Passive ventilation inspires Greenpower
Passivent natural-ventilation systems have been incorporated into a showcase project to demonstrate the practicality of developing low-energy commercial and office buildings. The Greenpower Centre is the new headquarters for Greenpower Education Trust. It has been developed by a partnership comprising architect Emission Zero, Fordingbridge and Passivent to provide a learning environment and testbed for low-emission technologies. The building has achieve a A-rated Energy Performance Certificate.
Two types of Passivent natural ventilation have been used. One is for the open offices and lecture areas. The other is an iMEV system for the toilets.
The system for offices and lecture areas is managed by a state-of-the-art control system that also operates air-source heat pumps and enables occupants to change settings via a web browser.
The office system is based on the passive-stack principle. Aircool ventilation louvres in the facade of this 2-storey building allow cool external air to enter the building. Airstract terminals on the roof enable this air to pass through the building and be exhausted. The Airstracts are acoustically treated to minimise noise penetration from the adjacent A27 trunk road. The system is controlled according to temperature and CO2 levels.
In the toilets, Passivent’s iMEV system integrates ‘intelligent’ extracts and an ‘intelligent’ fan within a central extract system. The extracts open and close in response to relative humidity, with the central fan boosting the extract rate if the RH rises further.
Neil Rideout, Passivent’s joint managing director, comments, ‘We have worked with Greenpower for some years, helping encourage its promotion of sustainable engineering and design and supporting its youth programme of developing and competing electrically powered cars.
‘The new headquarters aims to inspire and encapsulate Greenpower’s objectives to provide an inspiring learning environment and testbed for low-emission technologies. Our focus on harnessing natural resources such as air movement and daylight in construction sits logically alongside.’
