The Vasco D13 wall-mounted recuperator is an ideal solution for the thermal modernization of apartments and houses. When the house is insulated, the windows are replaced with tight ones, decentralized recuperation is a way to ensure comfortable air exchange while minimizing heat loss.
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Condition for the success of thermal modernization
In order for the heating energy demand of a house or apartment to be significantly lower after thermal modernization, it is necessary to seal the house, because only then will the heated air not escape outside. However, by installing tight windows in a renovated house, we could cause stuffiness, moisture and, as a result, the comfort of living will be very low. Therefore, if we seal the apartment or house by replacing the windows with new ones, we need to take care of the air exchange - it is necessary to install ventilation with heat recovery, which adjusts the amount of fresh air to the needs, and from the exhaust air removed outside, it takes heat to heat the fresh and cold air from outside.
Ventilation with heat recovery, called recuperation, is an important conclusion to thermal modernization, thanks to which it is possible to combine energy efficiency with comfort and health, thanks to fresh air. In recent years, recuperation has become a standard in newly built houses. The entire system consists of a central recuperator and a network of channels that reach all rooms, where they usually end on the ceiling with supply and exhaust air valves. The recuperator removes heat from the exhaust air in order to heat the outside air directed to the living room and bedroom, where it is transported through channels. In this way, the house is systematically ventilated, but the heat is retained inside. Thanks to this system of controlled ventilation with heat recovery, residents of houses with an installed recuperation system can enjoy fresh air in winter.
The combination of comfort and energy efficiency means that more and more investors are installing heat recovery systems in their homes year by year. But what about homes that were built without such a system? And even more so with apartments that previously had no mechanical ventilation installed, assuming that the residents themselves would take care of the ventilation by periodically opening the windows?
Fatal consequences of lack of ventilation
If you want to have fresh air inside, you have to constantly ventilate it. When you stay in a closed space in a house, you exhale large amounts of carbon dioxide from your lungs, which, if not discharged outside and concentrated, causes first uncomfortable, and above a certain level harmful content in the air.
As a result, people become sluggish and tired. An unpleasant stuffiness is created, and the air seems "dense". We also exhale water vapour, and normal household activities: cooking, washing, bathing produce large amounts of moisture. It is necessary to remove air with an increasing content of CO2 and moisture to the outside, and to supply fresh air from outside with a low content of CO2 and moisture.
However, if we let in outside air directly through open windows or vents, it will have a negative temperature, so it needs to be heated. At the same time, the air expelled from the house outside is warm - all the energy that was used to heat it is wasted forever. Therefore, without a recuperation system, we are forced to choose:
- whether we accept stuffiness and humidity but save on heating, or vice versa,
- we air the house according to our comfort level and in return pay inflated heating bills.
A solution for every home
Someone who builds a new house has no problem with the above choice, they simply build a house with a recuperation system. But what about renovations and thermal modernization of old houses and apartments?
Installing a heat recovery system with a ventilation unit and a duct system is usually impossible. This is because installing heat recovery would mean having to remodel the interior and limit its space – for example, by hiding the ventilation ducts in suspended ceilings. However, the high cost of such a large-scale renovation is not the only obstacle; a much bigger and often insurmountable obstacle would be the need to lower the ceilings in the rooms below the minimum allowable heights.
However, residents of existing houses and apartments who are determined to carry out full thermal modernization in their homes do not have to give up the benefits of ventilation with heat recovery. And they should not, if they also intend to replace the windows with airtight ones and want to actually achieve the effect of reducing heating bills. In order to combine energy efficiency with comfort, in addition to replacing the heat source with a more efficient one, insulating the walls and replacing the windows, they should definitely also organize the ventilation of the rooms by installing mechanical ventilation with heat recovery.
Especially for such cases, when it is not possible to install a recuperator with a duct system, decentralized recuperation was created with Vasco D13 devices, which are mounted point-wise in the walls and managed centrally – by radio in the mesh network.
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How does the Vasco wall recuperator work?
Each of the Vasco D13 wall-mounted recuperators has a fan with a variable operating direction and a ceramic heat exchanger. Installed in a wall drilled outside, the D13 changes the fan's operating direction every minute. The principle is that these devices work in pairs: 2-4-6-8-10 devices for one apartment or house. Thanks to this, the balance of the amount of air expelled and supplied at the same time is maintained.
Heat recovery is achieved in this system by periodically changing the direction of the fans in all devices at the same time. In the exhaust phase, which is carried out at a given moment by half of the devices, warm air flows through narrow channels of a ceramic exchanger, which heats up and stores heat. After a minute, the fan stops and starts working in the opposite direction, forcing air from outside through the same exchanger, where the air heats up in the narrow channels. All the fans in the entire house or apartment are synchronized with each other and the change of direction in all of them occurs at exactly the same moment. In this way, all the time, around the clock, at any moment, half of them work in the supply phase, and the other half in the exhaust phase.
How to properly plan the Vasco recuperator system?
It is crucial to properly locate D13 devices mounted in external walls. Usually, one wall heat recovery unit in a room is enough, if the pair for it is a second one located in an adjacent room. It is important to ensure air flow under the doors, so check whether the doors to the rooms have a sufficiently high undercut. With wireless synchronization, there is no need to connect the devices with each other and with the controller with cables, however, each Vasco D13 device and each controller controlling all wall heat recovery units for the apartment require a 230V power supply supplied to the device from the nearest point - a rosette or socket.
When planning a system based on Vasco D13 wall recuperators, it should be taken into account that these devices, working in pairs and simultaneously changing the direction of the fans, are designed to ventilate rooms in which household members constantly stay. These are rooms such as: living room, bedroom, study, child's room. For each fan, the start time is set during start-up. In air supply phase or exhaust by setting the switch on the PCB. They should be placed in the rooms designated for ventilation, ensuring air flow (under the doors) through the corridors, so that the entire space inside the house is actually covered by air exchange.
Rooms, In which are there high, but short-lived moisture emission: bathroom, toilet, kitchen; should be provided in working order temporarily exhaust fans, for example switched on by a humidity sensor or by switching on the bathroom lighting, in the case of kitchen - hood with outlet to the outside.
Vasco D13 wall-mounted heat exchangers are based on a heat exchanger made of very high density ceramics, thanks to the high precision of the production, the air channels have a very small cross-section, thanks to which, while obtaining optimal thermal capacity, the entire exchanger has a relatively small depth compared to competitive solutions. The aerodynamic housing of the two-way fan is also unique due to the use of materials with a high capacity for storing heat. Thanks to the combination of these two exceptional, basic elements of the D13 wall-mounted heat exchanger, a device was created, the minimum installation depth of which is 20 cm.
Typically, walls, especially in older buildings undergoing thermal modernisation, are much thicker and thanks to this, it will be possible to place optional comfort-enhancing elements in the available space – an acoustic silencer and, increasing the benefits of using the device – highly effective air filters protecting the interior of the apartment from plant pollens that are irritating to allergy sufferers and smog, which is harmful to the health of all people.
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Effective management of heat recovery thanks to the MESH network
All devices and the controller are connected in a mesh radio network. This is a type of network in which each device is also a router - the advantage of this is that the network's area of operation can be expanded to the space of any house or apartment, because it is enough for each device to establish radio contact with any other (device or controller) to ensure synchronization of all devices, and this in turn - i.e. simultaneous change of the direction of work in all devices is a fundamental condition for balanced ventilation operation.
WhiteAIR smartphone app
In the case of Vasco D13 devices, it is worth mentioning the advantage of the WhiteAIR smartphone application, which, in combination with the Smart controller, enables additional, non-standard options:
- It enables convenient, continuous control by steplessly changing the intensity of air exchange in the application.
- It allows you to activate automatic control mode based on the humidity and VOC sensor built into the SMART controller.
- Includes a weekly programmer where you can set runs for individual days of the week.
Constant Flow sensor option for balanced ventilation
Finally, when using the SMART controller, it is possible to purchase and install optional Constant Flow air flow sensors in D13 devices. These are devices that measure the actual air speed in each device, measure temperature and humidity and, based on the measurements, continuously adjust the fan speeds individually to obtain perfectly balanced ventilation in line with the needs. CF sensors will be especially useful when Vasco D13 wall heat recovery units are mounted on two or more elevations of the house. In such a situation, the ventilation system is highly susceptible to gusts of wind, which, by pressing on the devices installed on the windward side, disturb the amount of air entering the house. In such a situation, CF sensors, measuring the actual air flow, differentiate the speeds of individual fans so as to equalize the supply air flow with the exhaust air flow. This is a very important function for achieving a really high level of heat recovery in accordance with the standard parameters.
Vasco D13 devices with the Smart controller and Constant Flow sensors have the highest energy class A+ for this type of device because they provide the most precise ventilation in line with actual needs.
The decentralized ventilation system is a kind of emergency exit for houses that have not been equipped with a central ventilation system with a heat recovery unit and ducts leading to all rooms. However, it has been developed to such a high degree that its technical capabilities fully replace the central heat recovery unit and duct system.
With Vasco D13 devices, every investor who carries out thermal modernization in their house or apartment can now achieve full energy efficiency and high comfort of fresh and clean air at the same time - an ideal climate and low heating costs.
Check out Vasco wall heat recovery units at the Onninen wholesaler