BUILDING REGULATIONS

Extract,wholebuildin
As an electrician I was often involved in the
Don Holmes installation of extractor fans and cooker hoods in
runs the rule kitchens to remove steam and cooking smells. This
usually involved finding a suitable outside wall or
over Approved window to fit a small or large extractor fan and then
Document F1: wiring the circuit.
My memories of this prompted me to move on to
Means of a new series of articles on ventilation. I will look at
Approved Document F1: Means of Ventilation,
Ventilation which covers the requirements of the Building
and how it Regulation 2000 on ventilation in England and
Wales, and the requirements for installation of
affects you extractor fans.
This latter section I will cover in the second part
of the series, for there are a lot more factors to
consider today before installing an extractor fan.
The revised Approved Document F1 Means of
Ventilation came into force in April 2006 and only
applies to England and Wales.
Requirement
The Approved Document F1 states there shall be
adequate means of ventilation provided for people
in the building.
The requirement does not apply to a building or
space within a building into which people do not
normally go, which is used solely for storage, or
which is a garage used solely in connection with a
single dwelling.
Purpose of ventilation
Ventilation is the removal of stale indoor air from a
building and its replacement with fresh air from
outside the building of reasonable quality. Ventilation
is required for any of the following reasons:
• provision of outside air for breathing
• dilution and removal of air borne pollutants
including odours
• control of excess humidity
• and the provision of air for fuel burning
appliances.
Types of ventilation
Three types of ventilation system are covered in
Approved Document F1: extract ventilation, whole
building ventilation and purge ventilation.
Extract ventilation
This is from rooms where most water vapour and
pollutants exit which include bathrooms, toilets and
kitchens. The extract system may be intermittent or
continuous. The purpose is to minimise the spread
of vapour and pollutants to other parts of the
building.
Whole building ventilation
This provides fresh air to the building and helps
dilute and disperse any water vapour and other
pollutants which have been released throughout
the building. Examples include pollutants from
building materials and furnishings, activities such
as photocopying and odours from the occupants of
the room.

Table 1: Extract ventilation rates

Room Minimum intermittent Continuous extract
extract rate Minimum high rate (l/s) Minimum low rate (l/s)
Kitchen 30 adjacent to a hob; 13 Total extract rate must
or 60 elsewhere be at least the whole
Utility room 30 8 building ventilation rate
in Table 2
Bathroom 15 8
Sanitary accommodation 6

Table 2: Whole buildings ventilation rates

Number of bedrooms in dwelling
1 2 3 4 5
Whole buidling ventilation rateab (l/s) 13 17 21 25 29
Notes:
a. In addition, the minimum ventilation rate should not be less than 0.3 l/s per m2 internal floor area (this includes each floor, eg, for a two-
storey building, add the ground and first floor areas). b. This is based on two occupants in the main bedroom and a single occupant in all
other bedrooms. This should be used as the default value. If a greater level of occupancy is expected, then add 4 l/s per occupant.

6 NAPIT 0870 444 1392 www.napit.org.uk

gandpurgeventilation
Fig 1 Trickle Ventilators

Over the window frames In window frames Just above the glass Directly through the wall

Outside Outside Inside

Inside Outside Inside

Inside
Outside

Purge ventilation Ventilation systems for dwellings

This is to remove high concentrations of
pollutants and water vapour released from
occasional activities. This includes decorating
and any accidental spillage of water or releases
of smoke from cooking food.
Purge ventilation is only required when the
above activities or similar incidents occur.
Ventilation of buildings
This can be provided by natural or mechanical
ventilation systems – or even a combination of
both. Examples of this type of ventilation
provided for a dwelling would be intermittent
extractor fans for the extract ventilation
requirements, trickle ventilators in windows for
whole building ventilation (Fig. 1) and opening
windows to meet the purge ventilation
requirements (Fig. 2).
When mechanical ventilation or air
conditioning is provided in buildings other than
dwellings, the same ventilators provide whole
building, extract ventilation and purge ventilation.
Approved Document F1 provides guidance on four
Fig 2 Opening
window
types of ventilation systems:
• system 1 – background ventilators and intermittent
extract fans (Fig. 3)
• system 2 – passive stack ventilation (Fig. 4)
• system 3 – continuous mechanical extract (Fig. 5)
• system 4 – continuous mechanical supply and
extract with heat recovery (Fig. 6).
The Approved Document allows other systems to be
used, provided that it can be demonstrated to the
relevant building control authority that the proposed
Vertically pivoted
ventilation system will not allow air in the dwelling to
exceed the set limits.
For new buildings extract ventilation to the outside
is required in each kitchen, utility room, bathroom and
toilet. The extract may operate intermittently or
continuously. The minimum extract airflow rates at
highest and lowest settings should not be less than
those given in Table 1.1a Extract Ventilation Rates, and
1.1b Whole Building Ventilation Rates, of the
Approved Document. These are illustrated in the
Tables 1 and 2 opposite. Top hung opening out

Fresh air
Stale air

Bathroom Bedroom Bathroom Bedroom Bathroom Bedroom Bathroom Bedroom

Lounge Kitchen Lounge Kitchen Lounge Kitchen Lounge Kitchen

Fig 3 Background ventilators Fig 4 Passive stack Fig 5 Continuous Fig 6 Continuous
and intermittent extract fans ventilation mechanical extract mechanical supply and
extract with heat recovery

NAPIT 0870 444 1392 www.napit.org.uk 7