extractor fan in kitchen

Southern Spark · Jul 18, 2011

I have just been asked by my own landlord to fit an extractor fan in the kitchen and bathroom. He is well known for being extremely tight and obviously wants it done as cheaply as possible.
I have told him that he needs a cooker hood for the kitchen, but he insists on just having an extractor fan.
Would this be inline with electrical and building regs? The house is not a new bulid, (roughly 80 years old).
Does anybody know what extraction rates have to be met in a kitchen??
thanks in advance guys.

malcolmsanford · Jul 18, 2011

I could be shot down in flames here but I didn't think there was any for a domestic situation, but there again it seems for new builds you have to test the flow rate for a bathroom extractor fan nowadays so nothing would surprise me.

Southern Spark · Jul 18, 2011

This was my trail of thought. Most of my work is newbuild, and I dont generally work for the type of client that tries to save money and cut corners, so things like this can catch me out. I was wondering if it was possibly an environmental health issue. We have started to get a bit of mould in the kitchen which I am sure would be helped with an extractor fan, and I was a little concerned if there was any environmental health regulations I should adhere to, or take into account... im probably just barking up the wrong tree entirely lol

malcolmsanford · Jul 18, 2011

A friends daughter had this problem in the house and not just the kitchen. They got a company in the biggest problem was the air brick were blocked over.

They opened them up and did put fans in the bathrooms and kitchen, I wired them up in fact, but the company never mentioned anything about a cooker exhaust. This was a few years back so as said I maybe completely wrong.

electromonkey · Jul 18, 2011

From what you've said about the age of the house, an air brick or two as said above. You should have them throughout the property (front and back) to keep a constant airflow on the go. I do a lot of electrical work for a damp proofing firm and they're always replacing ones that have been removed.

Dunc · Jul 18, 2011

If you read The Electricians Guide to The Building Regs kitchens should have either 30l/s extraction adjacent to the hob (that's a cooker hood in simple terms) or 60l/s if located elsewhere within the room. Bathrooms should have 15l/s. I think the highest value of 60l/s can be provided by most 150mm fans and the other values using 100mm fans of varying pressures. This information only relates to new builds or extensions though.