Smart ventilation protects your most important investment – your home. Modernisation of ventilation is an important part of a renovation project. Almost half of the heating energy consumption in a traditional house is caused by ventilation. This is why the energy-efficiency of a ventilation system plays a major role in the efforts to save energy.
Heating system renovation, additional insulation and window replacement improve the airtightness of the building and reduce air leaks. Therefore, it is particularly important to modernise the ventilation system so that it supports the energy saving goals of the renovation project. The savings must not be achieved at the cost of the quality of indoor air or the health of the structures. Inadequate ventilation causes moisture damage to the structures and makes them susceptible to mould growth.
Efficient ventilation protects against humidity
When two people sleep for seven hours, their sweating and breathing produce approximately 7.5 to 8 decilitres of moisture and about 150 to 200 litres of carbon dioxide. They also release some 250 to 300 watts of heat into the indoor air.
If the humidity level of the indoor air becomes too high, humidity condenses on windows or in the structures of the cold exterior wall. Structures that have become damp are breeding grounds for microbes and mould fungi, which will eventually damage the structures. At a relative humidity of over 80%, nearly all types of mycelia thrive at normal room temperature. Efficient ventilation with a Vallox unit removes the carbon dioxide and moisture load as well as smells, taking them directly out of the house. The plate heat exchanger does not mix impurities of the extract air with the fresh air coming from outside.
Relative humidity is a complicated issue
The relative humidity of air increases when the temperature goes down, even if the amount of water in the air stays constant. The cooler the air, the less it can absorb water vapour. If the temperature in the room is 21°C and the relative humidity of air is 40%, a kilogram – that is, a little less than a cubic metre – of air includes six grams of water. If the air cools down to 11 degrees, the same amount of water means that the relative humidity rises to 70 per cent, which is in the risk zone. This can happen at the external corner of the building, for instance. If the relative humidity of indoor air is 60%, a surface of 19 degrees can already provide a breeding ground for fungal growth.
Ventilation renovation of a one-and-a-half-storey house built in the 1950s
The one-and-a-half-storey house built in the 1950s was renovated to meet today’s living requirements. The windows, entrance doors, kitchen and sauna facilities were renovated, and the cellar was replaced with a combined fireplace room and exercise room. Because the renovation considerably increased the airtightness of the building, natural ventilation was replaced with a mechanical supply and extract system.
Transverse ventilation ducts were placed almost completely within the cellar. The living areas required only vertical ducts and a few short horizontal ducts that were easily made invisible with the help of enclosures. Exhaust air was led out through the cellar wall.
The ventilation unit chosen was Vallox 110 MV, mounted near the sauna facilities in the cellar. The unit is equipped with a built-in humidity sensor, which enables automatic ventilation boosting after bathing.
Ventilation renovation of a one-family house with a low-height attic
Natural ventilation was replaced with modern low-energy ventilation. The low attic space did not allow the ventilation ducts to be installed in the traditional way.
The Vallox BlueSky air distribution system, which is based on a small and flexible ventilation duct, was mainly mounted on the walls in the entrance hall. The ducts were encased, and additional lighting was installed on the bottom surface of the cases. Installing the ducts indoors also eliminated the need for insulating the ducts from the cold.
The ventilation unit chosen was Vallox 110 MV, installed in the changing room close to the sauna facilities. The unit is equipped with the easy-to-use MyVallox Control control system that is based on the choice of mode and enables an automatic ventilation efficiency adjustment according to the humidity content of air.
Does it pay to replace the unit?
For 40 years and more, Vallox has manufactured over half a million ventilation units at its Loimaa factory. The units have proved to be very durable and dependable, and most of them are still in service. However, technology has evolved during this time, particularly in terms of energy-efficiency. With the new Vallox 125 MV ventilation unit, you can cut the energy consumption of ventilation to half when compared with MUH Ilmava or other similar units purchased in the 1980s, thanks to its annual efficiency of heat recovery, nearly 80%.
MUH Ilmava used to be the most popular ventilation unit. Over 100,000 units were manufactured over 20 years. The popularity of the unit also encouraged other manufacturers (e.g. DeeKax, Parmair, Haato and Meptek) to introduce ventilation units equipped with similar technology. What was in common with these units was that they all have six 125 mm duct outlets. Vallox manufactured units under model names such as MUH Ilmava, MUH Ilmava OK, MUH Ilmava 100, MUH Ilmava 100 OK and MUH Ilmava 120 as well as VKL versions of these same models, meaning that they were equipped with a water-circulating post-heating radiator. All of these ventilation units can be replaced with the new Vallox 125 MV ventilation unit, either directly or with only minor changes to the duct.
The new Vallox 125 MV ventilation unit comes in six models, with the duct outlets being the only difference between the models. They either fit directly in place of the old unit or require only minor duct changes. Designed to make ventilation renovation easier, Vallox 125 MV can replace dozens of other old models besides MUH Ilmava, such as Vallox Digit SE, Vallox 75, Vallox 121 and Ilto 440.
With Vallox 125 MV, you can quickly and easily implement energy-efficient modern ventilation in your home. The integrated humidity and carbon dioxide sensors of the ventilation unit monitor the quality of indoor air and adjust the efficiency of ventilation as needed. Efficient heat recovery keeps the energy consumption low, and specific preheating is no longer needed.
With the current EC motors, the 125 MV fans consume very little electricity. Thanks to the advanced defrosting automation, the unit will not stop the supply air fan even in the coldest weather. The high-quality filters efficiently protect the indoor air against the impurities of outdoor air.
The ventilation unit can be controlled with a variety of methods, including remote control via the MyVallox Cloud service. An easy and energy-efficient choice, Vallox 125 MV is suitable for most ventilation renovation projects. The energy-efficient high-quality ventilation unit makes life more comfortable and saves you money.