Part F of the Building Regulations
Since the 1960's links have been made between bad indoor air quality and poor occupant health, frequently referred to as sick building syndrome. A growing number of studies have clearly demonstrated the link between ventilation in buildings and the performance and health of their occupants.
Part F of the Building Regulations deals with indoor air quality and in simple terms buildings comply with Part F: "where a ventilation system is provided that under normal conditions is capable of limiting the accumulation of moisture which could lead to mould growth and pollutants originating within a building which would otherwise become hazardous to the health of the people in the building".
Part L of the Building Regulations dictate that designers ensure their buildings are air tight; to retain heat and save energy and Part L includes ventilation as a method of controlling indoor temperatures. However, this 'air tight' approach can create poor air quality if buildings aren't ventilated correctly which is where Part F is important.
Under Part F, ventilation is defined as the removal of 'stale' air and replacing this with 'fresh' air from outside the building, with a the primary objectives to: remove airborne pollutants (including odours), control humidity and provide outside air for breathing.
As well as dealing with the potential hazards of poor air quality, Part F promotes control as an important element of ventilation and states that both manual and automatic ventilation controls need to be energy efficient. Part F offers designers a number of approaches to ensure their building meets the required performance standards including a number of natural and mechanical ventilation systems, including:
- Background ventilators and intermittent extract fans
- Passive stack ventilation
- Continuous mechanical extract
- Continuous mechanical supply and extract with heat recovery
A key element of Part F is the combined emphasis on good indoor air quality and energy efficiency. The documentation states: "Ventilation systems result in energy being used to heat fresh air being taking in from outside and to move air around the building... Consideration should be given to mitigation of ventilation energy use, where applicable, by employing heat recovery devices, efficient types of fan motor and / or energy saving control devices in the ventilation system."
One increasingly popular technique with designers is the use of a ventilation system with heat recovery capability. Heat recovery systems reduce energy costs by extracting stale air from the building and recovering the heating or cooling energy to either warm or cool the incoming fresh air. A good heat recovery system can save up to 30% on initial capital costs of heating and cooling equipment as well as lowering on-going energy costs.
Please Note: This is an introductory guide and is not a definitive source of legal information.
Comprehensive technical guidance and a detailed explanation of Part F requirements are available at the Planning Portal website http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/. At this site you can also access documents which you may need if you are involved with a project that needs to meet Building Regulations.
