A bit about Approved Document F

The Building Regulations England and Wales, Approved Document F, which came into effect on 6th April 2006 gives new guidance in achieving the required amount of ventilation to dwellings via background ventilation in habitable rooms.

One of the major changes is the introduction of an industry standard for the calculation of airflow through a background ventilator. Where previously the manufacturer would work out the 'free area' by measuring the ventilation apertures, a calculation of 'equivalent area' is now required using BS EN 13141-1:2004 giving a more accurate measurement of how much air will actually pass through a ventilator into the dwelling and providing the same benchmark for manufacturers.

Encouraging cross ventilation is now a requirement to make sure background ventilation into the dwelling is circulating and not stagnating. Why is this important? To make buildings more energy efficient lowering carbon emissions and to make dwellings healthier for occupants.

The biggest and sometimes most confusing change to Approved Document F is the calculation of how much background ventialtion is required into the dwelling based on several factors including total floor area and number of bedrooms. To help with this try out our new Background Ventilation Calculator left.

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