Ventilation
to the fabric of homes. Therefore, this positive new move will help to protect the health and wellbeing of households as well as provide an opportunity for wholesalers to offer additional ventilation to their customers.
Calculating ventilation
Depending on what energy efficiency measures are installed in a home, the amount and type of ventilation required varies. Wholesalers are well placed to help their customers understand what is needed – so how is it worked out? Part F provides two options for calculating the new ventilation requirements, when energy efficiency measures are added. Option A) offers a simplified method which looks at what energy efficiency measures have been added and whether they are minor (e.g. roof insulation, cavity wall insulation) or major (e.g. installing external or internal wall insulation over 50% of external wall area, replacing more than 30% of windows and doors) and then it works out if more ventilation is needed. This method should be appropriate for the majority of existing dwellings. (There is a helpful table on page 23 of the Regulations (Table 3.1) that clearly sets this out.) Alternatively, option B) provides the alternative of expert advice; this is most suited if a property is significantly different from its original construction when it comes to energy efficiency measures. With the simplified method, a home that falls under Category A (a maximum of two minor
“The new Building
Regulations… [are] seen as a vital step to improve indoor air quality while helping meet the Future Homes Standard and Net Zero.”
changes and no major changes) it is likely no additional ventilation will be required. However, for Categories B and C, more than three minor changes, and/or one or more major measures, it is likely that additional ventilation will be required. This could be provided by the inclusion of either intermittent extract fans to wet areas and trickle vents that meet Part F; continuous mechanical extract with smaller trickle vents in habitable rooms only; or balanced supply and extract (normally heat recovery) without trickle vents. This, along with Appendix D in Part F, provides an excellent tool for wholesalers to use where they can easily show electricians whether they need to add more ventilation to projects they’re working on. Around 85% of homes in the UK have double- glazing so in most existing properties where energy efficient measures have been applied an upgrade in ventilation is needed. For wholesalers talking to electricians working in homes that are having or already have energy efficiency measures added, this is the ideal opportunity to easily upsell ventilation measures.
Ventilation solutions
So, what are the ventilation options for existing homes? There is a wide range of extractor fans available to help provide effective ventilation and comply with the new Part F. For instance, for existing homes where ventilation is needed following energy efficiency measures, wholesalers can upsell to smart fans which combine condensation control to avoid mould with improved IAQ backed up by easy installation, quiet operation and smartphone control, such as Vent- Axia’s Lo-Carbon Svara. Electricians with customers
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for whom low sound levels are essential will be interested in fans that combine very low sound levels combined with features such as IPX5-rating (for Zone 1) that make installation easier and safer. Vent-Axia’s Silent Fan range offers the ideal solution and boasts seventeen models. And, for households that are particularly interested in good IAQ there are now fans with odour sense technology such as the Vent-Axia PureAir Sense, that increases airflow when the air is poor helping to maintain a comfortable living environment.
However, what about existing homes that require whole house ventilation following energy efficiency measures? It’s tricky to retrofit a whole house ventilation system but fortunately there is a new type of decentralised heat recovery ventilation (dMVHR) that is ideal for retrofitting to provide a whole-house system. This innovative concept is Alternate Flow Heat Recovery, which offers a balanced modular customisable ventilation system. This type of technology, such as Vent-Axia’s Lo-Carbon Heat Save, uses two or more fans in habitable rooms. The units use a reversible fan that alternates between supply and extract fan modes to extract dirty air from the room and replace it with filtered outside air. It’s easy to expand as needed for a whole house solution, all controllable from one controller. Achieving up to 84% heat recovery, dMVHR uses the warmth from outgoing air to heat incoming air to avoid heat loss, reducing a home’s carbon footprint and energy bills.
For wholesalers, the new Building Regulations are the ideal opportunity to upsell the latest ventilation solutions to electricians, helping them ensure homes meet the new Regulations whilst delivering good IAQ and preventing condensation.
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