House Builders How to Improve a SAP Rating

The Open Fire Centre - Yorkshire St., Oldham, Manchester, Lancashire
"Definitely Not an internet company! but an old fashioned people business. Est 1990"
Call direct on tel. 0161 627 0602 / 0161 627 0161

There are many factors affecting the SAP Rating of a building. A significant factor in improving the SAP Rating is the type of supplimentary heating provided.
Fires, either gas or woodburning, which take combustion air directly from the outside, eliminate the need to provide ventilation within the room:

Modern woodburning fires improve SAP Rating in a number of ways. Woodburning is both environmentally friendly, being carbon neutral and a genuinely renewal fuel. Wood, therefore, reduces the SAP Rating. Woodburning fires now offer efficiency up to 80% again a SAP rating improvement, and the new generation have the facility to take their combustion air directly from the outside creating what is, in effect, a woodburning "balanced-flue" fire.

With a self-cleaning glass door sealing the fire from the room, no additional air is needed to be provided, resulting in a SAP Rating improvement due to the absence of ventilation.

The Barbas Energa shown right and is typical of the latest generation of woodburning fires:

Barbas Escamolux 70-55 Woodburning Fire from The Open Fire Centre Yorkshire St Oldham Lancashire bordering Manchester Cheshire Derbyshire

The Barbas Energa features a Ceramic Particulate Filter for removing fine particles from the flue gasses.
As shown in the drawing (right) ambient air is drawn into the fire at the bottom - possibly directly from the outside - and is pre-heated as it travels to the top of the fire. This hot air enters the combustion chamber where it provides oxygen for combustion.
The resulting flue gasses travel upwards, passing through the white ceramic filter before being exhausted via the chimney.
Absolute control of the fire is effected by the slider control (inset)

Click to see more Woodburning Fires

The Open Fire Centre Yorkshire St Oldham Lancashire Manchester Lancashire bordering Cheshire derbyshire Bellfires Corner Bell Range

Balanced-flues are almost universal these days for central-heating boilers but they are becoming a popular feature of the latest gas fires. They can be fitted with the flue through the wall in the familiar way but can also use an existing chimney with the fumes being exhausted up the chimney and combustion air being drawn down the chimney via twin liners. As with the Woodburning fires above, these balanced flue gas fires offer a significant improvement in a house's SAP Rating.

Barbas Bellfires Eco 650 balanced flue gas stove The Open Fire Centre Yorkshire St Oldham Lancashire bordering Manchester Cheshire Derbyshire

If a stove is the favoured source of supplimentary heating, there is a choice of traditional and contemporary balanced-flue gas stoves. Depending on model, the balanced flue can terminate through a wall or roof. Balanced flue gas stoves offer high efficiency and the same SAP Rating benefits as the other fires featured.