Bathroom Ventilation NCC Update: What You Need To Know
With heavy rains and persistent wet weather around much of the country in recent years, water damage and mould in homes due to condensation has been an unfortunate consequence for many.
Updates to the National Construction Code that have recently come into force are designed to help prevent these issues, with clearer and more effective ventilation guidelines for residential buildings.
What’s the Issue?
Mould thrives in damp, dark, and poorly ventilated areas, and is commonly found in kitchens and bathrooms. These areas are humid and warm, which can lead to an accumulation of moisture in the absence of sufficient fresh airflow.
Mould is bad news for any home. Not only can it damage the building materials it grows on, airborne mould spores are terrible for your health and can lead to issues ranging from respiratory irritation to serious infection.
Updates to the Code
The updated version of the National Construction Code takes aim at mould and moisture-damage with more stringent and detailed ventilation requirements. Part 10.8 of the Housing Provisions deals with condensation management, and states that exhaust from kitchens, bathrooms, sanitary compartments, and laundries must discharge directly or via a duct to the outdoors, instead of discharging into a roof space.
Also, bathrooms and sanitary compartments with mechanical exhausts must have a flow rate of at least 25L/s, and kitchens and laundries of 40L/s.
Diagram showing the ducting of exhaust from a sanitary compartment and bathroom to the outside.
In cases where a bathroom or sanitary compartment (e.g., single toilet or urinal) is not ventilated via a window or similar, an exhaust system must be fitted that either runs continuously or is interlocked with the room’s light switch and includes a run-on timer that keeps the exhaust running for 10 minutes after the switch is turned off. These rooms must also be provided with fresh air via an opening to an adjacent room or in accordance with AS 1668.2.
The updated Code includes detailed information around airflow requirements and compliant solutions.
Product Focus
Our convenient separate run-on timer for AC exhaust fans is easy-to-install and widely compatible with standard wall switches. Simply wire the timer per the instructions to the interlocked wall switch and set the timer for automatic operation from between 1 and 25 minutes.*
The Atom Air Azzure Ducted Exhaust features a powerful ball bearing motor, 3-year warranty, and includes an adjustable run-on timer as standard.
The Atom Air Aero Ducted DC Exhaust features a DC motor, wireless remote, and a 24-hour operation mode that meets the updated NCC requirements.
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