Lung disease patient: Zehnder MVHR “the best thing I’ve ever had”

This article was originally published in issue 48 of Passive House Plus magazine. Want immediate access to all back issues and exclusive extra content? Click here to subscribe for as little as €15, or click here to receive the next issue free of charge

The man who suffers from a rare respiratory condition, and who Passive House Plus is not naming to preserve his privacy, had a Zehnder Comfoair Q350 mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) system installed in his home by MVHR experts Paul Heat Recovery as part of a retrofit in June 2022.

“It’s the best thing I’ve ever had,” the man said. “I suffer from a respiratory health condition, but what a huge difference it has made in my living arrangements. Previously, I really struggled to breathe. I find that the atmosphere is cleaner, there’s less dust in the house, and it’s easier to breathe.”

The man, who is in his sixties, had the MHVR system installed as part of a refurbishment including upgraded thermal insulation and windows. The effect, he says, has been transformational.

“It allows me to breathe a lot easier,” he said. “It enables me to move more easily around the house, and I’m not as puffed out as I used to be,” adding that his use of an oxygen generator to supplement his blood oxygen levels has significantly reduced. “The cleaner air allows me to do things I couldn’t do before.”

“Even my consultants, whom I’ve been seeing for about the last 20 years… have been wondering what has happened in my living arrangements to create this improvement. I’ve told them about the installation of the heat recovery system, and each consultant has suggested they should write a paper on the benefits of installing a Zehnder [Q]350 in properties, considering the impact it has had on my health.”

Prior to the retrofit the man was on a lung transplant list at an English hospital. “They have since examined my chest and made the decision to take me off that list because they’ve seen a huge improvement in my breathing,” he said. “In fact, they said in the 22 years since they’ve listened to my chest, they’ve never heard it so clear. I would also say that my walking distance has improved by 25 per cent as a result of my improved lung function, and all I can say is I can put it down to the Zehnder 360.”

The main said the system is quiet and costs ten pence a day to run, and has helped to cut his heating bills down. “We have underfloor heating that works in tandem with the system, and I find that with both, it has created more space and given a perfect ambiance of comfort in the house. “The system is so simple to run. Every 180 days, all I need to do is install a filter in the system, which is used to extract clean, fresh air into the house through vents in the ceiling. I wish I’d discovered it sooner.”

For more information visit www.paulheatrecovery.co.uk.