AIR FOR COMBUSTION AND VENTILATION
6
WARNING
WARNING ICON | G 001 |
This fireplace must have fresh air for proper operation. If not, poor fuel combustion could result. Read the following instructions to insure proper fresh air for this and other
Today’s homes are built more energy efficient than ever. New materials, increased insulation, and new construction methods help reduce heat loss in homes. Home owners weather strip and caulk around windows and doors to keep the cold air out and the warm air in. During heating months, home owners want their homes as airtight as possible.
While it is good to make your home energy efficient, your home needs to breathe. Fresh air must enter your home. Fresh air enters the home through and around doors and windows. This may provide enough fresh air for combustion and ventilation. All
Exhaust fans, fireplaces, clothes dryers, and fuel burning appliances draw air from the house to operate. You must provide adequate fresh air for these appliances. This will insure proper venting of vented
PROVIDING ADEQUATE VENTILATION
In the absence of local codes, use the following excerpts from the National Fuel Gas Code NFPA 54/ANSI Z223.1, Section 5.3, Air for Combustion and Ventilation.
All spaces in homes fall into one of the three following ventilation classifications:
1. Unusually Tight Construction; 2. Unconfined Space; 3. Confined Space.
The information on pages 6 through 8 will help you classify your space and provide adequate ventilation.
Unusually Tight Construction
The air that leaks around doors and windows may provide enough fresh air for com- bustion and ventilation. However, in buildings of unusually tight construction, you must provide additional fresh air.
Unusually tight construction is defined as construction where:
a.walls and ceilings exposed to the outside atmosphere have a continu- ous water vapor retarder with a rating of one perm or less with open- ings gasketed or sealed and
b.weather stripping has been added on openable windows and doors and
c.caulking or sealants are applied to areas such as joints around window and door frames, between sole plates and floors, between
If your home meets all of the three criteria above, you must provide additional fresh air. See Ventilation Air From Outdoors, page 8.
If your home does not meet all of the three criteria above, proceed to page 7.
Unconfined Space
An unconfined space has a minimum air volume of 50 cubic feet for each 1000 BTU/Hr input rating of all appliances in the space (cubic feet equals length x width x height of space). Include adjoining rooms only if there are doorless passageways or ventilation grills between the rooms.
If the BTU per 50 cubic feet is less than 1000 BTU/Hr, then the fresh air will be provided by the natural air flow into the house.
Confined Space
A confined space has an air volume of less than 50 cubic feet for each 1000 BTU/ Hr input rating of all appliances in the space (cubic feet equals length x width x height of space). Include adjoining rooms only if there are doorless passageways or ventilation grills between the rooms.
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