Commercial Bathroom Exhaust Fan Requirements

Ventilation in schools offices and commercial buildings.

Commercial bathroom exhaust fan requirements. Sizing of your bathroom fan is very important and should produce at least 1 cfm for every square foot of the room. Learn more about indoor air in homes and coronavirus covid 19. Exhaust fan must be strong enough to restore the bathroom with fresh air every 7 1 2 minutes or 8 times an hour. The illustration above demonstrates the use of a ceiling exhaust fan mounted in the rest room exhausting the stale air.

Exhaust required in each kitchen and bathroom. Some signs of excessive uncontrolled bathroom moisture include. 50 cfm intermittent or 20 cfm continuous operation 2006 irc 303 3x. Choose from a variety of exhaust fans fans with built in lights fan heater combinations and bathroom fan housing kits for contractors.

May be continuous or intermittent occupant controlled with prescribed rates e clothes dryers must be vented to the outside or condensing dryers plumbed to a drain. Damaged bathroom window trim. Stains thermal tracking or mold growth on bathroom walls and ceilings possibly also on bath vanities and cabinets. This exhaust air can be routed either to the roof using ductwork and a roof vent or to the side of your building using ductwork and a hooded wall vent.

All municipalities have different requirements but some do not draw a hard line on requiring exhaust fans. Surprisingly bathroom fans are not required by some building codes. A fan that is too small will not effectively remove moisture from the room. Local bathroom or kitchen fans that exhaust air outdoors and remove contaminants directly from the room where the fan is located also increase the outdoor air ventilation rate.

A commercial restroom will require air to be changed 8 12 times an hour depending on the size of the facility and your local code. Every bathroom requires an openable window that provides at least 1 5 square ft of air flow area when open 2006 irc 303 3 or mechanical type ventilation. In those areas ventilation in bathrooms is required but it can be from a window or fan your choice. This can lead to serious problems including warped cabinetry fogged mirrors mold and or mildew growth.

Mechanical exhaust is required and recirculation is prohibited except that recirculation shall be permitted where the resulting supply airstream consists of not more than 10 percent air recirculated from these spaces see section 403 2 1 items 2 and 4. Bathroom window condensation and frost forming on bathroom windows during freezing. This is the industry standard.