Fireplaces and Stoves Ventilation Requirements

Many home owners take days if not weeks to pick a fireplace they feel will complement their home as well as keeping their rooms warm.  However, little thought is given to ventilation requirements and how this will affect a room's temperature.

Often in older houses, which have plenty of drafts through floors and windows, no additional ventilation may be necessary.  But all modern homes do require ventilation when a gas fire that are over 6.9 kw and solid fuel stoves that are over 5kw are in use.  Whereas all open solid fuel fires require an air vent by law.

Vents can range from simple grills to complex ducts that block drafts and sound while allowing adequate room ventilation.

UK building regulations require the amount of ventilation your room must have should be equal to at least 50% of the area of the throat of the chimney or flue, and the vents can not be closable.

Venting can allow cold air, pollution and noise from outside into your room.  This is why it is important to take into consideration where you decide to place vents.

The worst place to install a vent is at ground level far away from the fire because the cold air flowing into the room will not mix with the warmer air already inside the room.  Vents at ground level also tend to create drafts around people's legs. 

A better position would be to place the vent high up in the wall or ceilings far away from the fire.  This gives an even mixing of the room air temperature with the air flow from the vent, but it will also increase heat loss through the vent. 

Best practice is to fit the vents on the wall around the fire.  The cold inflowing air can escape up the chimney without cooling the room or causing drafts where occupants are sitting.  However, this position is only practical if your chimney breast sits on an external wall. 

When you have a fireplace or stove fitted by us, we will discuss all of your options with you when we carry out a site survey.