Breathing Buildings’ NVHR® Wins at HVR Awards

Breathing Buildings is celebrating winning ‘Commercial/Industrial Ventilation Product of the Year’ category at the HVR Awards 2018. The Cambridge-based company’s new energy efficient NVHR® (Natural Ventilation with Heat Recycling) scooped the award at a glittering awards ceremony on Thursday 25th October at London’s Chelsea Harbour Hotel.

With a wave of innovative products being launched in response to changing legislation and regulation, this year’s product categories were more hotly-contested than ever. Ultimately it was Breathing Buildings that came out on top, winning the Commercial/Industrial Ventilation Product of the Year award for NVHR® – which according to the judges, stood out in a high-quality category for its technical features, ability to tackle energy efficiency and environmental issues and to provide excellent indoor air quality in schools and other facilities.

“We are delighted our NVHR® system has been acknowledged at the HVR Awards,” said Matthew Bray, Commercial Director at Breathing Buildings. “At Breathing Buildings we are committed to designing solutions to create efficient, healthy and comfortable environments in schools that enable children to benefit from effective teaching and learning spaces. The new BB101 2018 guidance sets more stringent air quality targets, is tougher on summertime overheating, and recommends pre-mixing of incoming air to eliminate cold draughts, all of which are achieved by our new NVHR®. We are therefore thrilled to have gained industry recognition.”

Recognising the vital importance of good indoor air quality (IAQ) and thermal comfort, the new NVHR® from Breathing Buildings is designed specifically to meet the robust ventilation criteria set out for schools. Its patented ultra-efficient facade-based mixing ventilation allows single-sided, enhanced natural ventilation in deep plan spaces whilst making the most of internal heat gains to deliver superb thermal comfort and indoor air quality. Its award win is therefore particularly timely since it comes shortly after the launch of the new 2018 edition of BB101: Guidelines on ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality in schools. The 2018 BB101 has added hybrid ventilation as a design solution for schools and focuses on the vital balance of indoor air quality, thermal comfort and efficiency.

Breathing Buildings’ new NVHR® is the next generation of energy efficient hybrid ventilation, offering almost 50% reduction in energy savings and so operating costs. Boasting the highest energy efficiency and air flow within the acoustic limits required for its school application, NVHR® comprises both natural and mechanical ventilation. Allowing low-energy hybrid natural ventilation, even in buildings with limited facade and roof space, highly efficient mixing fans mitigate cold draughts in winter and provide a ventilation boost in summer. Fitted with external and internal temperature sensors and an intelligent controller, the system monitors conditions to create an ideal indoor environment, boosting both productivity and wellbeing. NVHR® optimises indoor air quality, comfort and efficiency by automatically switching between natural, hybrid and mechanical ventilation, maximising benefits.

Designed particularly to provide enhanced single-sided, natural ventilation in classrooms, NVHR® is suitable for use in almost any building due to its small size and can be deployed in offices, meeting rooms, public areas and other deep plan spaces. NVHR® has three modes: Summer mode, Winter mode and Summer boost. In winter the heat recycling strategy for ventilation offers huge heating-bill savings for schools while providing good ventilation. The mid-season natural ventilation mode enables the unit to maximise the benefits of passive ventilation. The Summertime boost function fully opens the unit’s damper to maximise ventilation and cooler air.

Featuring easy-to-use controls with manual override NVHR® allows schools without a BMS to benefit from the technology while also offering full BMS integration. Room temperature and CO2 sensors further ensure comfort in schools and compliance with BB101.

Organised by Heating and Ventilating Review (HVR) magazine, the HVR Awards recognises and rewards companies that demonstrate excellence in their field and true innovation in the way that they operate or in what they produce. Find out more at www.hvrawards.com.

Breathing Buildings is committed to excellence in school ventilation design and has launched a new sector-specific brochure titled ‘Ventilation for Schools’ which can be downloaded here.

For further information on new NVHR®, as well as other products and services offered by Breathing Buildings, email us at  info@breathingbuildings.com or call us on 01223 450060.