Total solution for ventilation apartments 

One point of contact, one supplier, one service partner and one warranty party

Land in the Netherlands is scarce and we face a severe shortage of affordable housing. That's why more and more developers are choosing to go up in height. But also to build smaller living spaces. Residential towers with apartments of 60 m2 or less are popular, but also require new, smarter layouts as well as space-saving solutions. For example, when it comes to home ventilation.

"To ensure healthy air in all living spaces, residential towers are often equipped with decentralized ventilation units," knows Dennis Osinga, Area Manager at Ned Air. "However, with ever-shrinking homes, this solution is no longer preferred. Central air handling units with space-saving ventilation units are increasingly becoming the norm. With our Everyline and Rotorline air handling units and SkyFlow ventilation system, we are sorting for this, with installers and clients benefiting from substantial synergy advantages."

Total Solution

Ned Air is an innovative company specializing in air handling technology. "We have been producing central air handling units since 1990," says Osinga. "Recently the SkyFlow ventilation system was added to this, allowing us to now provide a total solution for residential ventilation. This assures installers and clients of one point of contact, one supplier, one service partner and one warranty party for the complete ventilation system, which can also be easily accessed, adjusted and monitored online and remotely."

Ample fresh air

SkyFlow is a compact and lightweight ventilation system with an adjustable damper section that optimally responds to the conditions and needs in apartment buildings. "SkyFlow combines high comfort, good moisture regulation and exactly the right amount of clean and fresh air with easy maintenance as well as a compact design," Osinga said. "At the apartment level, installers and clients have a choice of a 1-zone or a 2-zone system. Each unit includes resp. two or three valve modules with flow measurement, so the ventilation per apartment is always balanced. Thanks to the addition of temperature, CO2 and relative humidity sensors, ventilation can then be demand-controlled per room. As a result, no more is ever ventilated than necessary and substantial savings can be made on energy costs."

The valve module of the SkyFlow system has a connection diameter of 160 mm. "The system can refresh over 400 m3/h, which is more than sufficient for most Dutch apartments. In the absence of a fan and filter, SkyFlow functions very quietly and, thanks to convenient mounting brackets, the compact ventilation system can easily be hung on the wall or ceiling. As a result, a suitable spot for SkyFlow can always be found."

Varying air volumes

SkyFlow valve modules are connected to the central shaft, which receives its fresh air from the central air handling unit. This can be various brands and types of air handling units. "Those who choose the combination with Everyline (with counterflow exchanger) or Rotorline (with heat wheel) from Ned Air benefit from substantial synergy advantages," Osinga said. "For example, to refine the process of up- and down-streaming, the control of the ventilation system and air handling units is closely coordinated. Integrated into our air handling units is a System Optimize Controller (SOC) control module, which communicates with each individual SkyFlow damper module. This provides the ability to vary air volumes (air pressures), preventing unnecessary pressure in the ductwork."

Minimum pressure, maximum energy savings

In the vast majority of apartment buildings, there is a constant system pressure. Here, the closer a valve is, the less fresh air is required in the apartment. Yet sometimes a minimum set pressure is used in the system, Osinga knows. "Instead, we send the valve just a little further open while the pressure is reduced. In this way, the resident's comfort remains high, while energy consumption goes down significantly. A godsend, now that energy rates are getting higher and higher and new, stricter requirements for energy labels are on the horizon. This technology in particular, combined with the extensive control module (SOC) in the air handling unit, makes SkyFlow an ideal solution for stacked housing construction."