Press Releases | Natural Ventilation News

Monodraught and IES Demystify the Art of Wind Tower Natural Ventilation at Ecobuild

Written by monodraught
Friday, 09 March 2012 09:46

To help architects and consultants deliver low maintenance, energy efficient designs within the built environment, building performance analysis specialist IES and Monodraught are launching the first Performance Component at Ecobuild 2012

The use of building performance analysis has grown extensively in the last 10 years, driven by the development of computer simulation and legislative requirements to reduce the energy consumption of buildings. Whilst Monodraught pioneered the Windcatcher natural ventilation system over twenty years ago, until recently, modelling this type of wind tower natural ventilation system was considered time consuming and complicated. The new Windcatcher Performance Component for the IESVE (Virtual Environment) changes all this.

At present, architects and consultants find it difficult to verify the improvements achieved within their buildings, and therefore understand the true environmental impact of the Windcatcher systems. Conventional modelling of wind tower systems involves constructing a 3D representation and assigning each face with a performance factor to identify its ability to catch the air. Assigning such parameters is often difficult and time consuming.

In an ideal world, Monodraught envisaged true 3D component representations of their systems being dragged easily from a product library/ catalogue onto a building model constructed within the 3D environment. The performance and energy savings would then be assessed in an open and transparent process, building confidence in the application of Windcatcher natural ventilation systems and demonstrating the potential and capabilities of natural and hybrid ventilation schemes. The 3D component would have the full representation of shape, texture and colour, with performance characteristics already assigned.

IES, creators of the VE (Virtual Environment) Suite, was the partner of choice to implement Monodraught’s vision. As a global provider of building analysis and simulation software, IES had the expertise to transform this vision into the Windcatcher Performance Component Module, the first to be launched as part of their new Performance Components library within its award winning VE software. The Windcatcher Component lives up to the original concept exactly, and further develops it with many additional features that enhance user operation and ease of design.

To find out more and see a demonstration visit IES and Monodraught at Ecobuild 20-22nd March London Excel (www.ecobuild.co.uk). IES Stand N224 (www.iesve.com) and Monodraught Stand N1330.

Monodraught Natural Strategy Selected for Award-Winning Durrell ‘Sustainable’ Visitor Centre

Written by monodraught
Thursday, 16 February 2012 16:45

A stunning new Visitor Centre for the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust’s headquarters in Trinity, Jersey has won an important architectural award as ‘Jersey’s Best Innovative and/or Sustainable Design of 2011’. The judging panel of Jersey’s Architecture Awards praised the building for the range of innovative features employed to make the building as ‘green’ as possible.

An important element of the overall sustainability objective is the mixed-mode heating, ventilating and environmental control system developed for the facility, which included a Monodraught natural ventilation and natural daylight strategy. As Peter Cadiou of M&E consultant Jersey Energy explains: “The Trust felt that it was important, as part of the overall environmental philosophy, to provide visitors with a strong visual identity for the building to reflect the Trust’s environmental integrity. We believe the combination of five active Monodraught Windcatcher natural ventilation systems, eight Sunpipe natural daylight systems and two Suncatchers, which combine the best of both technologies, achieve this admirably by providing a strong environmental signature for the finished building.”

The Windcatchers – three active systems are fitted in the main retail area, one in the main entrance and another in the café – are linked to a Monodraught iNVent ventilation control system to achieve a flow of natural fresh air that works with window louvres to optimise environmental conditions for visitors throughout the building during warm spring/summer months and peak operational periods, with a very low energy footprint. In winter/autumn months the system will automatically switch to mixed-mode operation, using air-source heat pumps to introduce heat into the spaces while the Windcatchers continue to provide natural ventilation to maintain an ideal visitor environment. In addition, two Windcatchers are also connected to the internal building’s AHUs.

The Windcatchers and Suncatchers therefore play a vital role in the overall HVAC strategy for the building, an important objective of which was to retain the energy and environmental footprint of the original building, which was less than half the size of the new building!

Says Peter Cadiou: “The sophisticated control system ensures that whenever possible natural lighting and ventilation will be used; and overall there is a large degree of autonomy built into the ventilation strategy with simple staff interfaces to make the system easy to operate.” He adds that during its first twelve months of operation the strategy has worked extremely well and the Trust is very pleased with the results the Monodraught system is achieving. Staff are also quickly learning how to adjust operating procedures to maximise the many benefits of a brand-new building that adapts itself to changing environmental conditions and occupancy patterns.

The largest single space in the building is the main retail area, which benefits from eight large Monodraught Sunpipe natural daylight systems. Besides being extremely effective and providing year-round, energy-free light during daylight hours, they also create huge visual impact within the space on bright sunny days. The two Suncatchers are fitted in a management office and within a general area that would both, traditionally, be fitted with mechanical ventilation.

As well as the natural ventilation and daylight systems, two of Monodraught’s roof-mounted Ventsair exhaust systems are connected to the centre’s air handling plant to balance the visitor environment when the natural ventilation systems are in passive mode.

Commenting for Monodraught, a spokesperson says it is rewarding to be associated with a development that has such exceptional sustainability credentials. He adds: “We also like to think that the combination of natural ventilation and natural daylight helped the Centre achieve runner-up in the ’People’s Choice Category’ for the public’s favourite building of the year.”

Windcatcher, Sunpipe and Suncatcher are registered trademarks owned by Monodraught Limited.

Editors Note: Designed by Ray Hole Architects in association with local architectural firm Axis Mason, the Visitor Centre is the main gateway for more than 150,000 visitors to Jersey’s iconic wildlife park each year.

WINDCATCHER & SUNPIPES Help Retailers

Written by Monodraught Ltd
Wednesday, 09 November 2011 10:46

Monodraught has long been the natural choice to help the retail sector reduce its carbon footprint. Windcatcher top down natural ventilation systems and Sunpipe natural daylight systems have been installed in British convenience stores, supermarkets and superstores for Asda, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury, Tesco and Waitrose, as well as in stores and warehouses for Decathlon, Hipermercados E Leclerc and Intermarche in Portugal.

According to the UK Green Building Council, existing buildings account for 17% of the UK’s total carbon emissions and need to be in the front line of efforts to tackle climate change. Taking up the challenge, Sainsbury’s discovered a way to make its Durham store 50% larger, while reducing the amount of energy it uses by 10%. Using a number of technologies, including the installation of sixty-three Monodraught Sunpipe natural daylight systems, makes the energy efficiency of the building so much higher. In fact, Sainsbury’s claims the carbon generated in building the extension itself will be neutralised after just two years. Sainsbury’s property director Neil Sachdev, who has previously described Monodraught Sunpipes as providing ‘amazing natural light’, says: “We regard this extension as a great feat and a sign of things to come.”

A total of sixty-three Sunpipes were supplied and installed by Monodraught including nineteen of the company’s 1000mm Diamond Dome models, which are fitted in the extension’s double-height sales areas. These larger Sunpipes are designed specifically to meet the demand for higher lux levels in the UK and mainland Europe, where buildings such as retail outlets and warehouses are increasingly being designed with ceiling heights of 12 metres or more.

Reinforcing the retail sector’s initiatives with Sunpipes, University reports show that natural lighting in supermarkets does significantly improve sales; and by eliminating the unnecessary use of electric lighting during daylight hours Sunpipes are also helping to ensure that supermarkets being built today will be up to 50% more energy efficient and emit up to 50% less CO₂ compared to stores built just a few years ago.

Tesco, which is committed to reducing the operational carbon footprint of all its stores by 50% by the year 2020, also installs Sunpipe natural daylight systems in its retail outlets and has awarded Monodraught preferred supplier status for its environmental store programme for 2010/2011. Like many supermarkets Tesco has also installed Monodraught Windcatcher roof-mounted, top-down natural ventilation systems – most recently in its new 17,000 sq ft superstore in Marlborough, Wiltshire.

Hollyann Holdsworth of Tesco says the Windcatchers, which will deliver natural ventilation to the store’s main sales area, have been specified to reduce the amount of energy used in its stores, which in turn reduces energy bills and Tesco’s carbon footprint. Commenting for Tesco’s environmental consultancy WSP, Peter van Os explains: “The natural ventilation strategy for Tesco stores operates between 18ºC and 25ºC, allowing the air conditioning to be turned off at certain times when the outside temperature can be used to cool or heat the interior, particularly in spring and autumn. The Windcatcher systems also help to balance the ambient temperature in order to optimise running costs for the store’s open and glass door chiller cabinets which, after air conditioning, are among the highest consumers of electricity in supermarkets.” Designed to operate with virtually no moving parts, Windcatchers use established atmospheric principles and the natural effects of the wind to bring fresh air into the store and extract stale warm air, using only natural forces. Warm air rising to roof level decreases the air pressure within buildings, allowing cooler air to enter the building via the Windcatcher units.

Windcatcher and Sunpipe are registered trademarks owned by Monodraught Limited.

Monodraught Extends PCM Technology

Written by Monodraught Ltd
Wednesday, 14 September 2011 09:24

Natural ventilation specialist Monodraught has extended the application of PCM technology with the introduction of an innovative, ceiling-mounted version of its COOL-PHASE^® system. The new product is a low energy cooling, ventilation and heat recovery system that reduces the running costs of buildings and creates a fresh and healthy indoor environment without compressors or hazardous coolants. The system features a thermal energy store using phase change material (PCM) in combination with intelligently controlled ventilation to actively ventilate and cool buildings. The system can maintain temperatures within the comfort zone, while radically reducing energy consumption by up to 90% compared to conventional cooling systems.

Cool-phase uses the latent heat property of PCM to store large amounts of thermal energy, which is then charged and discharged by passing air over a heat exchanger. During summer nights cool outside air is passed through the heat exchanger, releasing heat built up during the previous day and recharging the thermal energy store. As temperatures rise, warm air is passed through the heat exchanger to provide cooling. The total cooling provided is a combination of the thermal energy stored within the unit, the effects of free cooling and night time ventilation.

In winter, Cool-phase works in reverse, trapping waste heat and using it to warm cool fresh air entering the building. The system works all year round to ensure a fresh and healthy environment, monitoring temperatures and CO₂ levels to automatically determine how much ventilation or cooling is required.

The first Cool-phase system was installed in 2009 for Workspace PLC, in a commercial office space that suffered from overheating caused by high solar gains through the windows and roof. The temperatures in the offices, and an identical ‘control’ space, have been monitored since then, with impressive results.

Over the warmest 6 months of 2009 the average daily peak temperature was reduced from 27.2°C to 22.7°C, and an estimated saving in electricity of 86% was achieved during the same period when compared to a conventional air conditioning system.

Commenting on the significant achievement, a spokesman for Workspace says: “We anticipate that Cool-phase will offer a step change in our energy and annual maintenance costs, which we will be able to pass on to our cost conscious tenants.“

More recently Cool-phase has been installed in a central London school and is already delivering substantial improvements in both temperatures and air quality.

Quoting examples, Monodraught managing director Tony Cull says the system reduced the number of occupied hours where the temperature was above 25°C, from 56% during the previous spring term to 0% in the last summer term. During the same period the number of hours where CO₂ levels were above 1500ppm was reduced from 42% to 0%.

He adds that school staff also found that the system had a significant impact on the children’s learning, improving both concentration and behaviour.

Uniquely, this combination of energy savings, cost savings and environmental benefits, enables Cool-phase to meet the requirements of building regulation for thermal comfort, ventilation and energy efficiency in a single easy to retrofit system. And since no compressors or hazardous coolants are used, the system does not require the servicing and statutory checks required of air conditioning systems, further reducing running costs.

Cool-phase also has additional significant advantages over conventional cooling systems.

As external units are not required, the system is ideal where planning permission is an issue or outside space is at a premium; it is also modular and scalable, enabling it to be easily installed in small spaces or expanded for larger areas or densely populated environments.

And it can be installed as a stand-alone system or alongside existing HVAC solutions, to improve their performance and reduce a building’s energy usage.

view our latest COOL-PHASE video

For further information please visit COOL-PHASE.COM

Monodraught Solve Energy, Acoustic & Security Problems at JCoSS

Written by Monodraught Ltd
Tuesday, 28 June 2011 16:21

JCoSS, a new 14,500 sq. ft. Jewish Community Secondary School in Barnet, is a state-of-the-art six form entry Jewish secondary school with places for nine hundred pupils in year groups 7 to 11 and a further 360 students in its sixth form. The school also includes the Pears Specialist Resource Unit for 50 children between the ages of 11-19 with autistic spectrum conditions.

WINDCATCHER® X-Air Natural Ventilation System

Written by Monodraught Ltd
Tuesday, 07 June 2011 16:26

Monodraught’s WINDCATCHER® X-Air natural ventilation system is unique among roof mounted natural ventilation systems as it features ACTIVLOUVRE® modulating aerofoil louvre technology. The ACTIVLOUVRE provides ventilation control at roof level and prevents weather ingress into the WINDCATCHER.

Monodraught Chosen for the World’s First Peppa Pig World!

Written by Monodraught Ltd
Friday, 13 May 2011 14:08

Paultons Family Theme Park has specified Monodraught’s WINDCATCHER SOLA-BOOST for the UK exclusive and world first Peppa Pig Theme Park, which opened at the award winning Hampshire Park on 9^th April 2011.

Paultons Theme Park, which has specialised in entertaining families for more than 27 years, has created Peppa Pig World within its 140 acres of beautiful landscaped parkland on the edge of the New Forest National Park. The main building on this new three acre attraction has a 900 square metre footprint, is highly insulated and features a turf covered, irrigated wildflower roof. Adding to the building’s environmental credentials is a Monodraught natural ventilation strategy based on roof mounted WINDCATCHER SOLA-BOOST natural ventilation systems.

COOL-PHASE: A Revolution Overhead

Written by Monodraught Ltd
Thursday, 03 March 2011 10:47

Monodraught has been developing natural ventilation and daylight solutions for over 30 years that both improve the quality of the environment and reduce energy consumption and our carbon footprint. The COOL-PHASE® passive ventilation system is an exciting new development of this tradition; a revolutionary new ventilation, cooling and heat recovery system. Following trials in central London over the last two years the system has been shown to reduce energy consumption by up to 90%, as well as creating a fresh and healthy indoor environment.

Using Natural Daylight and Natural Ventillation in NHS

Written by Monodraught Ltd
Monday, 14 February 2011 14:29

In order to continue delivering world class health care, the NHS and its building stock face a number of modern challenges such as the incorporation of new equipment and medical practices, increasing energy consumption, the negative effects of climate change, and the increasing potential for epidemics and pandemics.

Perhaps the biggest issue, at this time of austerity, is the cost of the systems needed to meet these challenges. Here, poorly chosen ventilation and lighting systems can prove to be expensive. There are many products that claim to be the correct low energy ventilation or lighting solution for a problem, but all that glitters is not always gold. When selecting a product, the costs incurred during its lifetime must be considered, and must include the consequences of differing approaches to maintenance. If no maintenance is undertaken, preventative activities are not performed which can result in frequent and long breakdowns, high levels of unplanned work, and lost production and output. Conversely, over maintenance performs preventative activities at a frequency that is greater than the optimum so that they add little or no value to the output of the product and squander precious maintenance resources. The consequences of poorly maintained products are a reduction in performance and safety, and an increase in costs and carbon emissions.

Daylight and Ventilation in School Classrooms

Written by Monodraught Ltd
Friday, 11 February 2011 13:26

The adverse effects of poor indoor air quality (IAQ) and a lack of daylight on the health and productivity of building occupants are well known, and can be particularly detrimental to children who spend approximately 12% of their time inside school buildings, more than in any building type other than their homes. In school, children are subject to a variety of contaminants that originate from internal sources, such as furnishings, IT equipment, and bio-effluents, and from those that are brought in from outside, such as nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide. The potential for children to sustain long lasting damage is amplified because their tissue and organs are still growing, they breath more air relative to their body mass than adults, and ventilation rates in school classrooms are often found to be below those that are recommended. Furthermore, low levels of daylight are associated with depression, poor vitamin D synthesis, and reduced productivity.

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