In the existing housing sector, there is a big task in the form of energy transition. Innovations are needed that are going to help accelerate the changes. And innovations there are! This was demonstrated, among other things, during the trade show Renovation & Transformation, where a new balanced ventilation system won a sustainability award.
Sustainable upgrading
At the fair, the Sustainable Innovation Award, the award for the best innovation in the field of sustainable upgrading of existing real estate to the 'HDA WHR out of the box'. This is a balan ventilation system for gallery flats, developed specifically for the renovation market by Zehnder Group Netherlands in cooperation with HDA Haarlem.
Mascha van Duijn, marketing en communicatie specialist at Zehnder explains how that collaboration came about: 'HDA Haarlem and Zehnder both received requests from the market to thinking about a balanced ventilation system that could be placed outside the home. In relatively small homes, you prefer to ginstall a 60 x 60 cm. ventilation unit because That comes at the expense of the living space of the residents. So we had to look further, and realized that the outdoor space offered possibilities.’
Metal casing
Specifically, de cooperation in an specific solution: a ventilationunit to tussen two consoles of a gallery flat to be placed. 'But,' says Van Duijn, 'als you hang an installation outside, you must be sure that the interior is protected from heat and cold. A casing is then a must, and that's where the expertise of metal company HDA Haarlem. The housing contains the WHR 920 heat recovery unit with sound attenuation and is intended to at the gallery, so outside the dwelling to hang. In this way kan er per apartment healthy and comfortable ventilated, without that it comes at the expense of space in the home. Another great advantage is that periodic maintenance and replacing filters done can be without that there access to the property needed is.’
Practical solution
The new WTW unit for gallery flats is aninnovative and very practical solution for renovation of existing buildings. Van Duijn: "Many thousands of porch and gallery flats were built in the 1950s and 1960s. They are now being renovated on a large scale toreduce net heat demand and ventilation losses. This balanced ventilation system is a no-regret measure to provide apartments with a healthy and comfortable indoor climate. It enables housing corporations,VvEsand other property owners who want to sustainably renovate their property to do so relatively easily. We are proud that we (together with HDA Haarlem of course) have been named winner of the Sustainable Innovation Award . We get many positive reactions to this solution. It very clearly fills a need.'