TOILET VENTILATION CALCULATION

TOILET VENTILATION

Toilet ventilation has its own importance for odor control and fresh air
provision.

When considering mechanical ventilation for a toilet exhaust, the most

important task will be the following.

 Find out the Exhaust air flow rate.

 Exhaust air duct size (if applicable).
 Static pressure calculation for duct and duct fittings.
 Exhaust air fan capacity.
 Fresh air intake flow rate.
 Door under cut (or) door grill (or) fresh air duct.

Properly sized ventilation in airtight homes and

apartments helps to assure healthy indoor air quality.

Both intermittent (spot) ventilation and continuous

(whole house) ventilation should be considered.

Intermittent ventilation is used to exhaust sources of

moisture and odors, while continuous ventilation is

used to remove accumulated indoor air pollutants.

Ventilating fans should be located near the source of

moisture and indoor air pollutants in bathrooms,

laundry rooms, kitchens, hobby rooms and smoking

rooms.

1. Determine the Application

The first step when sizing for a ventilating fan is to

determine the application. Decide whether you are

sizing for intermittent or continuous ventilation. If

intermittent, determine which application i.e. bathroom,

kitchen or other. Use the following industry

recommendations to determine Air Changes per Hour

(ACH) for your specific application.

Intermittent (Spot) Ventilation:

The Home Ventilating Institute (HVI) recommends the

following Air Changes per Hour (ACH):

I. Bathrooms - 8 ACH

II. Kitchens - 15 ACH

III. Other Rooms - 6 ACH

2. Calculate the Area Being Ventilated

The second step is to calculate the area being

ventilated. Calculate square feet or cubic feet

depending on which sizing method you choose.

Both methods, the Sizing Chart Method and the

Performance Curve Method, follow industry standards

and will give you similar outcomes. The Sizing Chart

Method is easier. The Performance Curve Method is

often preferred by engineers.

Example:

Sizing for an 8 ft x 12 ft x 8 ft ceiling bathroom using

12-foot long, 4 inch diameter aluminum flex duct, one

elbow, one wall cap.

Step 1: Airflow (CFM) Calculation

First calculate area in cubic feet (length x width x

ceiling height). Then divide this number by 60 to get

the Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM) required to replenish

the entire air volume in one hour. Next, multiply the

CFM value by the appropriate ACH value for the given

application.

1a. 8 ft x 12 ft x 8 ft = 768 cubic feet

1b. 768/60 = 12.8 CFM value

1c. 12.8 x 8 ACH

102 CFM for intermittent bathroom ventilation

Step 2. Static Pressure (Resistance) Calculation

The Static Pressure calculation provides EDL and

adjusts for airflow resistance caused by duct material,

elbows, and terminations devices.

2a. 12 ft flex aluminum duct x 1.25 = 15 feet EDL

2b. One elbow equals 15 feet EDL

2c. One roof jack equals 30 feet EDL

15 + 15 + 30 = 60 feet total EDL.

3. Measure the Equivalent Duct Length (EDL)

The third step is to measure the Equivalent Duct Length

of the planned duct run. This requires a basic

understanding of static pressure caused by a duct run

design and its components.

Static Pressure and Duct Run:

A ventilating fan must overcome resistance when

pushing air from the inlet, through the duct, to the

outside of the building. This resistance is known as

static pressure. The amount of static pressure depends

on the duct length, type of duct, elbows and the roof

jack or wall cap.

Equivalent Duct Length (EDL):

Static pressure in a typical duct run is caused by the

type of duct material, elbows, exterior wall cap, etc.

The table below shows the standard values for duct

components. The EDL chart allows you to calculate the

equivalent straight duct length in order to overcome

static pressure caused by each component in a duct

run.