There is a worldwide demand to reduce energy consumption, and Ecodesign legislation has been put in place, aiming to improve the energy efficiency of products. Ventilation systems are amongst the biggest users of indoor energy, so ensuring that they operate as efficiently as possible and reducing their energy usage will have major benefits both for building owners, and for our energy demands as a whole.

There are a number of Ecodesign requirements aimed at ventilation systems. According to the Ecodesign Directive EU 1253/2014, all bidirectional ventilation units should be fitted with a heat recovery system.

Heat recovery systems are traditionally used to reduce the heating demands of a building. By using residual heat from the air being removed, the fresh air being introduced is pre-heated. However, this can also be harnessed for coolth recovery, which has huge, often untapped benefits – rather than introducing warm air into an air conditioned building, the fresh air is pre-cooled by the residual coolth of the exhausted air.