Genvex - NOT JUST HOT AIR RISING AT THIS YEARS NATIONAL HOMEBUILDING AND RENOVATION SHOW - APRIL 2013

Heat recovery ventilation and heat pump ventilation renewable technology appears to be bucking the economic trend by enjoying sales growth, according to one of the UK's leading suppliers. For more information on the article from Pro Installer, click here.

Genvex - HEAT RECOVERY VENTILATION OFFERS FUEL COST SAVINGS AND HEALTH BENEFITS - APRIL 2013

Imagine the appeal of a new-build home or social housing project that does not rely on fossil fuels. Michael Hunt, managing director of Total Home Environnment, explains why this is due to advances in heat recovery ventilation and the development of integrated heat pump venitlation. For more information on this article from Panel Building & System Integration, please click here.

Electrolux - A CENTURY OF SUCKING UP CELEBRATED AT ECOBUILD 2013 - MARCH 2013

Editors Choice - Specialists in ventilation and cleaning systems, Total Home Environment used Ecobuild to showcase the centenary of the vacuum cleaner from the "Baby Daisy" that took two people four hours to clean a room to the revolutionary central vacuum that is Electrolux today. For more details on the article pinpointed by Michelle Teeman, Managing Editor click here.

Genvex - TOTAL HOME ENVIRONMENT SYSTEM HELPS OXFORD HOME ACHIEVE PASSIV HAUS CERTIFICATION - DECEMBER 2012

A house on Kennett Road, Oxford has just received Passiv Haus Certification from BRE thanks to Total Home Environments Genvex Combi 185 appliance providing heat recovery ventilation, a primary heating solution from the integral heat pump together with 185 litres of hot water.  Click here to see a copy of the certificate.

GENVEX - THE HEAT IS ON - FOCUS ON SUSTAINABLE & COST EFFECTIVE HEATING - DEC 2012 ISSUE.

Creating a warm home that is both sustainable and cost effective to run in the long term. Kate Hamilton of ShowHouse looks at the sealing and insulating of homes being the only way to go, if you're going to invest in a quality heating solution. Click here for more details.

Electrolux - DESIGNED FOR LIFE - WEDDING GIFT ARTICLE IN ASIANA WEDDING WINTER 2012 ISSUE.

Asiana Wedding Features Editor Sonia Ahmed, continues on her passion to open peoples eyes to the longevity, practicality and convenience of an Electrolux central vacuum system, especially highlighting the benefits of the VacPan automatic dustpan. Please click here for access to this article.

Genvex - PASSIVHAUS OR CODE FOR SUSTAINABLE HOMES - FOCUS ON HOUSEBUILDING - NOV 2012 ISSUE.

It is mandatory for social housing to be built to Code Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes since 2010 and new Building Regs next year will ensure all new homes have to be built to this standard. Gary Bundy for ABC&D Magazine, looks at Exeter Council's Rowan House development where Total Home Environment's heat recovery ventilation systems are all that is required to keep the homes warm. Click here for more details.

Genvex - SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGY - HEAT PUMPS EXPLAINED OCTOBER 2012

If you want to install a renewable heating system, heat pumps are one of the most popular options, says Anna-Marie DeSouza. But how do they work and which type will be best suited to your home? For more details please click here.

Genvex - RECOVERYING HEALTHY BUILDINGS - AUGUST 2012 ISSUE

With increaingly air-tight homes being constructed to meet the revised Part L, as well as the Code for Sustainable Homes, heat recovery needs to be considered in order to provide enough fresh air for a healthy environment. For more details click here.

Electrolux - IN THIS YEARS MOST WANTED WEDDING GIFT ARTICLE IN ASIANA WEDDING AUTUMN 2012 ISSUE.

Asiana Wedding Features Editor Sonia Ahmed says that an Electrolux central vacuum must be this years most wanted wedding gift. She highlights the benefits  of and surprisingly econmical aspects of the Electrolux Central Vacuum. Please click here for access to this article.

Genvex - IN RECOVERY MODE AT ECOBUILD ARTICLE IN CIBSE JOURNAL MAY 2012 ISSUE.

Andy Pearson selects examples of manufacturers highlighting their latest heat recovery ventilation technologies at this years Ecobuild event. Please click here for access to this article.

Electrolux And Genvex - IN BREATHE EASY ARTICLE IN ECO BUILDING NEWS APRIL 2012 ISSUE.

Total Home Environment Associate Director Clarissa Youden, writes for Eco Building News, explaining how the latest ventilation systems reduce fuel bills and how central vacuums keep a cleaner environment within the home. Please click here for access to this article.

Total Home Environment - IN WINTER WARMER ARTICLE OF SHOWHOUSE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2011 ISSUE.

ShowHouse Editor Kate Hamilton discusses the extensive array of heating systems developers can install in their homes and that it might not be as complicated (or as expensive) as they think to build in Green technology rather than just the old tried and test central heating option. Total Home Environment explains how little has to be done in a well-insulated house. Please click here for access to this article.

Genvex & Total Home Environment  - GREEN BUILDING - AUTUMN 2011 - VERNACULAR PASSIVHAUS REVISITED

An article in Green Building vol.19.1 (summer 2009) under the heading 'Vernacular PassivHaus?' described a small housing scheme with,  perhaps, inflated ambition.  After two rather severe winters the architect of the project, David Hayhow, thought it would be a good time to look back at the project to see how it fared compared with expectations and commentary at the time of construction...   Please click here for access to this article.

Genvex & Total Home Environment  - IN GREEN SUPPLEMENT WITHIN HOMEBUILDING AND RENOVATING MAGAZINE JUNE 2010 ISSUE.

Homebuilding & Renvating Editor Jason Orme and Contributing Editor Tim Pullen discuss the merits of Green technology and more specifically, Total Home Environment's Combi 185 heat pump ventilation with heat recovery. Please click here for access to this article.

Genvex - GENVEX HEAT RECOVERY VENTILATION IN AWARD WINNING ECO HOME IN SELF BUILD & DESIGN MAGAZINE - JUNE 10

Total Home Environment's heat recovery ventilation system chosen for an eco home that has won the Saltire Society Housing Award and a  Chartered Insitute of Building Commendation Award among others. For access to the article please click here.

Genvex - GENVEX COMBI 185 IN CONNECTINGINDUSTRY.COM / ENERGYMANAGEMENT MAGAZINE- 02/10

Total Home Environment's Genvex Combi 185 providing ventilation, space heating and hot water to three thermally efficient houses in the UK and our new exhibit at Buildstore in Swindon. Please click here for access to the article.

Beam - ELECTROLUX WINS DESIGN AWARD FOR CENTRAL VACUUM - 15/01/2010

The Good Design Awards are granted to designers and manufacturers around the world for setting the highest standards for the most advanced product designs, branding, and graphics.

Electrolux Home Care Products has been awarded the 2009 Good Design Award for the Zuum Z-series by Eureka Central Vacuum System. The Zuum is Eureka's latest cleaning system that is designed to be powerful and easy to use, with a sleek European design.

The Good Design Awards are granted to designers and manufacturers around the world for setting the highest standards for the most advanced product designs, branding, and graphics. The awards are presented by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design, together with The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

"The Good Design Award distinction reflects Electrolux's efforts as global market leaders in design and technology," said Scott Ride, president, Electrolux Central Vacuum Systems and Electrolux Home Care Products Canada. "We continually strive to bring consumers cutting edge technology and innovative homecare solutions."

Each of the five systems in the Zuum Z-series by Eureka offer several advanced features, including a sealed HEPA filtration unit for improved air quality, integrated sound suppression for minimized noise, interactive LED panels, and an LCD screen that monitors the machine's internal workings and provides performance measurement.

Good Design was also awarded to Electrolux's design excellence for the Versatility Upright Vacuum, the Eureka Comfort Clean Upright Vacuum, and the Electrolux Oxygen Ultra Air Cleaner.

"The Electrolux design philosophy starts with identifying consumers' needs and finding ways to deliver on them," said Randall Sandlin, director of Industrial Design, Electrolux Home Care Products North America. "The close working relationship between industrial design, engineering, and marketing allows Electrolux to develop unique, new product solutions like the Zuum Z-series by Eureka."

The Zuum Z-series is one of 500 product designs and graphics from over 35 countries that were awarded the Good Design Award for design distinction in 2009. All award honorees will be exhibited at The Chicago Athenaeum in the Good Design Show for 2010 in Chicago in June 2010.

Total Home Environment - JOINS TRADECARD AT THE AWARD WINNING NATIONAL SELF-BUILD & RENOVATION CENTRE IN SWINDON - 12/01/10

Find more information on the special offers now available to Tradecard Members by clicking here

Genvex - COMBI 185 IN RIBA JOURNAL - 10/09

Energy efficiency A discussion about Code Level 6 homes build in Chewton Mendip at a reasonable cost of £1,100/m² with the help of the Genvex Combi 185.

Eco-homes
A Somerset builder has put up zero carbon-designed homes at a comparable cost to conventional houses. Volume housebuilders seem struck dumb by the achievement
Words Jan-Carlos Kucharek

Things aren’t always quite what they seem in the village of Chewton Mendip, in Somerset. On the outskirts of the village there are six ‘Bronze Age’ barrows, which, closer inspection revealed, turned out to be medieval. And now in the village centre, there’s another little chronological conundrum, one which got the business section of the Observer newspaper in a real flurry last month, when it highlighted three ‘traditional’ looking stone and slate homes which are really built of ultra-modern materials, making them some of the most thermally efficient homes in the country and performing at twice the Passivhaus standard. But the thing that got them into the business rather than the review section was one outstanding fact – all this, it is claimed, has been achieved for the all-in cost of £1,100/m2 – a figure that is the Plimsoll line for the mass housing market, and one below which, most volume housebuilders claim, ‘standard’ construction is unfeasible. Not only that, volume housebuilders have insisted that the new materials and methods required to create a zero carbon home will push this figure way up – meaning they’ll have to increase property prices. Yet a local builder by the name of Arthur Bland in a small Somerset village seems to have proved them wrong. So how come some mock vernacular homes on a village street corner are beating the volume housebuilders to the zero carbon goal?

While they may look like traditional cottages, the three houses are built using cutting-edge materials that put the emphasis on insulation. Walls are constructed of Logix ICF blocks, which arrive on site in 1,200 x 300 x 450mm blocks, consisting of two EPS outer sheets linked by a plastic web that holds them together. Once constructed and shuttered with ply, reinforcement is placed inside the blocks and the whole lot in-situ cast, obviating the need for lintels over any openings. With the thermal mass either side of the foam, the whole produces a U value of 0.14 out of a 353mm depth. Floors are constructed with Eco-slab, an expanded polystyrene flooring system built within the insulated foundation walls. It eliminates thermal bridging to give a U value of 0.13.

Which Code level?
A Unilin Systems SIP panel roof extending from a ridge beam down to a bolted wall plate achieved a roof value of 0.09, and the Samson Wood windows are triple-glazed. Taken together, the total space heating requirement comes to an impressive 7.75kWh/m2/year. Needless to say, there is no need for a central heating system. According to the builder, it meets Code 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes in construction. It all sounds too good to be true.

Architect Bill Dunster of ZEDfactory is not quite so convinced. ‘These houses are no way Code 6 – they meet only the required heat loss parameters, which is a small part of the overall requirements. They have no solar thermal or renewable electrics, and are built from some of the highest environmental impact materials possible,’ he says. ‘The Styrofoam SIPS formwork also isolates the thermally massive concrete from the room interior – negating the passive cooling potential of a high embodied carbon material.’

Bland would counter this by stating that the energy-saving methods inherent in the build method place the house in carbon credit after only six years. Dunster, however, thinks that at the price, they are not really getting value for money. ‘I suspect that with no biomass heat supply, they are actually Code 3, and the cost for Code 3 is actually quite high – our Code 6 solution costs around £1,395 gross external, including all the solar thermal, solar electric and biomass heat – and with a breathing wall construction to similar levels of thermal performance rather than a sealed plastic shell.’

Senior sustainability engineer Alasdair Young of Buro Happold is less vociferous in his criticism, but remains cautious about the claims, and on the quality of the internal environment being created. ‘The construction approach is certainly novel, but I doubt whether there has been a full post-occupancy evaluation,’ he says. ‘The design does seem quite well placed to cope with climate change and future rises in the mean temperature, but may suffer from the same problems as lightweight build if they are decoupling the thermal mass’ – an aspect that echoes Dunster’s concern about the internal environment quality.

It’s undeniable that increased air tightness will affect air quality, something that is reflected in the fact that Part F, as well as Part L is being consulted on for adoption next year, but Bland has apparently borne this in mind, with the installation of a Genvex mechanical heat recovery ventilation system, providing five air changes an hour, and salvaging the heat to bring 185 litres of water up to a very useable 60°C. Opening windows obviously allow for passive ventilation to be taken up in the summer months. Young’s biggest gripe, however, seems to be more the reticence of the local council to permit any form of renewable technology to be installed on the homes, regardless of whether they are low energy or not.

Mysterious lack of interest
Of course, given the fact that the technology can be dressed up in any form whatsoever, it does beg the question why, at the per square metre costs that the homes came in at, it is not being looked at by the volume housing industry as a means of meeting the government’s zero carbon targets for the UK, without – potentially – any recourse to stylistic change in design.

Bland has his own view on that: ‘I think it is because poured concrete is not usually considered as a medium for building domestic dwellings in the UK, and the building industry will be slow to recognise the advantages that in situ insulated formwork will provide. There are also huge vested interests in the present way of working to the current supply chain. I suspect that producers of building products, beam casters, builders merchants and hauliers will be not too impressed with a system that puts dry and light products together, places steel in them and then casts floors, beams, lintels of any span and structural concrete in one swift operation.’

It is not only this, though, but the fact that like is not being compared with like. ‘When I started this project,’ he continues, ‘Even the SIP roof manufacturers said they couldn’t compete with the cost of a trussed roof. Except a huge amount of work is required to make a trussed roof with a U value of 0.09.’ So even if it were possible, which he very much doubts, Bland says it would be prohibitively expensive, adding: ‘So the system actually isn’t comparable on cost grounds – because it is so much better!’

But if that’s a reason to have the volume housebuilders clamouring to take up the technology, they sure aren’t showing it. RIBAJ approached Redrow Homes, Persimmon, Countryside Properties and Berkeley Homes, all of whom declined to comment on the potential of Bland’s code-busting proposal – a lack of interest or engagement that is worrying purely in its consistency. But as Buro Happold’s Young says: ‘The trouble with volume housebuilders is that ultimately they’re building to a minimum standard, which is a de facto maximum. Entrepreneurial innovations are great, but volume housebuilding is a risk-averse industry – and nobody in it wants to be the guinea pig.’

AT A GLANCE: Construction
Logix
Logix insulated concrete forms (or formwork) are high strength, lightweight polystyrene moulded blocks. The blocks are assembled to create the shape of the building, including window and door openings. Then the core is filled with concrete, and the forms remain in place permanently. This width is made up of two outer walls of strong-grade moulded polystyrene, each 70mm thick, tied together with a polypropylene web, which is moulded into the outer walls and creates a void into which the concrete is poured. This void has a width of 158mm, and when full of concrete gives the wall its structural strength. The outer walls of polystyrene remain in place to provide the insulation. The grade of concrete required for pouring into the blocks depend on geographic and build conditions.
www.logixicf.com
Unilin systems
Unipur structural insulated panels comprise three or four integral timber rafters fixed to and stabilised by a rigid facing board which also forms the ceiling finish. Between each rafter, a filling of polyurethane foam is sprayed in the factory to an even thickness.
Unipur panels are available in a range of standard depths according to insulation thickness and U-value required.
The panels form an integral part of the roof structure and replace traditional rafters. These all-in-one panels are easily installed, and ready to receive any kind of roof covering. They are equally suitable for refurbishment and new-build, and have a lifetime warranty.
They fully comply with all European standards for quality control and thermal performance. Unilin systems
are suitable for roof pitches of 15° to 60°.
www.unilin-systems.co.uk
Eco slabs
Eco-Slab is an integral insulated formwork system designed to create insulated in-situ suspended concrete ground floor slabs replacing pre-cast concrete ground floors in dwellings. Eco-Slab is manufactured in the UK from heavy duty expanded polystyrene. It produces no harmful dust, is CFC and HCFC free, contains re-cycled material and is 100% recyclable on retrieval.
In a typical house floor Eco-Slab will replace 13 tonnes of pre-cast concrete with 135kg of polystyrene. The associated reduction of heavy plant and traffic movements both on and off site can reduce the typical carbon footprint by 90%.
www.eco-slab.co.uk
Genvex
The Combi 185 appliance, fitted in the Chewton Mendip homes, has a 95% efficient counter-flow heat exchanger, which combines the advantages of heat recovery ventilation with heat pump technology. The appliance offers priority switching to heat water first in the integrated storage cylinder which holds 185 litres. It can be fitted with a bare tube heat exchanger for use with solar heating or a wood-burning boiler for hot water. Maximum air flow is normally 260m³/h and living areas up to 220m² can be ventilated, with simultaneous heating.
www.genvex.co.uk
WPL
The WPL range of below ground rainwater harvesting systems is designed to replace up to 50% of normal domestic water use within the home. Harvested rain can be used in washing machines, to flush toilets or for garden irrigation. The systems incorporate an integrated automatic pump, according to WPL. Tanks are suitable for the self builder or professional contractor.
www.wpl.co.uk

Genvex - THE TWO-BED THERMAL ENVELOPE - The Observer 08/09

Ashley Seager talks about the creation of zero-carbon homes at the cost of conventional ones - volumn housebuilders take note, a Combi 185 could be the solution.

The two-bed thermal envelope

In a Somerset village, a builder is creating zero-carbon homes for less than the cost of conventional ones. By Ashley Seager

It's unlikely that you would turn up at a pretty, quiet Somerset village in search of any kind of revolution. In fact, you'd be hard pushed to spot anything revolutionary in the village of Chewton Mendip, save perhaps for a few solar panels on top of the local school.

Blink and you'd miss three terraced houses forming a corner of two streets in the village. They blend in perfectly with the other traditional stone houses. But behind the facades lie brand new homes built with ultra-modern materials and which already meet the government's strict zero-carbon rating that all new houses will have to meet from 2016.

And, crucially, they have been built to a comparable cost to conventional houses, blowing away in an instant the claims of the big housebuilders that meeting the 2016 target will entail huge cost and put up property prices.

It's generally true that in any industry, innovation comes from the small start-ups rather than the big incumbents, and local builder Arthur Bland, combining for the first time some advanced new floor, wall and roof technologies already available in Britain, is proving the point.

"These are the most thermally efficient houses built in the UK in 2008 and are twice as good as the PassivHaus [energy efficiency standard] in Germany," says Bland. "And if I had built them on a larger scale on a larger plot, they would have been cheaper to build than conventional houses; I am quite sure of that."

They say the three most important things in building an eco-house are insulation, insulation, insulation. And maybe airtightness too. And that is what Bland's house embodies: it is so efficient at retaining heat that it does not need any form of heating. In an English house? Surely some mistake?

Bland explains that the revolutionary insulated floor system, from a company called Ecoslab, combined with a polystyrene-and-concrete wall system from Logix and a roof system from Unilin, give the house a "thermal envelope" from which heat and air cannot escape. Daily living generates enough heat - from TVs, kettles, the warm backs of fridges and the people who live in it - that no further source is needed.

Airtightness might sound suffocating, but in fact the houses have a circulation system that changes the air five times an hour. And the clever bit is an exchanger that captures the warmth from stale air, which is extracted from the house by vents, and reuses it to heat water and the air in the rooms. That system is made by a Swedish company called Genvex and costs about £6,000 to install - but once you deduct the cost of a traditional heating and hot water systems, Bland says you are left with a negligible extra cost per house of £500. For the homeowner, the advantage of Genvex systems is that they last much longer than traditional boilers, which need replacing at least every 10 years.

The windows are all triple-glazed and wood-framed to keep heat in. They can, of course, be opened if the house gets too hot in the summer but the Genvex will also provide cool air to keep the places at a constant temperature.

The windows and walls are also very good at keeping sound out - a significant advantage for future homes being built on brownfield sites near other houses and roads. The absence of radiators leaves walls freer than they would have been and the airtightness, if nothing else, means there are no nasty draughts in the winter.

Bland's former wife Linda lives in the middle house with her two children and loves it. She moved in last December when it was completed and so tested it through the cold snow of the spring, when temperatures dropped to -9C.

"For a few days I had a small electric heater on in the living room just to raise the temperature a bit. But after half an hour the house was too hot and I had to turn it off," she says.

"It is a great house to live in and I have no complaints at all. The air does feel dry, though, and I have to water the plants more than I would have done. But that is the only thing I would say. I don't have to lug solid fuel around any more like I used to in other houses I have lived in so I love it."

The house has low-energy lightbulbs, not only because they consume less electricity but also, explains Bland, because the heat from conventional ones would make the house too hot.

He points out that the best thing to do when you have had a bath is to leave the hot water in it to cool, since the heat will be sucked through the bathroom's vents and recycled by the Genvex system into more hot water. "You can get obsessed by this heat business - but it is important," he says.

The three houses share a rainwater harvesting system via a big tank in the communal garden to the rear. The rainwater is used for dishwashers, washing machines and toilets. About 75% of the houses' annual water consumption is provided in this way.

The houses are not yet zero-carbon in the true sense of the phrase since the planning laws in the village's conservation area prohibit the use of renewable energies such as solar panels or wind turbines. As a result, each uses about £600 a year of electricity from conventional sources.

But Bland stresses that the houses meet all the Code Level 6 requirements of the government's code for sustainable homes - a set of rules which is gradually tightening the regulations for new buildings to reduce their carbon output - in terms of the construction.

The addition of, say, solar photovoltaic panels would easily make them zero-carbon or even carbon-negative in the sense that they generate more clean energy than the consume, exporting the surplus to the grid.

The building cost for the three houses was £300,000 for a total dwelling space of 280 square metres. That sort of figure - about £1,100 a square metre - should make the big housebuilders sit up and take notice, especially as Bland says the awkward plot shape and stone frontage added about 20% to his costs. In other words, slightly more standard houses would be cheaper than conventional dwellings even if the solar panels were added on. His system is also quicker than conventional housebuilding.

"There is no great mystery to building houses. If I had not faced the constraints I did on this project, I could easily come in cheaper than conventional houses," he says. "I have simply put some new kinds of products and processes together for the first time. But they can be used flexibly to create any kind of building."

But the big boys, of course, don't like change. Bland took his system to the Ministry of Defence, who had a long-running contract with a volume housebuilder for homes for service personnel. The big housebuilder is charging the MoD £2,000 per square metre for the homes - a high price - and was, not surprisingly, impervious to the MoD's request to copy Bland's model, which would have saved the public purse money both in construction and running costs.

Although producing concrete needs a lot of energy, the Bland houses use much less than traditional houses and require many fewer truck journeys, saving on emissions as well as noise and disturbance - because they use the excavated earth from the foundations as a base for the Ecoslab floor system instead of carting it away to landfill.

You no longer have to imagine the future of housebuilding. It is already here.

Genvex - UPPING THE ANTE, SHOWHOUSE MAGAZINE - 06/07

Energy efficiency is high on housebuilders' agendas and Natalie Gameson talk's about how a Genvex can help.

The government looks like it means business at last, with Yvette Cooper ruling that all commercial buildings must join the residential sector in the national drive to achieve carbon zero energy ratings by 2016...

But, to return to housebuilding, and the Code for Sustainable Homes, which came in as a force to be reckoned with in April. Designed to complement the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) this month, the Code rates the home as a whole package on six starring levels, one being relatively low, while six achieves a zero carbon rating. All new appliances will need an A+ rating, while the Code provides more scope for variation on materials and features.

The papers would have us believe that going sustainable will net the housebuilder bigger profits than ever - a recent building supplement issued in the Guardian featured an article by Kirsty Gogan which argued that the "vast majority" of homebuyers will pay a premium for a sustainable home. But the market may not be ready to add masses of value to sustainable new-builds, particularly where outlandish, gimmicky eco models are concerned.

Savills' recent research on the state of the market works to prove this case in point. "Although required by law, our research suggests the value of sustainable homes is not going to be realisable by developers through high prices as buyers are primarily interested in features that will save them money," says Yolanda Barnes, Savills' research director. "To recoup costs, developers will have to go further in design to create products that will stand out..."

So what features will add the most value in reducing overall build and running costs to please both builder and buyer?

GADGETS AND GIZMOS

Energy efficient lighting is always likely to be a winner with buyers...

On the appliance front, Electrolux offers a range of energy saving products. These include the UK's only A-rated tumble dryer...and an AAA dishwasher fitted with an auto programme that's designed to sense load size and dirt so it only washes what it needs to...

With water becoming an increasingly valuable commodity as summer droughts intensify, rainwater havesting units may see a rise in popularity amoung buyers over the coming months...

HEATING

Heat conservation, recovery and ventilation are big business for those canny enough to have got into the market at the right time. Total Home Environment, supplier of Genvex heat recovery ventilation and heat pump technology, aims to marry the requirements of building regulations Part F (adequate ventilation) and Parl L (energy conservation). "Telling potential buyers that your homes can save them up to 95 per cent of the heat that they [normally] lose is likely to go down a storm," says Michael Hunt, the group's director. "Modern, low-energy homes are highly insulated and airtight, which can lead to a build up of mould growth and carbon dioxide, which can trigger illness." The Genvex system offers the user energy and cost savings through heat recovery and the reuse of waste heat for heating and hot water, while the enhanced range offers air source heat pumps that often prove cheaper than oil or gas heating alternatives...

Genvex - SELFBUILD & DESIGN - VENTILATION - HOW TO BE POSITIVE & STAY COOL - 05/07

Bob Matthews from Self-Build & Design talks about the virtues of a Genvex Ventilation system.

We’ve now reached the fifth article in my mini-series about ventilation – I said at the outset that this was a complex subject…

HRV with heat pump
In my article on Ventilation and Heat Recovery in the March issue, I said that extracting extra heat from the exhaust air stream by the use of a heat pump is a good concept, but that such systems are hardly available in the UK.

A company called Total Home Environment have since told me that they now distribute Genvex systems. Genvex are a highly regarded Danish company, and details of their products are available on the Total Home Environment Website…

The effect of the heat pump is remarkable. With an outside temperature of 2°C, fresh air can be supplied to the rooms at 38°C. In a super-insulated house, this sort of system could even be the main heating system. A Coefficient of Performance of five is claimed by Genvex…

By reversing the operation of a heat pump, summer cooling can be obtained.

In the techie-greenie spectrum, HRV systems with heat pumps must surely be at the techie end of the spectrum. If you want an HRV system without a heat pump, the aluminium counterflow heat exchangers used in other Genvex systems have an amazing 95% efficiency in optimum conditions – and about 88% in practical use.

By the way, Genvex also produce Vanvex, a water store incorporating an air-to-water heat pump. Its Coefficient of Performance is more than three, so this could be a good option for producing hot water in homes where mains gas is unavailable…

Beam - THE THUMBS UP FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES - 18/06/06

The home service...by Karen Robinson

It’s never too late to install a central vacuum system - and it can quietly transform your life.

I was going round one of those homes ‘n’ property shows the other day, gazing in slack-jawed wonder at stand after stand of hideous overpriced rubbish, when I experienced an epiphany.  Regular readers of this column will be aware of its quest for the perfect vacuum cleaner: bagged or bag-free, upright or cylinder, Dyson or anti-Dyson? But the nice demonstrator on the Total Home Environment stand showed me another way. Instead of a machine you have to push and pull around, lug up the stairs and find room for in the hall cupboard, why not ditch the whole idea and get a central vacuum system instead?

This is how it works: you have a motor and a hopper for the dirt located out of the way in garage, utility room or cupboard. If you’re really pushed for space, you can get one that fits in a 500mm kitchen unit. From this you run plastic tubes to a couple of outlets in the skirting board - unless you have a massive house, you need only one per floor, in the hall or landing - into which you plug a hose that extends up to 10m, with the usual selection of vacuum cleaner nozzles to put on the end.

Et Voilà - switch it on, run the nozzle over the floors and the dirt is whisked away down the pipes to the hopper, which, being so much bigger than the conventional vacuum cleaner, has to be emptied only two or three times a year.

Then when you’ve finished, you just have to find somewhere to stash the light-as-a feather hose till the next time you need it. What seemed to me to be obvious advantages of the system are a life of 20-30 years (how many vacuum cleaners would you fork out for over that time?), super-efficient whisking-way of the dirt - good news for the dust-allergy community - and whisper-quiet operation. With the motor in a distant annexe, the demonstrator confides, you can do your cleaning at night while the family sleeps. Now, that’s what I call living.

These systems have been around for a while, but judging by the number of central vacuum firms at the show, they’re about to hit the mainstream. If you’re a self-builder constructing your dream home yourself, it’s a no-brainer - especially since you won’t have to pay VAT on the price, which starts at about £600 for a kit for a four-bed home. You can have one even if you live in an old house. Richard Porteous, of Total Home Environment, says he fitted a Beam central vacuum, the kind the firm sells, in his 100-year-old four-bedroom house over a weekend, concealing the pipes in "accessible natural spaces". Or the firm will install one for you from about £400.

Centravac will send someone to do a free survey of your property to see how its Nilfisk products can be installed. Though the representative of another firm - whose name I will not give column space to, as his associate was rather rude to me - did warn that in an old house there would be a "fair bit of disruption" and it would be a good idea to time the installation with other home improvement projects.

If you’re still not convinced, how about this? These systems all feature a fab bit of kitchen kit: a narrow slit at floor level. Sweep the crumbs and cooking mess towards it and - whoosh! – it’s all sucked out of sight. Dustpan and brush? How utterly passé.

Beam & Genvex - NEW SHOWROOM AVAILABLE - 16/08/06

Call us to make an appointment!

As we have recently had new premises specifically built for us, we can now extend our clients and customers a showroom facility for both the Beam and Genvex range of products.

If you would like to arrange a visit to discuss your requirements in more detail, please contact us in advance to arrange a suitable date and time on 0845 260 0123.

Beam - BEAM COMES OUT WAY ABOVE BISSELL, DIRT DEVIL, DYSON, EUREKA AND HOOVER! - 2004

Tests show a Beam central vacuum minimizes dust emissions and provides sustained cleaning performance in comparison to leading portable vacuum brands.

Unlike upright vacuum cleaners that can re-circulate dust, a Beam Central Vacuum system removes nearly 100% of contacted materials...reducing airborne emissions of dust, pollen and other allergens in your home. Tests show a Beam system provides sustained cleaning performance with virtually no decrease in soil removal ability.

In 2004, a study was completed that compared a Beam central vacuum system with leading upright portables including Dyson, Hoover, Bissell, Dirt Devil and Eureka vacuum brands. Soil removal and emission tests were conducted by the Professional Testing Laboratory Inc, in Dalton, USA.

The cleaning capability of each vacuum was tested on carpet loaded with:

Beam - BEAM CENTRAL VACUUM SYSTEM CHOSEN FOR THE AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION HEALTH HOUSE PROJECT - 12/08/02

Beam Central Vacuum system installed into the National Demonstration Health House in Minnisota

In an effort to minimise the build-up of allergens, the American Lung Association Health House program will install a Beam Central Vacuum System in its National Demonstration Health House in Minnisota.

"We are honoured to have this opportunity to show builders, homeowners and renovators the ability of a Beam Central Vacuum System to contribute to a healthy living environment," says John Coghlan the president of Beam Industries. "The system that will be installed in this national demonstration Health House can be installed in virtually any new or existing home".

The Health House installation will use the same Serenity Series power unit and hose and attachments as those used in a recent clinical study of allergic rhinitis patients."Improvements in vacuum systems, with better removal of dust from the living environment, are clearly an important way to reduce allergies caused by airborne dusts," says Dr Ian Greaves, medical spokesperson for the American Lung Association health House program. "This is in keeping with the American Lung Association’s goal of making homes healthier for people with asthma and allergies."

John Vandermyde, President of J J Vanderson & Co, which will install the Beam Central Vacuum System, says "the greater suction power of a central vacuum system captures far more dust, dirt and allergens than any conventional vacuum. The Beam Serenity Series power unit that will be installed in the Health House demonstration home’s garage assures that all of the vacuumed material is removed completely from the living area of the home".

Beam - BEAM INDUSTRIES COMMISSION ALLERGY RELIEF RESEARCH - 09/07/02

Proven reduction in allergic symptoms...

For many years, companies have claimed that their products help reduce symptoms associated with allergies, notably Asthma & hayfever, but there has never been any independent, clinical proof … until now.

The research:

Indoor air pollution is the primary cause of allergic reactions in sufferers and Central Vacuums are often recommended for removing pollutants and allergens. The Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology at The University of California set out to determine whether a Central Vacuum could be proven to relieve allergic symptoms.

The findings:

Unlike conventional vacuum cleaners which can re-circulate dust, a Beam Central Vacuum removes dust, mites, pollen, animal dander and other allergens from living areas and is therefore superior to conventional vacuum cleaners, actively reducing allergic symptoms.The study proved that a Beam system reduces allergy symptoms on average by 50%! The exact findings are below:

Nasal: 47%         |          Non-Nasal: 48%              |          Eye: 61%           |            Sleep: 44%

How can you not specify a Beam Central Vacuum in your home or work environment? For a copy of the full report please click here, otherwise contact us now for a healthier life.

Genvex PRESS RELEASE - SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS FROM TOTAL HOME AT ECO BUILD

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Electrolux PRESS RELEASE - THE LIFESTYLE SHOW - THE CENTRE: MK - THE MODERN WAY TO VACUUM THE HOME

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Genvex PRESS RELEASE - TOTAL HOME ENVIRONMENT ENABLES LONDON HOUSING PROJECT TO REACH CODE 4

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Genvex PRESS RELEASE - TOTAL HOME ENVIRONMENT KILLS BILLS

Electrolux PRESS RELEASE - UK LAUNCH OF ELECTROLUX CENTRAL VACUUMS

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Genvex PRESS RELEASE - BARN CONVERSION ACHIEVES AA IN ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATE

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Genvex PRESS RELEASE - TOTAL HOME ENVIRONMENT AT ECOBUILD 2011

Beam PRESS RELEASE - BEAM GOES GREEN WITH LIMITED EDITION UNIT

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Genvex PRESS RELEASE - EXPERIMENTAL PROPERTY CHOOSES TOTAL HOME SYSTEM 

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Genvex PRESS RELEASE - TOTAL HOME SYSTEM SAVES ENERGY AND ELIMINATES CONDENSATION IN 1970s PROPERTY

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Beam PRESS RELEASE - SHIP SHAPE AND VACUUM FASHION! - 19/06/10

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Genvex PRESS RELEASE - NEW GES ENERGY ACHIEVES ENERGY SAVING TRUST BEST PRACTICE IN SAP APPENDIX Q

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Beam PRESS RELEASE - WHOLE HOUSE CLEANING, FROM FLOOR TO CEILING - 25/06/10

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Beam PRESS RELEASE - CENTRAL VACUUM SAVES SPACE IN THE CARAVAN - 20/05/10

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Genvex PRESS RELEASE - AWARD WINNING HOME INSTALLS TOTAL HOME ENVIRONMENT CLIMATE SYSTEM - 13/04/10

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Beam PRESS RELEASE - NEW GARAGE CENTRAL VACUUM FOR THE CAR- 08/04/10

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Beam PRESS RELEASE - BEAM CLEANS UP IN RETRO-FIT AND NEW BUILD PROJECT - 01/04/10

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Genvex PRESS RELEASE - TOTAL HOME ENVIRONMENT HELPS ACHIEVE ZERO CARBON HOMES AFFORDABLY - 05/02/10

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Genvex PRESS RELEASE - TOTAL HOME ENVIRONMENT DO MORE WITH AIR AT ECOBUILD - 03/12/09

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Beam PRESS RELEASE - LATEST CENTRAL VACUUM SYSTEM CAN SAVE UP TO 30% ON CLEANING TIME- 24/11/09

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Beam PRESS RELEASE - LATEST CENTRAL VACUUM SYSTEM IS HIGH ON EFFICIENCY- 05/11/09

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Genvex PRESS RELEASE - GREEN & COMFORTABLE SOLUTIONS FROM TOTAL HOME AT BUILDSTORE - 19/10/09

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Genvex PRESS RELEASE - NEW HEAT PUMP VENTILATION SYSTEMS HELP HOMES ACHIEVE NEW CO₂ REDUCTIONS - 12/10/09

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