Carbon dioxide monitoring - Scotland...3.14.2 Ventilation awareness in dwellings

[Hastings]

Regs state:

 

3.14.2 Ventilation awareness in dwellings:

"

0. CO2 monitoring equipment should be provided in the apartment expected to be the main or principal bedroom in a dwelling where infiltrating air rates are less than 15m3/hr/ m2 @ 50 Pa.

"

Is it required for a newbuild airtight build with MVHR system, for when there is a power cut?

[jamieled]

The monitor I have is hardwired so I doubt it's for power cut reasons.

[ProDave]

I believe it is required to confirm the ventilation rates are adequate (whether mvhr or trickle ventilation) and ensure CO2 levels do not get too high.

 

I don't have them as my building warrant pre dates that requirement but when I first looked for one they were very expensive.  I would hope now all houses have to have one they will be somewhat cheaper.

[saveasteading]

I read through the entire Standards document this week, and noticed this for the first time.

It makes sense now that we have to stay inside a sealed box. Even with an air recycling system or vents,, there must be a risk if they don't perform or are blocked. 

The mains connection seemed onerous, but otherwise batteries will fail and not be replaced.

CO2 sensor in bedrooms to indicate oxygen running out. CO in rooms with burners making poisonous, odourless gas. 

 

I wonder if there are figures for deaths due to these issues, or is just a 'good idea'.

How many people go to sleep well, and don't wake up again due to CO2?

[Ralph]

8 minutes ago, ProDave said:

I believe it is required to confirm the ventilation rates are adequate (whether mvhr or trickle ventilation) and ensure CO2 levels do not get too high.

 

I don't have them as my building warrant pre dates that requirement but when I first looked for one they were very expensive.  I would hope now all houses have to have one they will be somewhat cheaper.

Ours was £180. I need to find out how to turn the screen off because it's quite bright for a bedroom.

[saveasteading]

1 minute ago, Ralph said:

Ours was £180

Ouch. We need to reduce the number of bedrooms. Nothing in the budget for this.

Screwfix list CO2 alarms quite cheap, but then it seems they really only have  CO.

 

Please let me know when the price tumbles.

[Ralph]

11 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

Ouch. We need to reduce the number of bedrooms. Nothing in the budget for this.

Pretty sure you only need it in the main bedroom, that's what we have anyway.

[saveasteading]

CO₂ monitoring equipment should be provided in the apartment expected to be the main or principal bedroom in a dwelling where infiltrating air rates are less than 15m³/hr/m² @ 50 Pa.

 

You are right!! Parents live and others may die. 

I suppose the point is that an overall issue is discovered and dealt with in every room, and the parents get woken by the false alarms.

[ProDave]

28 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

CO₂ monitoring equipment should be provided in the apartment expected to be the main or principal bedroom in a dwelling where infiltrating air rates are less than 15m³/hr/m² @ 50 Pa.

 

And if it is above that rate it would probably fail BC anyway?

 

Ours was 1.4 and I was hoping for lower.

[saveasteading]

1 hour ago, ProDave said:

And if it is above that rate it would probably fail BC anyway?

 

Ours was 1.4 and I was hoping for lower.

1.4 is stunning. I don't think anything below that makes much difference.

When it is that low it is not possible to get the fan operator to let you look for any flues etc left open.

probably just a fan outlet or something similar.

[ProDave]

1 minute ago, saveasteading said:

1.4 is stunning. I don't think anything below that makes much difference.

When it is that low it is not possible to get the fan operator to let you look for any flues etc left open.

probably just a fan outlet or something similar.

After the test I realised I had not taped up the Tundish that vents the UFH cylinder so there was straight away a 22mm copper pipe leading out of the building.  I wish I had remembered that and taped it up.

[Hastings]

@saveasteading There isn't a requirement for an alarm, only a visible display, of CO2 level.

I am fairly sure that is because you cannot normally die in your sleep from high CO2 levels. CO is the cause of that danger as we don't have a natural body alarm for it.

A normal healthy person automatically wakes up if O2 and CO2 levels are reaching seriously bad levels. Hence no need for an alarm in every bedroom.

 

I am no expert so please anyone correct me if I am wrong.

[saveasteading]

4 minutes ago, Hastings said:

you cannot normally die in your sleep from high CO2 levels.

Yes we discussed that here.

Perhaps it is difficult to measure oxygen. So to monitor the possibility of oxygen shortage it is easier to register that the breathed out gas is increasing. Then when CO2 is higher,  O will be correspondingly lower ???? At some stage there won't be enough O. Perhaps healthy people wake up in alarm, while vulnerable ones might not.

24 hour record in the master bedroom.  Wonder how often it is read? Then action stations to untape the ventilation again.

Otherwise what is the point?

[Hastings]

29 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

Perhaps it is difficult to measure oxygen. So to monitor the possibility of oxygen shortage it is easier to register that the breathed out gas is increasing.

Fresh air is about 20% oxygen, a tiny fraction of a percent is CO2. It takes days in a sealed room for O2 levels to get low enough to affect you badly but rises in CO2, even though very small, affect us quite quickly. I think that's why there's little interest in measuring O2 levels - it's very hard to run short of it simply from breathing, even in a highly airtight house.

[Hastings]

53 minutes ago, Hastings said:

There isn't a requirement for an alarm,

To be precise, there is a requirement for the alarm to be able to be disarmed permanently.

[Hastings]

For 'O2' in my earlier post, read 'oxygen'. O2 is wrong I think. I've been too brainwashed by big corporations!

[saveasteading]

O2 must be heavy Oxygen.

[ProDave]

2 hours ago, saveasteading said:

Yes we discussed that here.

Perhaps it is difficult to measure oxygen. So to monitor the possibility of oxygen shortage it is easier to register that the breathed out gas is increasing. Then when CO2 is higher,  O will be correspondingly lower ???? At some stage there won't be enough O. Perhaps healthy people wake up in alarm, while vulnerable ones might not.

24 hour record in the master bedroom.  Wonder how often it is read? Then action stations to untape the ventilation again.

Otherwise what is the point?

The point must be to ensure the ventilation is adequate.  In the case of a house relying on trickle vents and passive ventilation I can perhaps see the point in that, to make sure the vents are open etc.  In the case of mvhr, adequate ventilation is endured when the system is commisioned and balanced to less point perhaps?

 

All I see is jet one more thing for BC to nit pick about and yet another box to tick.