A five-bedroom 1980s family home in Devon has undergone a complete heating and cooling transformation, replacing the property’s ageing gas-fired boiler and traditional wall-mounted radiators with a renewable energy powered solution. Central to the upgrade is The Unico System Small Duct High Velocity HVAC system, which has been paired with a Worcester Bosch 10kW CS 2000 AWF Monobloc Heat Pump. This combination not only provides efficient heating, but also offers cooling, ventilation, and indoor air purification throughout the year.

For homeowner Matt Bird, the upgrade was more than just about comfort. “We wanted to move away from fossil fuels and also find a low-maintenance, eco-friendly alternative with no risk of water leaks or the hassle of replacing parts such as valves. Unico is a central air distribution set up with none of these drawbacks,” he explains. As Managing Director of Devon Renewables, he was already well-versed in the advantages of Unico System’s small duct high-velocity air distribution technology alongside his in depth knowledge of heat pumps, solar panels and other HVAC products.

The property has four bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor, with a kitchen diner, living room, utility, WC and fifth bedroom at ground level.

The Unico Air Handling unit is installed out of sight in the loft, with the central duct running from it across the width of the property. The carefully thought out design and layout of the system ensures that all rooms outlets on both floors are within five metres of this duct. Small diameter Unico flexible supply tubing delivers conditioned air to them, routed through tight spaces, between joists and is also cleverly concealed in cupboards and fitted wardrobes as it runs from the upper to the ground floor.

The switch between heating and cooling is handled by the air to water Worcester Bosch Heat Pump, delivering hot or cold water to the Unico System Air Handling Unit. This passes through a heat exchanger to convert it to clean warm or cool air for each room, as determined by the mode set on the Nest thermostat. Domestic hot water is distributed from a centrally located unvented hot water cylinder which is also heated by heat pump.

Unico System’s high velocity air distribution methodology offers Matt significant performance and practical benefits. It delivers conditioned air almost silently into each room via a process called aspiration, which ensures an even temperature throughout each space and hardly any variation. “Unlike with radiators or conventional air conditioning units, the Unico System circulates the air evenly, keeping each room at a consistent level of comfort without any need for adjustment. Control is simple via our centralised Nest thermostat which can be alternated between heating and cooling either manually or automatically,” Matt notes.

The seamless operation makes it a year-round comfort solution without the need for separate heating and cooling systems. The weather compensation feature on the heat pump automatically adjusts the flow temperature so that when it’s mild outside, the heat pump delivers a lower temperature because less heat is needed inside. Conversely, if it’s cold outside, the heat pump increases the temperature to maintain comfort.

Before installing the new HVAC system, the property underwent extensive insulation which has been excellent for energy efficiency, but raised concerns about the need for proper ventilation, maintenance of air quality levels, potential overheating in the warmer months and humidity control. The Unico System tackles this issue, actively dehumidifying when in cooling mode and preventing humidity problems year round through even air circulation and moisture removal. As a result of the high velocity air movement and longer coil contact time, The Unico System is very effective at dehumidification, often removing up to 30% more moisture than conventional systems.

Matt also upgraded Unico’s standard filter to a UV light air purification module. This reduces airborne biological contaminants such as pollen, mould spores and bacteria that can thrive in higher humidity environments.

“The UV module is a simple, cost-effective upgrade that makes a big difference to our Indoor Air Quality – especially for our family members who suffer with asthma,” he says.

Beyond comfort and air quality, the Unico System offers significant aesthetic and interior advantages. With air distributed via discreet ceiling outlets, the home has been freed from bulky radiators. “We’re so glad to be rid of them as they took up valuable space. Now we enjoy much flexibility with our room layouts and furniture. We have a nice minimalist look that will harmonise with any future changes to our interior designs,” Matt adds.

A detached house in Clitheroe built in 2020 is now benefiting from a Unico HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning solution), which heats and cools the first floor of the property. The homeowner has capitalised on the versatility of the Unico System to ensure a comfortable indoor temperature all year round and make a significant contribution to superior Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), along with other practical benefits.

Lewis Rothwell was familiar with the benefits of the Unico System through his work as Low Carbon Assistant Manager at James Hargreaves (Plumbers Merchants), a Unico Specialist Merchant Partner in the North West. He knew it would be ideal for retrofitting into the upper floor of his own property, thanks to both the compact design of the air handling unit and main ductwork, as well as the flexibility of the supply tubing that could all be accommodated easily within the roof space of the existing building.

The use of renewable energy for the installation was a prerequisite. As an all-in-one central air distribution system compatible with renewables, the Unico System would fully meet all his heating and cooling requirements without the need for two systems.

The 63m² upstairs space includes four bedrooms, an en-suite and a separate bathroom. It has a heat loss of around 4.5kW, and the Unico 2430 Series Air Handling Unit (AHU) provides 2.7 – 13.7kW of heating and 2.9 – 11.1kW of cooling capacity. The compatible energy source is a Daikin Monobloc Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP), sized and matched with the Unico AHU to achieve maximum energy efficiency and optimal results from the installation.

The Unico AHU, conveniently located in the loft space above the bedrooms, takes in air from the outside and filters it before it is delivered into rooms. With this in-built filtration, indoor airborne pollutants including germs, odours, bacteria and pollen are removed. For optimum comfort levels and superior air quality, Unico technology also removes some 30% more humidity than a traditional HVAC system.

The system was designed by the Renewable Solutions team at Bell Plumbing Supplies, Unico’s Principal UK Distributor, who also arranged timely delivery of all the components for the installation directly to site. For installer Mark Hanson Plumbing and Heating of Clitheroe, this was his first Unico installation and was fully supported by Bell Plumbing to ensure everything went according to plan.

One of the challenges was the integration of the Unico System with two other heating zones in the home, all using the same heat pump, covering existing radiators and fan convectors on the ground floor. The system has been designed so that the three zones work independently, giving complete flexibility so that higher or lower indoor temperatures can be set upstairs or downstairs if required.

With Unico, both warmed and cooled air is delivered through unobtrusive round ceiling outlets with a temperature differential of no more than +/- 1º C throughout the upper floor and no drafts when in cooling mode. Noise and vibration is minimised with sound absorbing supply tubing and sound from the AHU fully isolated.

For heating, a priority for Lewis was to dispense with traditional large surface area radiators, which not only presented a risk of possible scalding, but also took up considerable wall space. This has now been freed up and provides more flexibility in room layouts.

“The Unico System operates very quietly, keeps the temperature of the rooms exactly how we want them and we haven’t had to worry about any servicing issues for the first few months,” says Lewis.

“Mat Downes at Bell Plumbing Supplies took me, as the end user, through everything I needed to know to get the most from my Unico System. A big plus is that I can control it remotely through the Nest app on my mobile phone, so that when we want a warm house on our return, it’s easy to set up. The same will apply, of course, in the summer to ensure the upstairs of our home is cool on arrival.”