Ventilation systems in council homes

Ventilating your home will improve indoor air quality, and reduces the risk of excess moisture, condensation, and mould growth. This is good for people with allergies or breathing issues. We may have installed ventilation systems in your council home, as part of energy efficiency improvements. 

Positive input ventilation

Positive input ventilation (PIV) systems pump and help circulate fresh filtered air into the whole house. This forces stale air out through window trickle vents and any gaps and cracks in the fabric of the building.

If your home has a loft, the PIV unit is installed in the loft. It will draw in air, that is then ducted through to the home in either a first floor or ground hallway. If you live in a ground-floor flat or have no access to a loft space a wall-mounted PIV unit is used. These require a vent on the external wall to draw in outside air and are also ducted through to the internal hallway of the home.

They are designed to be very quiet, and unlike a kitchen or bathroom extractor fan, you might not notice that it's running.

The PIV runs all the time. There are no on/off control or timer settings that you need to adjust. Typically, a PIV system is cheaper to run than a dehumidifier and will still remove the humidity in the home. The system should not make your house cold; the fresh air is slowly mixed with the home’s existing warm air.

PIV systems need little maintenance other than having the filters changed every 5 years. The council will do this.

Mechanical ventilation and heat recovery

Mechanical ventilation and heat recovery (MVHR) is a ventilation system for your whole home.

1. Warm, old air is taken from places like bathrooms and kitchens.
2. The old air is passed through a heat exchange devise, getting about 80% of the heat from the old air.
3. The old is is sent outside.
4. Fresh air is brought in from the outside, then: filtered, warmed up and spread around your home through ducts in the ceiling.

If you have MVHR you don't need separate extractor fans in your kitchen or bathroom. This is one reason the MVHR system must be left to run all the time. MVHR is necessary in modern airtight homes, with low air permeability, meaning they don't let much air in or out.

Unlike normal extractor fans, most of the heat will be reused in the home, and the warm air will be better circulated in each room.

The system needs regular check-ups and filter changes to keep working well, so it will be maintained each year by the council.