VENTILATION & HEAT RECOVERY Future Homes


Standard: competency takes centre stage


The Future Homes Standard is set to transform housebuilding. Joe Brawn, product and marketing director at Vent-Axia, examines how the Future Homes Standard is raising the bar for ventilation competency, system design and indoor air quality in new build homes


Left: Joe Brawn, product and marketing director at Vent-Axia


T


he journey towards Net Zero is entering a new stage following the long-awaited publication of the Future Homes Standard, and the updated Approved Document Part F (Means of Ventilation) of the Building Regulations, and Part L (Conservation of Fuel and Power). Together, these changes are set to reshape housebuilding, with new homes expected to produce 75-80% fewer carbon emissions compared to properties built to 2013 standards.


But to achieve these carbon reductions, buildings


are becoming increasingly air-tight. As a result, it becomes vital to maintain good indoor air quality (IAQ) too to protect occupants’ wellbeing. At the same time, tougher carbon reduction targets are adding further complexity for housebuilders, making well-designed, correctly installed and effectively commissioned ventilation systems more important than ever. The ventilation sector is therefore welcoming the increased focus on competency within the updated guidance, recognising that good ventilation design will play an essential role in delivering energy-efficient, low-carbon homes.


Guidance


So, what do these changes mean for HVAC contractors? One key change in Part F that should be noted is that there is now guidance


that greater care should be taken when installing a mechanical ventilation system, particularly centralised systems, and to ensure that both the following are met: a. “The person carrying out the work is suitably competent (for example, they are a registered competent person). b. The work meets the requirements of the Building Regulations.” Not only should greater care be taken, but for


ventilation installation work, compliance with Building Regulations must be demonstrated using one of two routes: self-certification by a registered competent person, or certification by a building control body. If an installer is not a registered competent person, Part F provides guidance on how


to obtain sign-off through building control. These changes look set to raise ventilation installation standards, improve building performance and in turn lower carbon emissions. As well as changes to installation guidance, Part F also introduces updates on commissioning. Those commissioning and testing mechanical ventilation systems should also be trained and be a member of an organisation that independently verifies their competence. For HVAC contractors, these amendments offer an incentive to register with a competent person scheme. Another focus area in the amended Part F is


system design. This includes the need for ventilation designers to consider airflow performance and resistance in ductwork. The addition of maximum design system pressure for Mechanical Ventilation (MEV) and Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) systems, depending on flow rates, means that designers need to look carefully at each design and ensure pressure calculations are completed. These amendments are set to help improve the overall design of ventilation systems and support the uptake of lower specific fan power (SFP) solutions, as well as more advanced ventilation systems such as MVHR. In addition, Part F also brings changes to ducting, with a further shift away from flexible ductwork. For continuous MEV or MVHR the guidance states that rigid or smooth semi-rigid ducting should be used. For intermittent extract fans or dMEV rigid ducting should be used with duct lengths kept to a maximum of 2m where possible. Where duct runs exceed 2m, a competent person must provide detailed design calculations and drawings to building control to show that the required air flows are achieved. Again, these changes look set to improve ventilation system design since the tightening of limits will mean systems will need to be designed more carefully. Hand-in-hand with Part F, Part L also introduces changes to ventilation with tighter SFP targets across ventilation, supporting improved energy efficiency. MEV is now split between decentralised Mechanical Ventilation (dMEV) and centralised MEV with dMEV 0.3W/l/s and MEV 0.5W/l/s for new build. MVHR systems are reduced to 1.4W/l/s for new- build.


20 June 2026


www.heatingandventilating.net


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