ᐅ Ventilation, Heating, Cooling – Which Solution Is Future-Proof for Bien-Zenker?
Created on: 1 Jul 2025 21:47
J
Jay_KayDear Forum,
We are facing several decisions regarding our planned prefabricated house project with the company Bien-Zenker.
We have already asked a question about insulation under "Building Services > Insulation." Next, we are focusing on heating/climate/ventilation.
By default, Bien-Zenker offers the Proxon comfort climate system. In this and other forums, there are differing opinions on this. My view is that, in terms of heating, an air-to-water heat pump combined with underfloor heating provides more comfortable warmth and probably requires less electricity for heating, since the Proxon system only uses the heat pump linked to heat recovery and otherwise needs additional direct electric heaters in the air outlets. What is the current consensus in the forum?
For air-to-water heat pumps, the company offers an integrated unit (Stiebel Eltron) with a heat pump located indoors. What are your opinions here, especially regarding the efficiency of an indoor heat pump?
Considering the current hot summer, cooling is a topic of interest. The Proxon system can cool as standard and apparently also dehumidify? Regarding dehumidification, I have read that this only happens through ventilation (passive?). Underfloor heating can also cool, usually between 2–4°C (3.5–7°F), while the Proxon system cools roughly 6–8°C (11–14°F). However, this cooling does not dehumidify the room – which has various drawbacks such as a feeling of stickiness and potential mold growth. Since a home ventilation system is also installed alongside the underfloor heating, I wonder how its dehumidification performance compares to that of the Proxon system—is it really worse?
To be on the safe side, we are considering whether to plan the installation or at least the pre-installation of an air conditioning system. Question: For a house with the insulation level mentioned above and appropriate shading—our current preference is external venetian blinds—can the indoor temperature still rise to 25/26+°C (77/79+°F) so much that air conditioning becomes truly necessary?
Can an air conditioning system be operated in conjunction with the existing ventilation system, since this already includes ducting throughout the house? If not, is the only option then split units in the respective rooms? Can these be installed flush with the wall? If we wanted to retrofit such a system later, would it make sense to plan for appropriate pipes in the walls in advance?
Otherwise, I am concerned about the vapor diffusion retarder foil—would retrofitting require holes to be made in the exterior wall, causing problems? Is this concern justified?
Thank you very much!
We are facing several decisions regarding our planned prefabricated house project with the company Bien-Zenker.
We have already asked a question about insulation under "Building Services > Insulation." Next, we are focusing on heating/climate/ventilation.
By default, Bien-Zenker offers the Proxon comfort climate system. In this and other forums, there are differing opinions on this. My view is that, in terms of heating, an air-to-water heat pump combined with underfloor heating provides more comfortable warmth and probably requires less electricity for heating, since the Proxon system only uses the heat pump linked to heat recovery and otherwise needs additional direct electric heaters in the air outlets. What is the current consensus in the forum?
For air-to-water heat pumps, the company offers an integrated unit (Stiebel Eltron) with a heat pump located indoors. What are your opinions here, especially regarding the efficiency of an indoor heat pump?
Considering the current hot summer, cooling is a topic of interest. The Proxon system can cool as standard and apparently also dehumidify? Regarding dehumidification, I have read that this only happens through ventilation (passive?). Underfloor heating can also cool, usually between 2–4°C (3.5–7°F), while the Proxon system cools roughly 6–8°C (11–14°F). However, this cooling does not dehumidify the room – which has various drawbacks such as a feeling of stickiness and potential mold growth. Since a home ventilation system is also installed alongside the underfloor heating, I wonder how its dehumidification performance compares to that of the Proxon system—is it really worse?
To be on the safe side, we are considering whether to plan the installation or at least the pre-installation of an air conditioning system. Question: For a house with the insulation level mentioned above and appropriate shading—our current preference is external venetian blinds—can the indoor temperature still rise to 25/26+°C (77/79+°F) so much that air conditioning becomes truly necessary?
Can an air conditioning system be operated in conjunction with the existing ventilation system, since this already includes ducting throughout the house? If not, is the only option then split units in the respective rooms? Can these be installed flush with the wall? If we wanted to retrofit such a system later, would it make sense to plan for appropriate pipes in the walls in advance?
Otherwise, I am concerned about the vapor diffusion retarder foil—would retrofitting require holes to be made in the exterior wall, causing problems? Is this concern justified?
Thank you very much!
N
nordanney1 Jul 2025 22:28Jay_Kay schrieb:
Question: For a house with the insulation standard mentioned above and adequate shading—currently preferring external venetian blinds—can a house still heat up to, say, 25/26+ degrees,Without any problem. But it takes longer. Conversely, once it is warm inside, it is difficult to get rid of the heat again. Important: plan for summer heat protection.
N
Neuer von Da1 Jul 2025 22:31An air-to-air heat pump...
We have a Schwörer house.
In conclusion, install it only as a ventilation system and additionally use an air-to-water heat pump.
Reasons: the floor remains cold, retrofitting underfloor heating is expensive.
Disadvantages when selling the house.
I wouldn’t call it an air conditioning system... 800 watts cooling capacity is too little for a whole house.
Heating performance from air-to-air alone is barely enough for autumn...
In winter, an additional heating system is needed, which is costly because it runs on electricity directly.
Advantages in a KfW 55 house: in summer, I turn the unit off or run it only weekly (due to insects, etc.).
Hot water comes from the domestic hot water heat pump, which uses less than 50 kWh per month (summer) for us.
We have accepted this and are glad to have a fireplace as well.
This reduces the electricity consumption for the heat pump to 2,500–3,000 kWh per year.
Without it, consumption would be about 5,000–6,000 kWh.
(This is just my opinion)
We have a Schwörer house.
In conclusion, install it only as a ventilation system and additionally use an air-to-water heat pump.
Reasons: the floor remains cold, retrofitting underfloor heating is expensive.
Disadvantages when selling the house.
I wouldn’t call it an air conditioning system... 800 watts cooling capacity is too little for a whole house.
Heating performance from air-to-air alone is barely enough for autumn...
In winter, an additional heating system is needed, which is costly because it runs on electricity directly.
Advantages in a KfW 55 house: in summer, I turn the unit off or run it only weekly (due to insects, etc.).
Hot water comes from the domestic hot water heat pump, which uses less than 50 kWh per month (summer) for us.
We have accepted this and are glad to have a fireplace as well.
This reduces the electricity consumption for the heat pump to 2,500–3,000 kWh per year.
Without it, consumption would be about 5,000–6,000 kWh.
(This is just my opinion)
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