Ventilation of Domestic Natural Gas Appliances

These notes are part of RAD Trainings domestic ACS natural gas training programme. They cover the
underpinning knowledge requirements for the ventilation of domestic natural gas appliances. An up-to-date version
is available from www.radmidlands.co.uk
These notes are for information only and should not be used instead of normative documents or as a substitute
for manufacturers instructions. RAD Training (Midland) Ltd. accepts no responsibility for any consequences of the
usage of these notes or the reliance on any information within them.

Contents
Page

Topic

Why ventilation is important

Normative documents
Determining the category of unsafe situation

Types of gas appliance

Flueless appliances
Open flue appliances
Room sealed appliances

Heat input, kilowatt net and kilowatt gross

5

Ventilation of open flue appliances

Adventitious air
Decorative Fuel Effect (DFE) appliances

Examples of open flue ventilation questions

Ventilation of flueless appliances

Examples of flueless ventilation calculations

Ventilation of rooms containing more than one appliance

10

Examples of multi-appliance ventilation questions

13
14

Air vents
Measuring an air vent
Air bricks

15
16

Ventilation of appliances in compartments

Examples of compartment ventilation questions

18

Ventilation taken through adjoining rooms

Example of air vents in series question

19

Converting between units of power

20

Glossary

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Why ventilation is important

Natural gas needs a certain amount of oxygen to burn correctly. Every cubic metre of gas
needs ten cubic metre of air for complete combustion.
Too little air causes incomplete combustion which produces carbon monoxide (CO), a highlypoisonous gas.
Some types of gas appliance take their combustion air from the room. The room must then
supply enough fresh air to ensure complete combustion.

Normative documents
Use manufacturers instructions to find the ventilation requirements of specific appliances
wherever possible.
British Standard 5440-2:2009 gives general information on ventilation requirements for
domestic natural gas appliances.
The Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure Edition 6 (AMD 1 & 2) details the procedures
for dealing with dangerous or potentially dangerous gas installations including incorrect
ventilation.
The Building Regulations Part J (Heat Producing Appliances) 2010 describes the legal
requirements of heating appliance installations.
The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 describes the legal requirements of gas
installations.

Determining the category of unsafe situation

If available ventilation is less than 90% of what is needed, or if ventilation provision is defective
in any way, the installation is categorised as At Risk as defined in The Gas Industry Unsafe
Situations Procedure.

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Types of gas appliance

There are three categories of domestic gas appliance:
Flueless
Open flue
Room sealed
Flueless appliances
Flueless appliances have no chimney or flue. They take their
combustion air from the room and release their products of
combustion into the room.

Ventilation air for flueless appliances must come directly from

outside the property, not through adjoining rooms.

Flueless appliances must not be installed in bathrooms or

shower rooms.

Restrictions of room size apply to many flueless appliances.

The size of room affects the size of purpose-provided

ventilation needed.

Flueless appliances are BS 5440-1 flue classification A

Open flue appliances

Open flue appliances take their combustion air from the room
and remove their products of combustion to outside through a
chimney or flue.

Open flue appliances remove air from the room. This causes
depressurisation of the room which can help to draw in fresh air
through vents, etc.

Open flue appliances must not be installed in bathrooms or

shower rooms.

Open flue appliances can be installed in bedrooms provided they

are of heat input no greater than 14 kW (gross) and they have a
device that will automatically shut down the appliance in the
event of a build-up of products of combustion in the room.

The size of room does not affect their ventilation requirements.

Open flue appliances are BS 5440-1 flue classification B

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Room sealed appliances

Room sealed appliances take combustion air from outside and
release their products of combustion outside.

Room sealed appliances are sealed from the room. This means that
the room does not need ventilation for combustion air.

Some room sealed appliances need ventilation for cooling when

installed in a compartment (see manufacturers instructions for
specific requirements).

Room sealed appliances are BS 5440-1 flue classification C

Heat input, kilowatt net and kilowatt gross

Manufacturers give the heat input of gas appliances in kilowatt (kW). You need to know this
figure to calculate the ventilation requirements of some appliances.

Note: Do not use heat output for ventilation calculations. Heat output is a measure of
heat produced by an appliance. Heat input is a measure of the amount of gas used.
There are two forms of kilowatt, net and gross. All calculations in these notes are based on kW
net.
Heat inputs for modern gas appliances will be given in kW net in manufacturers data. Older
appliances may have figures in kW gross (and may not indicate either net or gross).
If you have a kW gross figure you can convert it to kW net with the following formula:
heat input (kW net) = heat input (kW gross) 1.1

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Ventilation of open flue appliances

If the manufacturers instructions do not give vent size requirements then you can use the
following formula:
Ventilation requirement (cm2) = heat input (kW net) x 5

Adventitious air
Some air may come into a room from outside through gaps around window and door frames
and through floorboards. This is called adventitious ventilation.
In modern and renovated properties double glazing and draught-proofing has reduced this
source of air. The heating engineer must decide whether adventitious air is available or not.
If adventitious air is available the ventilation requirement (for open flue appliances only) can be
reduced by 35 cm2.

Note: Reducing the ventilation by 35 cm2 is equivalent to taking off 7 kW from the
appliance heat input. Many open flue appliances of heat input 7 kW or under do not
need purpose-provided ventilation if adventitious air is available.

Decorative Fuel Effect (DFE) appliances

DFEs are a special case of open flue gas fire. They are usually
in the form of a basket or tray housed within a chimney.

Most DFEs need 100 cm2 of ventilation, regardless of heat

input. This figure already has adventitious air taken into
account and should not be reduced further.

Air vents for DFEs should not be situated inside the chimney.

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Examples of open flue ventilation questions

1. A living room in a newly-built house contains an open flue gas fire of heat input 6.5 kW net:
6.5 x 5 = 32.5 cm2 permanent ventilation required
No allowance for adventitious air can be given because newly-built houses
are constructed to a high level of draught-proofing.
2. A kitchen in an un-renovated house built in 1989 contains an open flue boiler of heat input
26 kW net:
26 x 5 = 130 cm2
Un-renovated older house, so adventitious allowance: 130 35 = 95 cm2
3. A room in an un-renovated house built in 1983 contains a DFE:
DFEs require 100 cm2 permanent ventilation.
Adventitious allowance is not taken off for DFE ventilation.
4. A bedroom of an un-renovated 1970s house contains an open flue gas fire of 6.6 kW gross:
First convert gross kW to net kW: 6.6 1.1 = 6.0 kW net
6.0 x 5 = 30 cm2
Adventitious air is available. The ventilation requirement of the fire is
below 35 cm2 so no purpose provided ventilation is necessary.

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Ventilation of flueless appliances

If manufacturers information is not available you can use a flueless ventilation chart. The
following chart is a simplified version of the one in BS 5440-2:2009:

Ventilation requirements for domestic flueless appliances

Appliance
type

Maximum
allowable
heat input

Cooker, grill,
or hotplate

n/a

Instantaneous
Water heater

11 kW

Fire / space
heater in a
habitable
room
Fire / space
heater in a
hallway,
landing etc.

45 watt
per m3
90 watt
per m3

Room
volume
m3

Permanent air vent size

cm2

less than 5
5 to 10
more than 10
less than 5
5 to 10
>10 to 20
more than 20

100
0 if there is a door to outside, 50 if not
none
installation not permitted
100
50
none

must be at least
the heat input
kW of appliance
multiplied by
22 . 22
must be at least
the heat input
kW of appliance
multiplied by
11 . 11

Openable
window or
equivalent
needed?

YES

YES

If 2.7 kW or under: 100

If over 2.7 kW:
(heat input 2.7) x 55 + 100

YES

If 5.4 kW or under: 100

If over 5.4 kW:
(heat input 5.4) x 27.5 + 100

YES

Note 1: Do not use this chart for open flue appliances.

Note 2: The Maximum allowable heat input column gives details of
restrictions for certain types of flueless appliance. For example, flueless water
heaters above 11 kW cannot be installed in a domestic property.
Note 3: There is no adventitious allowance for flueless appliances.
Note 4: Most types of flueless appliance need an openable window (or
equivalent) to outside as well as any permanent air vent required.

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Examples of flueless ventilation calculations

1. A kitchen of 12 m3 contains a flueless water heater of 8 kW net:
From the chart, a 50 cm2 permanent vent and an openable window are required.
2. A room of 9 m3 without a door to outside contains a flueless cooker:
From the chart, a 50 cm2 permanent vent and an openable window are required.
3. A flueless gas fire of heat input 2.9 kW net is installed in a living room of 36 m3:
Step 1: determine whether the room size is acceptable:
From the chart, room size must be at least the kW of the appliance x 22.22
2.9 kW x 22.22 = 64.4 m3 required.
The room is too small for the appliance. This must be treated as an At
Risk situation.
4. A flueless space heater of heat input 3.1 kW net is installed in a living room of 70 m3:
Step 1: determine whether the room size is acceptable:
From the chart, room size must be at least the kW of the appliance x 22.22
3.1 x 22.22 = 68.9 m3 required. The room is big enough for the appliance.
Step 2: calculate the ventilation requirements:
From the chart:
The fire is over 2.7 kW, so the calculation is:
(heat input 2.7) x 55 + 100
= (3.1 2.7) x 55 + 100
= 122 cm2 plus an openable window required.
5. A flueless water heater of heat input 12 kW net is in a kitchen of 40 m3:
From the table, the water heater is over the limit of 11 kW and is
therefore not permitted. This must be treated as an At Risk situation.

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Ventilation of rooms containing more than one appliance

This is not always a case of simply adding ventilation requirements. Some appliances are too
different to add together: the ventilation requirement of open flue appliances cannot be added
to that of flueless appliances.
There is also a difference in usage between space heaters and other gas appliances. Space
heaters are appliances designed to heat living spaces. These may be running for several hours
while other appliances are used for shorter periods.
This leads us to three categories of gas appliance, each of which must be considered separately:

Open Flue Space Heaters

e.g. central heating boilers, gas fires on chimneys, open flue ducted air heaters

Flueless Space Heaters

e.g. Plasma fires, hallway heaters

Others
e.g. cookers, flueless water heaters, open flue water heaters

The first step is to put every gas appliance in the room into one of these three categories.
The second step is to calculate the ventilation requirement of each category in turn:
Open Flue Space Heaters

Find the total heat input (kW net) of all the appliances in this category.
Multiply by 5
Subtract 35 (if adventitious air is available)
The result is the ventilation requirement for this category in square centimetre.

Note: For DFEs do not use heat input to calculate the ventilation.
Instead, add 100 cm2 to the total and do not take off adventitious
allowance from the total.
Flueless Space Heaters
The ventilation requirement for this category is the total of all the individual ventilation
requirements of the flueless space heaters in the room.
Others (non-space heaters)
The ventilation requirement for this category is equal to the largest individual ventilation
requirement of the non-space heaters in the room.
The third step is to determine which of the three categories has the largest requirement. This
will be equal to the room ventilation requirement.
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Examples of multi-appliance ventilation questions

1. A kitchen of 18 m3 in an un-renovated 1990s house contains:
a) a flueless water heater of heat input 8.5 kW net
b) an open flue boiler of heat input 28 kW net
c) an open flue gas fire of heat input 5 kW net
First step, put the appliances in their correct categories:
Open flue space heaters:
Flueless space heaters:
Others:

b) c)
none
a)

Second step, work out the requirements for each category:

Open flue space heaters:
28 + 5 = 33 kW net total heat input
33 x 5 = 165 cm2
165 35 cm2 adventitious = 130 cm2
Flueless space heaters: 0
Others:
Flueless water heater requires 50 cm2 plus openable window.
Third step, choose the category with the largest requirement. In this case it is the open flue
space heaters.
The room needs 130 cm2 plus an openable window.

Note: An openable window is needed because there is a flueless appliance in the room.

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2. A kitchen of 20 m3 in an un-renovated 1950s house contains:

a) a flueless cooker
b) an open flue boiler of heat input 26 kW net
c) a flueless water heater of heat input 10 kW net
d) an open flue gas fire of heat input 6 kW net
First step, put the appliances into the three categories:
Open Flue Space Heaters:
Flueless Space Heaters:
Others:

b) d)
none
a) c)

Second step, calculate the requirements for each category:

Open Flue Space Heaters:
26 + 6 = 32 kW net total heat input
32 x 5 = 160 cm2
adventitious air is available, so 160 35 = 125 cm2
Flueless Space Heaters = 0
Others:
cooker needs 0
flueless water heater needs 50 cm2
therefore category requirement is 50 cm2
Third step, choose the category with the largest requirement. This is the Open Flue Space
Heaters, so the room requires 125 cm2 plus an openable window.

Note: An openable window is needed because there is a flueless appliance in the room.

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3. A room of 70 m3 contains:
a) a DFE of heat input 5.6 kW net
b) a flueless gas fire of heat input 2.9 kW net
First step, put the appliances into their categories:
Open Flue Space Heaters:
Flueless Space Heaters:
Others:

a)
b)
none

Second step, calculate the requirements of each category:

Open Flue Space Heaters:

DFE requires 100 cm2

Flueless Space Heaters:

First check whether the room is big enough for the flueless fire. From
the chart, the room should be at least 2.9 x 22.22 = 64.4 m3, which it
is.
Then calculate the size of vent required. From the formula given in the
chart:
(2.9 kW 2.7 kW) x 55 + 100 = 111 cm2 plus an openable window
Others: 0
Third step, determine the largest category. This is the Flueless Space Heaters, so the room will
need 111 cm2 plus an openable window.

Note: An openable window is needed because there is a flueless appliance in the room.

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Air vents
Ventilation for gas appliances shall be provided by air vents which:
shall be permanently open, not closable.

shall not have a mesh or flyscreen. These become easily blocked by dust or lint.

shall be of rigid construction. Soft aluminium vents are not permitted because it is
possible for householders to press shut the openings to stop draughts.

should have openings on their smallest side of between 5 mm and 10 mm. Smaller holes
can easily be blocked by dust and lint. Larger holes may allow the entry of vermin.

Measuring an air vent

If the free area is not marked on the vent it is possible to measure and calculate it. For
example, if each hole in the vent above measures 180 x 6 mm, the total free area of the vent
can be calculated as follows:
Each opening = 180 mm x 6 mm = 1080 mm2
1080 mm2 x 11 openings = 11880 mm2
Convert mm2 to cm2 by dividing by 100:
11880 mm2 100 = 118.80 cm2
If a vent has sloping vanes it is important to measure the internal size of the openings, not the
external size:

Air vent with sloping vanes

incorrect measurement
= 14 mm

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correct measurement
= 10 mm

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Air bricks
Air bricks are an acceptable form of ventilation but the amount of free air they provide is not
great (typically 20 to 40 cm2).

Air bricks normally have tapered openings with the visible side of the brick having larger holes
than the side opening into the wall cavity. This makes free area difficult to measure (because it
is determined by the smaller, non-visible openings). This problem can be solved by inserting a
drill bit of known diameter. Progressively larger bits can be inserted to find the size of the
opening:

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Ventilation of appliances in compartments

Open flue and room sealed appliances (but not flueless appliances) may be installed in a
compartment for decorative reasons.
An appliance compartment should not be used for any other purpose (e.g. airing linen).
Compartments containing open flue appliances shall be ventilated for combustion air.
Compartments containing older room sealed appliances may need to be ventilated for cooling
air. Newer room sealed appliances may run cool enough to not require any ventilation. Consult
manufacturers instructions for guidance.
Compartment vents shall be at both high and low level. The low level vent allows the entry of
cool air. The high level vent allows the removal of warmed air.
High and low vents should communicate with the same internal space or outside wall.
Otherwise there is the possibility of cross-ventilation, where unequal air pressures between
vents creates draughts potentially harmful to the operation of the appliance.
If manufacturers instructions are unavailable the following table (adapted from BS 5440-2) may
be used to size vents:
Vent size
(cm2 per kW net)

Open flue

Room sealed

Vents to outside

Vents to room

Vents to outside

Vents to room

high level

10

10

low level

10

20

10

Ventilation may be ducted into a compartment from a ventilated roof space. Separate ducts
should be provided to both high and low level. The cross-sectional area of ducts shall be at
least equal to the area of the vents they serve. A ventilated roof space may be considered as
outside air if it is sufficiently ventilated (see BS 5250) but otherwise should be treated as an
internal space.
In the case of an open flue appliance in a compartment vented to a room, the room must be
ventilated according to the usual requirements of the appliance.
Compartments shall not be used to house open flue appliances in a bathroom or shower room.
Compartment air vents shall not communicate with a bathroom or shower room.

Note: there is no allowance for adventitious air for compartments.

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Examples of compartment ventilation questions

1. A room sealed boiler of 28 kW net heat input is installed in a compartment with air vents
communicating directly to outside air:
From the table, the compartment requires:
28 x 5 = 140 cm2 at high level and the same at low level.
2. An open flue water heater of 18 kW net heat input is installed in a compartment with air
vents communicating with a kitchen:
From the table, the compartment requires:
18 x 10 = 180 cm2 at high level and
18 x 20 = 360 cm2 at low level
3. Are the following compartment installations acceptable or not?

room
air

room
air

room
air

outside
air

outside
air

Installation A unacceptable: the two vents are communicating with different spaces.
Installation B acceptable
Installation C unacceptable: no high level ventilation is provided.

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4. Are the following compartment installations, in which ventilation is ducted from a wellventilated roof space, acceptable or not?
duct
cross section
150 cm2
150 cm2
vent

30 kW
heat input
room sealed
boiler

150 cm2
vent

150 cm2
vent

30 kW
heat input
room sealed
boiler

duct
cross section
100 cm2

150 cm2
vent

150 cm2
vent

30 kW
heat input
room sealed
boiler

duct
cross section
150 cm2

150 cm2
vent

A correct.
B incorrect. Cross sectional area of duct is too small for the vent size.
C incorrect. Vents cannot share a duct.

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Ventilation taken through adjoining rooms

If there is nowhere to put an air vent direct to outside, ventilation for open flue appliances may
be taken through a room or a series of rooms.
Note:
Flueless appliances shall be ventilated or ducted directly to outside.

If ventilation is taken through more than one internal wall the internal air vents should
be 50% bigger than the external vent (which is sized normally).

The connecting rooms cannot be a bathroom, shower room or bedroom.

Internal air vents should be positioned at low level, no higher than 450 mm from the
floor. This is to slow the passage of smoke and poisonous gases in the event of a fire.
air
path
Not a bathroom or shower room

Not a bathroom, bedroom or

shower room

Not a bathroom, bedroom or

shower room

no higher than 450 mm

from ground

Example of air vents in series question

1. An open flue water heater of heat input 15 kW net is installed in the kitchen of a house built
in 1983. Ventilation is to be taken through two adjoining rooms, neither of which is a
bathroom, bedroom or shower room. Calculate the size of the external vent and the two
internal vents, stating any positional requirements.
External vent: 15 kW x 5 = 75 cm2. Because of the age of the house, adventitious air
will be assumed: 75 35 = 40 cm2
Internal vents: both internal vents will be 40 cm2 + 50% = 60 cm2
The internal vents should be positioned no higher than 450 mm from the ground.

Note: The above calculation assumes that the room containing the water heater has
adventitious air available directly.

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Converting between units of power

The heat input of modern gas appliances is usually given in kilowatt (kW net).
The following chart gives conversion factors for common units of power:
Conversion table
for units of power

Convert to:
m3/h

m3/h

Convert
from:

ft3/h

BTU/h

kW gross

kW net

x 35.35

x 36764

x 10.77

x 9.80

x 1040

3.28

3.61

3412

3753

ft3/h

35.35

BTU/h

36764

1040

kW
gross

10.77

x 3.28

x 3412

kW net

9.80

x 3.61

x 3753

1.1
x 1.1

For example to convert a boilers heat input from 42000 BTU / h into kW net:
With your left hand find BTU/h in the Convert from section. With your right hand find kW net
in the Convert to section. Move your hands across and down respectively. They will intersect
at the required conversion formula.

Therefore 42000 BTU / h 3753 = 11.75 kW net

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Glossary
Adventitious air

air entering a room through gaps in door and window frames

Air vent

a purpose-made grille to allow air into a room

Carbon monoxide

a highly poisonous, invisible, odourless gas; CO

Carbon dioxide

one of the products of combustion of gas; CO2

CO

chemical formula for carbon monoxide

CO2

chemical formula for carbon dioxide

Combustion air

air needed for the combustion of gas

Compartment

a cupboard or housing for a gas appliance

Complete combustion

gas burned with enough oxygen to produce no carbon monoxide

Flue

the chimney of a gas appliance

Free area

the area of the openings in an air vent grille

Gas

gaseous hydrocarbon fuel; natural gas or LPG

Heat input

the power of an appliance; a measure of its gas usage

Incomplete combustion

gas burned in too little oxygen, producing carbon monoxide

Natural gas

the mains gas used in the UK; methane

Oxygen

the active part of air that supports combustion

Products of combustion the exhaust gases produced by a gas appliance

Space heater

a gas appliance designed to heat living spaces

Vent

see air vent

Ventilation

the provision of combustion air or cooling air to a gas appliance

Vitiation

the contamination of combustion air by products of combustion

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