Passive Ventilation - Passive Stack - Renewable Energy Technology

Ventilation is simply the removal of ‘stale’ indside air from a building and its replacement with ‘fresh’ outside air, creating a healthy internal environment for the occupants of a building

Ventilation is Required to:

• Provide outside air for breathing
• Dilute and remove airborne pollutants, including odours
• Control excess humidity arising from water vapour in the inside air
• Provide air for fuel burning appliances

Passive Stack Effect

Whole house Passive Ventilation Systems are driven by the ‘Stack Effect’. This is the natural movement of air through the dwelling brought about by temperature and pressure differences between the air inside and the air outside.

As a result, the moist air is drawn up the ducts to be replaced by fresh air. Replacement air is usually drawn in through inlet vents situated in the walls or window frames of the habitable rooms.

Whole House Passive System

Passive Ventilation provides a natural and energy free alternative to mechanical fans, positive pressure systems and heat recovery systems. Passive Ventilation systems ventilate the whole house by extracting air from wet rooms (e.g. kitchens, bathrooms and utility rooms) and ducting it vertically to allow it to escape to the outside air.

Passive Ventilation Systems are suitable for houses and flats up to four storeys high that require three or less individual stacks. The damp air is replaced by fresh, dry, air that enters the building through the building envelope and trickle ventilation from wall and window vents, creating whole house ventilation. The system can be incorporated into both new build and refurbishment projects. It is energy efficient as it produces no carbon dioxide emissions and it is environmentally friendly.

Building Regulations

Passive Ventilation Systems must comply with the Building Regulations, England and Wales, Part F1 - Means of Ventilation, 2006 edition. In Scotland, the Approved Technical Standard 3 2005 recognises the benefits of Passive Ventilation systems as an alternative to mechanical fan ventilation and provides guidelines for its use.

Passive Ventilation Systems are easy to install, economical, and have no running costs. Maintenance is low as there are no moving parts in the system