The application of mechanical ventilation with heat recovery in today's construction industry

In recent years a larger emphasis has grown around the area of sustainable development and ‘green’ building technology. It has come obvious that changes must be made. As a result of this, buildings are becoming more energy efficient in order to cut down CO2 emissions and help the environment. Another issue for building owners is the rising energy prices and running costs of a building. These costs are not welcome at a time when our country is coming out of a harsh economic downturn. As a result new materials and technologies have been developed to act as a catalyst to get the construction industry back on its feet. One of these technologies is Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery. This dissertation aims to understand how these systems work, their impact on the environment and their cost beneficiaries. A case study is undertaken to show the process of installing an M.V.H.R. unit to a commercial building. This dissertation finds that once a building has a sufficient level of air tightness it will allow an M.V.H.R. system to work most efficiently. These factors will also contribute to a return on the system in just a few years as well as minimal environmental impact.