The heat recovery system is now becoming a standard in single-family homes. Since the requirements for the indicator defining the Primary Energy required for heating purposes decreased at the beginning of 2021, every investor must at least consider the use of ventilation with heat recovery in their home. These are the requirements of the building law, but more and more people are convinced that such a solution significantly improves the comfort of living at home.
The advantage of heat recovery is not only saving energy for heating, but also, and perhaps most importantly, significantly improving the quality of air in the house. Constant ventilation ensures a continuous supply of fresh air, which is cleaned of smog thanks to filters in the heat recovery unit, and we do not have the effect of blowing cold from previously used window ventilators. In addition, heat recovery removes excess moisture from the interior, which is particularly troublesome on hot days, while in winter it can cause the multiplication of microorganisms and the development of mold.
The aforementioned advantages of heat recovery are causing its popularity and investors' interest to grow steadily. The system installation is so simple and intuitive that it can be performed by installers already on site, e.g. during the installation of the heating system. This will be possible especially if they choose a system solution, simple, whose manufacturer provides a detailed executive project enabling correct execution and start-up even with little experience.
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Heat recovery units for Vasco family homes
Such a system was developed by the Belgian company Vasco, which has been developing a group of products covering a comprehensive heat recovery solution for single-family homes for 12 years. Vasco manufactures heat recovery units, as well as a complete system of ducts and accessories for a ventilation system with heat recovery. The holistic approach distinguishes Vasco, which designed the system from scratch: a heat recovery unit, i.e. a central unit that drives home ventilation with heat recovery and a comprehensive system of ducts and their connections (intakes - roof, wall, terrain) and additional elements that enrich the system and extend its functionality (filters of various classes, humidifier).
Vasco paid special attention to creating a complete and silent system, because from the beginning this requirement was considered by the company as key to convincing customers to install mechanical ventilation in their homes, which is usually associated with the noise known from ventilation in public buildings, shopping centers or workplaces. The achievement of the effect of silent ventilation operation consists of silent recuperators, in particular the latest model DX 
available in the nominal flow range from 400 to 580 m 3 /h, which is sufficient for most single-family homes. It has been developed to achieve record low acoustic power on the supply to rooms. No less important for the overall effect are also EasyFlow channels - i.e. a HDPE distributor system with a specially aerodynamically developed cross-section together with noise-dampening elements. The EasyFlow channel system has a total height of 6 cm and allows for the flow of up to 75 m 3 /h of air through one channel, which means that installations can be very simple, and therefore particularly easy to properly perform and start the system with a reduced risk of implementation errors.
It is particularly important that in the case of purchasing the entire system, VASCO delivers a technical implementation project that includes not only the route of the ducts, but also the precise settings of the Vasco air supply and exhaust damper settings, which have as their unique feature a very precise and at the same time easy regulation of the air flow. Vasco diffusers have a scale from 1-18, and the appropriate settings calculated by the designer are included in each project delivered for the complete Vasco system. In such a case, the start-up and regulation of the ventilation system consists only of setting the diffusers in accordance with the project and confirming the correct amounts of air after measuring with an anemometer. The system is so precise and predictable that additional regulation will often be unnecessary.
Vasco has done a lot to make it easier for installers to install a heat recovery system, but above all, it is a system prepared for the end customer. For them, easy operation is important thanks to a smartphone application with a weekly programmer, with information on the operation of the heat recovery unit and the necessary settings. The quiet operation of the ventilation system during the installation of the entire Vasco duct system, as well as the DX series heat recovery unit, is also particularly important for the customer. Vasco also offers additional devices, among which the Crystall Round electrostatic anti-smog filters deserve a special mention, which, thanks to the use of special technology of electrical charging of smog particles, achieve the ability to purify the air at the level of absolute filters, removing practically all impurities from the air before it gets inside the house.
VASCO brand recuperators
VASCO for the installer
Since the beginning of 2022, Vasco has launched the CashBack program for installers installing the Vasco heat recovery system. Installers who register on the Vasco website will be able to send scans of their purchase invoices with the Vasco heat recovery range after each purchase of a heat recovery unit and VASCO duct system components. In return, they will receive points on their account for which they will be able to collect e-coupons, which can be used to pay for purchases in many online stores, as well as stationary ones: Allegro, Empik, Morele.net, RTVeuroAGD, Decathlon, Zalando, Biedronka and many others. Information about the program and the registration page can be found at: www.vasco.eu .
Recuperation and air conditioning
Investors often ask the question: can recuperation also act as air conditioning? The answer to this question is not clear. Most recuperation units have a bypass and the ability to cool rooms with colder night air bypassing the exchanger. It is also recommended to reduce the air flow supplied on hot days to minimum efficiency, and increase it during colder nights. This will allow us to ventilate the building with cooler night air.
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But what about this air conditioning? When designing recuperation, we make assumptions based on the minimum required amount of air needed for breathing, in this case the amount of one air exchange per hour will be as correct as possible, but when designing ventilation in such a way that it could supply air with parameters appropriate for air conditioning, it would be necessary to assume the number of exchanges at the level of 4-5 per hour. An installation calculated for such indicators would be significantly oversized (significantly larger ducts, ventilation units), could cause too much draft in the rooms and would be uneconomical in use.
For a medium-sized single-family home, the power of the freon cooler needed to cool the amount of air supplied would be around 3-4kW, which will only allow us to supercool the ventilation air flow by a few degrees. Comparatively, to cool the living room in such a house, the air conditioner would have to have a power of 2.5-3kW.
It is important not to forget about the additional costs of such an investment. The cost of purchasing and operating a freon cooler with a unit, and the need to fully insulate the supply ducts in order to protect them from moisture condensing on them.
To sum up, recuperation cannot replace the air conditioning system itself, and only when installing a freon cooler is it possible to lower the temperature by a few degrees - we will not achieve efficiency comparable to an independent air conditioning installation.
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Waldemar Tomczuk, Vasco
Iwona Gemborys, DDT Onninen