Ventilation

Ventilation

1. The Ministry's Design Standards Guidelines state that schools buildings should be naturally ventilated, including in windy weather, and be cross-ventilated. It refers designers to NZS 4303.

2. NZS 4303 "Ventilation for acceptable indoor air quality" calls for 8 l/s per person for classrooms with an assumed maximum occupancy of 50 people per 100m2 of floor area. NZ Building Code requirements for naturally ventilating school buildings can be satisfied when the openable window area exceeds 5% of the floor area (BRANZ).

3. The UK Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999 requires that "controllable ventilation should be provided at a minimum rate of 3 litres of fresh air per person per second for each of the maximum number of persons the area will accommodate". It also states that "the spaces should be capable of being ventilated at a minimum rate of 8 litres of fresh air per second for each of the usual number of people in the space".

4. DfEE Building Bulletin 87, Section D sets out the requirements for Ventilation in UK schools and discusses some design issues.