Installer calls for legislation on home ventilation systems
Legislation is needed to ensure that ventilation systems in homes are installed to a standard and signed off after installation by qualified people, according to Helen Roberts of DR Ventilation of Leighton Buzzard. She believes that because the installation of modern ventilation is highly specialised, it should not be undertaken by unqualified people.
Helen Roberts says, ‘With the Building Regulations dictating airtight houses, the needs are different to what they were even five years ago. A poor installation can end up with leaking ductwork and noisy ventilation systems. If it isn’t installed properly, it isn’t going to work properly — which results in poorly ventilated houses that are a health risk to the inhabitants.’
She continues, ’Regulations need to be put in place stating that ventilation has to be installed and signed off on completion through the self-certification process by a registered ventilation practitioner in the BESCA competent persons scheme in much the same way as a gas engineer with Gas Safe registration.’
DR Ventilation is a member of the Heating & Ventilating Contractors’ Association and is in the process of joining the BESCA scheme.
Looking ahead to the target for achieving zero-carbon homes from 2016, she says, ‘Airtight dwellings will be wholly reliant on mechanical ventilation systems, and these must be installed correctly by ventilation specialists to perform efficiently, and they must be signed off by ventilation engineers.
