Ventilation Design Guidelines
Successful Planning Today people are becoming increasingly aware of the problems of indoor pollution and of the important contribution that well-planned ventilation makes to modern living. Effective ventilation is now regarded as a necessity because no-one can feel their best or work efficiently in air that smells, smoke, humidity or excessive heat. Stale air in pubs, clubs, offices and workshops is bad for business. In the stuffy atmosphere created by lack of ventilation, colds, flu and airborne viruses will quickly spread. Properly controlled ventilation can help in all these situations and reduces lost output caused by absenteeism through illness. Damaging condensation affects 4.5 million homes in the UK alone. This can quickly cause paintwork and wallpaper to deteriorate and encourages mould, stains and rotting. So people are faced with the expensive cost of redecorating. Unfortunately, modern thermally efficient buildings are not designed to encourage natural ventilation. The Building Regulations are recognising this problem and, nationally, local authorities are specifying higher rates of ventilation. When installing ventilation it is most important to obtain maximum efficiency from the investment so proper planning is essential What Size of Unit and How many? The correct size, type and number of ventilation units required for any area is determined by three factors: the room size, its use and location. First, work out the volume of the room by multiplying length x width x height. This volume is then multiplied by the required number of air changes per hour (ACH) to determine the total air movement required per hour. Select the number of fans necessary to achieve the desired volume. The new Building Regulations require the following ventilation rates on new dwellings: Kitchen areas: an extract rate of no less than 216m³/h 60 1/sec. For calculation purposes we recommend an air change rate of 15 per hour. Utility Rooms: an extract rate of no less than 108m³/h 30 1/sec. For calculation purposes we recommend an air change rate of 15 per hour. Bathrooms: an extract rate of no less than 54m³/h 15 1/sec. For calculation purposes we recommend an air change rate of 6 per hour. The new requirements are designed to remove steam and smells at source before they are able to migrate causing damage to colder parts of the dwelling. |
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Click Here for suggested air changes |
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