Good ventilation is not optional — it is a requirement under Part F of the Building Regulations for all new builds and most notifiable renovation work. Poor indoor air quality contributes to condensation, mould growth, respiratory problems, and elevated pollutant levels from everyday activities including cooking, bathing, and off-gassing from building materials. A correctly specified ventilation system addresses all of these while recovering heat that would otherwise be lost, keeping energy consumption in check.
Types of ventilation in this collection
Ventilation products broadly split into four strategies, each suited to different property types and occupancy patterns:
Intermittent extract fans (dMEV — axial and centrifugal) are the most common choice for individual wet rooms — bathrooms, shower rooms, utility rooms, and WCs. They run continuously at a low background rate and boost automatically on humidity or occupancy, satisfying Part F extract rates without requiring whole-house ducting. Centrifugal fans are preferred where longer or more restrictive duct runs are involved, as they maintain performance against higher static pressure than axial units.
Mechanical Extract Ventilation (MEV) centralises extraction from multiple wet rooms into a single continuously running unit, which vents to outside via a single duct. MEV is common in new-build flats and houses where running separate fans to each wet room is impractical, and where a single, serviceable unit is preferred. Units in this range scale from small residential applications up to larger multi-room configurations.
Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) is the highest-performance option and is increasingly specified in new builds and deep retrofits aiming for low energy use. Two fans handle two separate airstreams — extracting stale air from wet rooms and supply rooms while drawing in fresh outside air — passing both through a heat exchanger that recovers up to 90–95% of the heat from outgoing air before it is exhausted. This means the incoming fresh air arrives pre-warmed, reducing the heating load on the property significantly. MVHR is the standard ventilation strategy in Passivhaus and fabric-first new builds, and is also well suited to airtight retrofits where trickle ventilation through windows is inadequate.
Positive Input Ventilation (PIV) supplies a continuous stream of filtered, slightly pressurised air into the property — typically from a loft-mounted unit — diluting and displacing stale air and condensation without extracting. PIV is a low-cost retrofit solution particularly effective at tackling persistent condensation and mould in existing stock where installing extract ducting is not practical.
Products in this collection
Our ventilation range is currently led by Vectaire, a UK manufacturer based in High Wycombe with over three decades of experience designing energy-efficient ventilation for residential and commercial applications. Vectaire's product line spans intermittent and continuous axial extract fans, centrifugal fans for longer duct runs, MEV centralised extract units, a full MVHR range with summer bypass and frost protection, PIV units, and purge ventilation boxes. Key models include the EL1003 continuous dMEV axial fan (SAP Appendix Q eligible, Energy Saving Trust Best Practice compliant), the EVO250 and EVO350 in-line MVHRs with summer bypass and frost-stat, the Midi BY MVHR with up to 95% heat exchange efficiency, and the PPF9 PIV unit for whole-house retrofit applications. The range is ErP Directive compliant where applicable and covers both SELV (low-voltage safe extra-low voltage) and standard mains variants.
As the collection grows, ducting, accessories, and products from additional ventilation manufacturers will be added here alongside Vectaire — the system categories above will remain relevant regardless of brand.
Regulatory context
Part F (Means of Ventilation) sets minimum extract rates for wet rooms and minimum whole-dwelling ventilation rates depending on floor area and number of bedrooms. For new dwellings, the ventilation strategy — whether intermittent extract, MEV, MVHR, or PIV — must be stated in the SAP calculation and demonstrated to meet the design air permeability target. For dwellings with an air permeability below 5 m³/h/m², background ventilators alone are insufficient and a mechanical strategy is required. Commissioning records are required for notifiable work; for MVHR systems, these should confirm measured airflow rates at each terminal against design values.
