As climate change continues to accelerate, the construction industry faces a major challenge: moving towards more sustainable, efficient heating and ventilation systems in homes.
MVHR is central to today’s energy efficient homes. It improves indoor air quality and helps raise a home’s Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating by recovering heat from outgoing stale air and transferring it to fresh air coming in. While MVHR is already a top priority for 80% of self builders seeking greater efficiency, it is also becoming more widely adopted by larger housebuilders who need to meet the airtightness and efficiency demands of the Future Homes Standard.
And, of course, these systems need to be installed to the best possible standard to provide safe, energy efficient houses.
A poor heating or ventilation installation can have serious detrimental effects on a building. Excessive energy use can mean higher runner costs, and poor indoor air quality and toxic black mould from condensation, can even pose risks to occupant’s health.
While the UK boasts some of the best mechanical and electrical (M&E) contractors in Europe, there is no formal national qualification, which means many ventilation installs are now being completed by unqualified tradesmen.
Meeting this challenge head on, indoor climate solutions manufacturer and MiTek partner, Zehnder Group UK, has opened the Zehnder Academy – a cutting-edge facility, located at Zehnder’s headquarters in Camberley, Surrey, dedicated to advancing skills and knowledge across the industry and creating healthier living environments in British homes
Launched in January, the academy includes a simulated indoor environment with fully operational heating, cooling, and ventilation systems for testing. As part of the academy design and build, MiTek provided the facility with a specially designed Posi Joist rig to allow installers to practise design, ducting, and connector installation while seeing how Zehnder’s Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) integrates with MiTek’s Posi Joist system.
Visitors can access live demos in maintenance, servicing and commissioning as well as hands on sessions at the Posi Joist rig and, classroom learning. There will also be online training modules for extended theory.
Featuring both practical and academic training modules, the curriculum spans all elements of the design, install, commissioning and maintenance process, which tracks to the Future Homes Standard legislation coming into effect from December 2026. Equipping trainees with a gold standard of training across all four areas ensures HVAC systems are installed with a systems-first mindset to strike the balance between meeting the energy-efficient and air-tight requirements of the Future Homes Standard, while keeping indoor environments healthy and comfortable for their inhabitants.
Simon Connor, EMEA Product Portfolio Manager at MiTek said: “Together, we’re showing how advanced heating and ventilation systems can be seamlessly incorporated into modern home designs, meeting environmental goals while offering tangible benefits for builders and homeowners alike.”
Bridging markets and addressing skills gaps
MiTek works closely with both large housebuilders and self builders, an important part of the market. “We supply a significant volume of Posi Joists to small builders, so it’s essential for this sector to understand how our systems together help enhance energy efficiency and air quality,” added Simon. “The Zehnder Academy is an invaluable resource for large scale developers and smaller builders.”
As demand for sustainable construction grows, the Zehnder Academy aims to close the skills gap by educating installers, builders, and other industry professionals. But training also extends to architects and developers, helping them understand why MVHR needs to be considered early in the design process.
Jason Bennett, National Business Development Manager at Zehnder Group UK, highlighted the wider importance of the initiative: “The Zehnder Academy will turn knowledge into confidence, and confidence into competence, so that every system that is installed performs to its full potential. Training is designed to show how ventilation behaves in real buildings, how it interacts with other building services, and how decisions made during design, installation, commissioning and maintenance can affect long-term performance. The aim is not narrow product familiarity, but broader, transferable knowledge that can be applied across projects, sectors and applications.”
Zehnder and MiTek gained significant attention at the 2023 Offsite Expo in Coventry, where the two companies showcased an MVHR system integrated with a Posi Joist rig. They also partnered with Bellway Homes on The Future Hub at Barton Quarter, demonstrating how sustainable construction can be delivered efficiently in practice. See that partnership in action here.
Industry professionals can sign up for courses via the Zehnder Training Academy Portal. Click here for more information.
