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Unico - Makes short work of energy - efficient self build
When Jonathan Powell decided to build
himself a house in Frome he had a vision, not only of an
architecturally-unique property with stylish glass atrium, but
also of a house with the ultimate in energy efficient design. To
this end, he chose SIPs (Structurally Insulated Panels) as the
main building component. SIPs consist of a foam core sandwiched
between two layers of wood which, due to excellent insulation
and airtight properties, can reduce energy costs by up to 70%
when compared to traditional fibreglass-insulated buildings.
This means that heating and cooling equipment can be downsized
accordingly. After achieving an impressive R-value by using SIPs,
Jonathan then selected a Unico system to provide quality
energy-efficient heating and ventilation.
“I wanted a system that heated and ventilated the house because
it is tightly sealed. I didn't want underfloor heating because
it is expensive and tedious to install, and doesn't ventilate.
And radiators take up too much wall space and again don’t
ventilate,” explains Jonathan. Furthermore, the central glass
atrium, which supports an indoor ‘jungle’, was designed to
provide passive solar heating. The Unico system circulates the
warm air which gathers at the top of the house to the lower
levels as part of its normal operation.
A single Unico air handler was installed in the loft room to
provide heating and ventilation. In heating mode, an efficient
heat exchanger and fan transfers heat from warm water supplied
by a thermal store to the high-velocity warm air system. The
thermal store is essentially a large hot water tank which is
heated either by solar panels or when that fails by economical
night-time electricity. In ventilation mode the air handler
dumps stale, warm air and pulls in fresh from the shaded
north-facing wall for a cooling effect. In order to ensure air
stays fresh in the heating mode - but without venting valuable
heated air unnecessarily - a Telaire carbon dioxide monitor was
installed. When carbon dioxide levels exceed 1000ppm an electric
damper operates within the Unico system, providing ventilation
until concentrations decrease below the activation threshold.
The building was designed to circulate air through the very
structure of the house, and be seen to be doing so. The plenums,
suspended from the ceiling and left visible, feed the
high-velocity air into fibreboard interior walls. Outlet slots
have been cut out of the fibreboards, and an opening to the loft
room allows air to complete its circuit and return to the
handler. Only in some of the harder-to-reach places did Jonathan
utilise Unico’s conventional ducting and air outlets.
Jonathan, a hands-on self builder, is delighted with his Unico
system, especially as it took him just five days to install on
his own. “After attending a short Unico training course I found
the installation went very smoothly. The system requires only
limited plumbing and wiring. Unico could not have been more
helpful with advice and training. Ten out of ten!”
Email:
scott@unicosystem.com