Department for Communities and Local Government

• Planning, building and the environment
• Publications
• All publications
• Costs and benefits of fitting trickle ventilators in replacement windows: BD 2625

Planning, building and the environment

---

Summary

This study addresses the costs and benefits of fitting trickle ventilators in replacement windows (windows replaced in all habitable and wet rooms).

The guidance in the 2006 edition of Approved Document F (ADF) is that trickle ventilators should be fitted to replacement windows only if the windows being replaced already have them. The purpose of the study was to establish if a case could be made for extending the provision to apply to all window replacements, in view of concerns that when older, draughty windows are replaced with modern units, indoor air quality could deteriorate unacceptably.

The study has:

• established the costs of fitting trickle ventilators in replacement windows, and of fitting alternative methods of ventilation such as air bricks
• estimated, using computer simulation, the changes in ventilation rate and indoor air quality that result when old windows without trickle ventilators are replaced by well sealed windows with and without trickle ventilators
• quantified the health benefits of fitting trickle ventilators.
  
  When the health benefits are compared with the costs of fitting trickle ventilators in all replacement windows, the study does not provide any clear evidence to justify changing current guidance.
  

As a separate element of the project, research was also undertaken to assess how/if the Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) leaflet for potential window purchasers, Advice to consumers regarding ventilation when replacing windows in dwellings, is used in practice, and by how much it increases the voluntary take-up of trickle ventilators.

The findings and recommendations in this report are those of the consultant authors and do not necessarily represent the views or proposed policies of the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Order

Complete and submit the online form to order this publication.

• Order this publication
  

Download

• Costs and benefits of fitting trickle ventilators in replacement windows: BD 2625
  PDF , 3494 kb , 63 pages

Do you need help viewing file formats?

Alternative formats

If you require this publication in an alternative format (eg Braille or audio) please email alternativeformats@communities.gsi.gov.uk quoting the title and product code/ISBN of the publication, and your address and telephone number.

Related publications

• Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality in Part F 2006 Homes

  • Published: 31 March 2010
  • Site: Planning, building and the environment

• Impact of Replacement Windows on Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) of Occupied Dwellings Project

  • Published: 3 March 2006
  • Site: Planning, building and the environment