and includes the effect of defrost periods. An overall coefficent of performance of 3 was achieved. Such a system can provide the greater part of the heating requirement of a low-energy house, and has its own advantages over other heating systems.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Dickson D J JUser experience of mechanical ventilation in housesProc. 3rd AIC Conf. ( London) (1982)
2.
Reay D.A.Heat Recovery Systems: A directory of equipment and techniques ( London: Spon) (1979 )
