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General: Is there such a thing as an insulated background vent?

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    By "background vent" I mean a through-wall vent, that does the same thing as a trickle vent within a window - that is, provides some level of direct ventilation to a room that can (in theory) be adjusted by the occupant.

    By "insulated" I mean one that when it's closed, provides some level of insulation, rather than some flappy bits of plastic that have no insulation value of any consequence (and no airtightness either).

    As per trickle vents, we have to install these to keep BC happy (in rooms where it's not possible to add trickle vents to existing windows).

    This is a renovation/retrofit, not newbuild.

    Yes - I know the ideal approach would be to have some form of ventilation with heat recovery but the occupant would have to be persuaded that the cost is justified, and at the moment they are quite happy ventilating their house in the traditional manner, by opening a window a bit when they feel like it.
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      CommentAuthordjh
    • CommentTimeMar 6th 2024
     
    Typing "insulated through wall vent" into google produces several possibilities? But the main concern seems to be acoustic insulation. I imagine airtightness is the main concern.
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      CommentAuthorfostertom
    • CommentTimeMar 6th 2024 edited
     
    Could you think of it as a small casement window type of thing, but with an insulated, draught stripped 'door' instead of glazed frame? When open, air flowing, makes no sense for it to be insulated - insulated only when closed. The wide-open area that Bldg Regs calls for tends to add up, I find, to something huge - small-window size, not just trickle vent size.
  4.  
    Posted By: djhTyping "insulated through wall vent" into google produces several possibilities? But the main concern seems to be acoustic insulation. I imagine airtightness is the main concern.

    Having just gone through the process of soundproofing a wall for the first time research stressed the importance of sealing all the air gaps otherwise sound will travel through. The recommendations were very much like an air tightness project so I imagine that a vent that gave sound insulation when closed would also need to be air tight when closed.
    • CommentAuthorlineweight
    • CommentTimeMar 6th 2024 edited
     
    Posted By: fostertomCould you think of it as a small casement window type of thing, but with an insulated, draught stripped 'door' instead of glazed frame? When open, air flowing, makes no sense for it to be insulated - insulated only when closed. The wide-open area that Bldg Regs calls for tends to add up, I find, to something huge - small-window size, not just trickle vent size.


    You've reminded me, I once previously dealt with this issue using something that idealcombi offer which is to have a section of a window as a louvred panel on the outside, and an insulated hatch on the inside that opens inwards as a small casement. That got around the fact that the building regs won't accept a regular casement with "night latch" as a means of background ventilation due to security risk.

    However, it doesn't solve the problem here where we want something relatively simple that goes through a hole in the wall. Once it starts getting custom/complex, might as well go for a single-room heat exchanger unit type solution.
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      CommentAuthorfostertom
    • CommentTimeMar 7th 2024
     
    Is the latter 'insulated'?
  7.  
    Posted By: fostertomIs the latter 'insulated'?


    Do you mean, an MVHR unit?
    • CommentAuthorlineweight
    • CommentTimeMar 7th 2024 edited
     
    Posted By: djhTyping "insulated through wall vent" into google produces several possibilities? But the main concern seems to be acoustic insulation. I imagine airtightness is the main concern.


    My researches yesterday suggested that there's no such thing as a thermally insulated wall vent. One that can be closed fully by the occupant (rather than always being open to a "trickle") seems to be as good as it gets.

    The ones that are acoustically insulated, as far as I can see, mainly have some kind of foam lining to the tube/duct through the wall, which presumably is supposed to stop sound echoing along the tube. For example

    https://rts.vents.co.uk/blog/product-details/aac125hpcw-rytons-cowled-super-acoustic-controllable-lookryt-aircore/

    As fostertom says, to comply with current bulding regs you do end up with quite a big hole - to achieve 8000mm2 for a habitable room, this involves a 127mm diameter hole through the wall.
  9.  
    https://www.jupiterblue.co.uk/access-panels-and-access-hatches-c1/fire-rated-access-panels-c7/pffd-ins-at-insulated-air-tested-fire-rated-access-panels-picture-frame-p117

    I thought of fitting one of these to cover over a standard ventilator. Shut the door when ventilation not required.

    It was only short term so in the end I had a carrier bag full of bubble wrap to stuff in the duct... Perhaps not the look you want!
  10.  
    Posted By: WillInAberdeenhttps://www.jupiterblue.co.uk/access-panels-and-access-hatches-c1/fire-rated-access-panels-c7/pffd-ins-at-insulated-air-tested-fire-rated-access-panels-picture-frame-p117" rel="nofollow" >https://www.jupiterblue.co.uk/access-panels-and-access-hatches-c1/fire-rated-access-panels-c7/pffd-ins-at-insulated-air-tested-fire-rated-access-panels-picture-frame-p117

    I thought of fitting one of these to cover over a standard ventilator. Shut the door when ventilation not required.

    It was only short term so in the end I had a carrier bag full of bubble wrap to stuff in the duct... Perhaps not the look you want!


    Yes I guess this could be a potential approach! Not sure what the building control inspector would make of it; I imagine there might be raised eyebrows.

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