Clearview North August 2014 - Issue 153 | Page 17

INDUSTRYNEWS Trickle vents why hate them? Dean Bradley, Sales and Marketing Manager for Glazpart Ltd, a leading manufacturer of trickle vents responds here to the article in last month’s Clearview in which Origin’s Andrew Halsall attacked trickle vents? Andrew Halsall’s article saying how he “hated” trickle vents on windows raised many points from the perspective of a fabricator. Indeed, Andrew successfully demonstrated the key issue that relates to the installation, use and specification of trickle vents. The fact is that there is a total lack of education and understanding about the requirement for and function of trickle vents. He obviously hasn’t read the Glazpart technical brochure on the products. Fundamentally, if we didn’t install background ventilation products we would all be living in air tight boxes full of foul air, humidity and imagine the consequences that would ensue, as we all have to breathe! The key function of trickle vents is to remove the volatiles contained in air from living in it. This may cause adverse health effects unless unobtrusive background ventilation is installed. Trickle vents are designed to remove air from a property without the need to open windows, which, unfortunately, many occupants don’t do - especially in winter. Aesthetically, trickle vents in the past - as Andrew points out - may have been an “unsightly” or even “ugly” additions to a window. With, however, the advent of colour matched and wood grain finishes the vents are becoming barely visible on the installed window. Once, the choice was limited to four colours. Today at Glazpart, for example, we offer no less than 24 colours or wood grains and the options to colour match any RAL colour. The size of the trickle vents in the past has also not helped. Today, the size of a trickle vent with the same performance of the old 4000mm2 vents has been reduced to half the length! Commercially, for the architect and builder there are other solutions, all of which are more expensive than the installation of a trickle vent through the window. Indeed, rather than viewing them as a cost, they are actually revenue or margin improvement opportunities! On new-build projects there are wider implications, as without suitably-sized trickle vents fitted, NHBC technical standards and the Part F1 building regulations are not met. Don’t get me wrong: there can be issues with trickle vents; for example, rooms can be overventilated where more vents than needed are installed. This leads to cold “draughty” rooms, which surely comes back to understanding and education about trickle vents? www.glazpart.co.uk The Next Generation of Composite Doors  Single & Double Rebated Doors  Inliten 70mm Door Frame  Multi-point locking systems  Range of foil & RAL colour options  Maximum energy performance  10 year product guarantee  Special offer price from only... £270.00 * *Full offer details available upon request Prices subject to VAT. Extra surcharges may apply. Subject to Camden T&Cs. Images are for illustration purposes only. Call our Sales Team: 0800 470 3204 Or email: [email protected] Camden Steeple Road Industrial Estate, Antrim, BT41 1AB See more reaction to last month’s trickle vents article on page 27. To read more, visit www.clearview-uk.com AUG 2014 17