Heat loss through a building envelope or element such as glazing is reduced by inducing external air to flow over the internal surface, thereby reducing the temperature difference between internal and external surfaces, such airflow providing the ventilation to the building. Stale air is extracted via a heat pump (5) which cools the air to below external temperature before rejection, extracting a net gain of heat to the building which is used to heat the incoming cold air before it reaches the occupied or functional parts of the building. Centrifugal fans (1) induce a flow of fresh air into ducts provided with slit apertures (2), allowing fresh air to discharge parallel with the underside of the sloping glass roof (3). The air is warmed while passing over finned pipes (4). Heat extracted from the outgoing air (6) by heat pumps (5) is used to warm the water not only in the pipes (4), but also that circulated in pipes (7) embedded in the soil.
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