|
Fresh air from the heated floor
More comfortably and healthily living, higher productivity at work: the combination of hot water underfloor heating and controlled ventilation in the “Air conomy®” system raises the standard of comfort in the living room and office, without pushing the costs to the limits. The building specialists from Schütz Energietechnik, from Selters in the Westerwald in Germany, were able to create this difference by way of a clever new technology. They made the rear side of the back plate out of polystyrene, which was originally used to hold the heating pipes in position, truncated cones act as spacers between these and the paving. This creates a hollow space, through which fresh air can flow and be heated.
As ventilation and heating are combined into one unit, work needed to install is reduced considerably and therefore the costs involved as well. “Air conomy ®” also offers one the possibility to connect various pumps for warm or cold water to either heat a room in winter or cool it in the warmer summer months. The system is therefore capable of fulfilling the criteria of the so called “Bielefelder verdict”.
It is not even necessary for the whole area of the floor to be ventilated. It is sufficient to have a few channels in each room to be able to obtain the hygienic minimum air quantities required. “Air conomy” heats or cools to the left and right of these channels as a normal surface heating system. In office buildings, where the required air circulation is higher, the whole floor must be fitted.
Both ends of the hosing are connected to the source of heat. The air is provided by a central apparatus with heat recuperation. It blows the air into a galvanised channel, which distributes it into the hollow zones. Exit modules near the windows allow the air to be released draught free. Draught free because the temperature of the air is only 3 K higher than the required room temperature so no apparent difference is noticed.
The comfortable temperature of the source air, approx. 23°C, contributes very little to heating the room – that is a job for the surface heating – , the main task for the convection is the renewing of the air. Thanks to the low temperature level the hygiene disadvantage usually connected with such systems is avoided, a great deal of dust. In actual fact the filters in the central unit continuously purify the air going into and coming out of the system, which is especially helpful for people with allergies. The standard model for a detached house circulates approx. 270m per hour; the office version can circulate many thousand cubic metres. A hydraulic switch between the heating and cooling function is integrated.
|
