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While it is good to make your home energy effi-
cient,yourhomeneedstobreathe.Freshairmust
enteryourhome.Allfuel-burningappliancesneed
fresh air for proper combustion and ventilation.
Exhaust fans, fireplaces, clothes dryers and
fuelburningappliancesdrawairfrom thehouse
to operate. You must provide adequate fresh
airfortheseappliances.Thiswillinsureproper
venting of vented fuel-burning appliances.
PROVIDING ADEQUATE
VENTILATION
The following are excerptsfrom NationalFuel
Gas Code, ANSI Z223.1/NFPA 54, Air for
Combustion and Ventilation.
All spaces in homes fall into one of the three
following ventilation classifications:
1. Unusually Tight Construction
2. Unconfined Space
3. Confined Space
Theinformationonpages5through7will help
youclassifyyourspaceandprovideadequate
ventilation.
Unusually Tight Construction
The air that leaks around doors and windows
may provide enough fresh air for combustion
and ventilation. However, in buildings of un-
usually tight construction, you must provide
additional fresh air.
Unusually tight construction is defined as
construction where:
a. walls and ceilings exposed to the out-
side atmosphere have a continuous
water vaporretarder with a ratingof one
perm (6 x 10-11 kg per pa-sec-m2) or less
with openings gasketed or sealed and
b. weather stripping has been added on
openable windows and doors and
c. caulking or sealants are applied to
areas such as joints around window
and door frames, between sole plates
and floors, between wall-ceiling joints,
between wall panels, at penetrations
for plumbing, electrical and gas lines
and at other openings.
If your home meets all of the three criteria
above, youmust provideadditional freshair.
See Ventilation Air From Outdoors, page 7.
If your home does not meet all of the three
criteria above, proceed to Determining
Fresh-Air Flow For Heater Location.
Confined and Unconfined Space
The National Fuel Gas Code, ANSI Z223.1/
NFPA54 defines a confined space as a space
whose volume is less than 50 cubic feet per
1,000 Btu/hr (4.8 m3per kw) of the aggregate
input rating of all appliances installed in that
space and an unconfined space as a space
whosevolumeisnotlessthan50cubic feetper
1,000 Btu/hr (4.8 m3per kw) of the aggregate
input rating of all appliances installed in that
space.Roomscommunicatingdirectly withthe
space in which the appliances are installed*,
throughopeningsnotfurnished with doors,are
considered a part of the unconfined space.
* Adjoining rooms are communicating only if
therearedoorlesspassagewaysorventilation
grills between them.
DETERMINING FRESH-AIR FLOW
FOR HEATER LOCATION
Determining if You Have a Confined or
Unconfined Space
Use this work sheet to determine if you have
a confined or unconfined space.
Space: Includes the room in which you will
install heater plus any adjoining rooms with
doorless passageways or ventilation grills
between the rooms.
1. Determine the volume of the space (length
x width x height).
LengthxWidthxHeight=__________cu. ft.
(volume of space)
Example: Space size 20 ft. (length) x 16 ft.
(width) x 8 ft. (ceiling height) = 2,560 cu. ft.
(volume of space)
If additional ventilation to adjoining room
is supplied with grills or openings, add the
volume of these rooms to the total volume
of the space.
2. Multiply the space volume by 20 to determine
the maximum Btu/Hr the space can support.
________ (volume of space) x 20 = (Maxi-
mum Btu/Hr the space can support)
Example: 2,560 cu. ft. (volume of space) x
20=51,200 (maximum Btu/Hrthespace can
support)
3. Add the Btu/Hr of all fuel burning appliances
in the space.
Vent-free fireplace __________Btu/Hr
Gas water heater* __________Btu/Hr
Gas furnace __________Btu/Hr
Vented gas heater __________Btu/Hr
Gas fireplace logs __________Btu/Hr
Other gas appliances + _________Btu/Hr
Total= __________Btu/Hr
* Do not include direct-vent gas appliances.
Direct-vent draws combustion air from the
outdoors and vents to the outdoors.
AIR FOR COMBUSTION AND VENTILATION
Continued