How ErP Directive Affects Residential And Non-Residential Ventilation

How The ErP Directive Will Affect Residential And Non-Residential Ventilation Systems

By Ruth MacEachern

Product Manager

ErP Legislation that came into effect in January 2013 has been designed to decrease the energy consumption of products across the European Union (EU). In November 2009, the EuP Directive was replaced with the ErP directive, or Energy Related Products Directive which includes fans and ventilation equipment in its scope.

Rory Percival, Technical Manager at ventilation system manufacturer EnviroVent, looks at the impact that the new ErP (Energy related Products) Directive (residential and non-residential) could have on the ventilation systems that are specified and installed.

What is Erp?

“As regulations are becoming ever more stringent in improving airtightness in homes, ventilation products are also becoming increasingly energy efficient. The 2010 revisions to Part F of the Building Regulations focused heavily on the importance of correct installation to guarantee the system’s performance. It also required that they should be user friendly and easy to maintain. Moving forward, this may result in a step change to more of a ‘systems’ approach in the new build sector, which will see the sector increasingly opting for MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery) systems.

Since 2010, updates to Building Regulations Approved Document F classed domestic ventilation as ‘notifiable work’. This meant that ventilation systems had to be carried out by a competent and qualified installer. This has opened up opportunities for installers to train towards becoming BPEC qualified. Many have done this and as a result have become certified to be able to install various types of domestic ventilation products, as well as test and commission these systems. It is one of the reasons why we continue to run a BPEC Approved Training Programme ‘Ventilation Installer Training’. The result for installers is that a new income stream can be identified where they can fit complete systems, which is more lucrative than simply fitting single extract fans.

The new ErP (Energy related Products) Directive, covering ventilation units is due to be introduced on 1st January 2016. This focuses on ventilation units over 30W, which will impact mainly on Mechanical Extract Ventilation (MEV) and Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) Systems. It requires all ventilation units, except dual use versions, to be equipped with a multi-speed drive or variable speed drive, which means that some units currently on the market will become obsolete. In addition, all MVHR units (Bi-directional Units) will be required to include a thermal by-pass facility.

The new ErP legislation is set to have a major impact on the ventilation products that are available on the market. The onus is therefore on ventilation system manufacturers to ensure they are selling products which feature a CE mark.

To meet this demand, we recently introduced an innovative whole house mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) system. The energiSava 250 offers a cost-effective solution to meet System 4 of Building Regulations Part F requirements. It is also one of the most compact, light weight and energy efficient whole house heat recovery systems on the market.

The energiSava 250 works by extracting moisture laden air and re-supplying clean, fresh air into a property, whilst recovering up to 91% of the energy that would normally be lost through traditional extract ventilation. It offers low energy consumption and is suitable for small-to-medium size houses and apartments with its compact design meaning it can fit into the space of a standard kitchen cupboard.

The product offers low energy consumption and uses an intelligent humidity tracking system to ensure a property is correctly ventilated at all times to control condensation and improve indoor air quality. With its automatic summer bypass, the unit controls the temperature of the incoming air on warmer days and the frost sensor protects the unit during the colder months.

MVHR systems are becoming more widely specified, which means there really are many opportunities for installers. As the new ErP Directive is set to be introduced by January 2016, there are many opportunities for installers to choose certified, ventilation systems which are future proofed to meet the ever more stringent requirements.”