Makeup Air for Range Hoods. Most homes have several exhaust appliances. Installing Ducting For Range Hood' title='Installing Ducting For Range Hood' />View and Download ProLine Range Hoods PLZW KB. PLZW Series. PLZW KB. Ventilation Hood pdf manual download. These typically include a bathroom fan 4. But the most powerful exhaust appliance in most homes is the kitchen range hood fan 1. Every time an exhaust fan removes air from your house, an equal volume of air must enter. The air that enters cracks in a homes envelope to replace air that is exhausted is called makeup air. Two trends affecting makeup air are causing increasing problems for homeowners homes are getting tighter, and range hood fans are getting more powerful. So where does a powerful range hood fan get its makeup airIf the house doesnt have enough random air leaks around windows, doors, and mudsills, the makeup air is often pulled backwards through water heater flues or down wood burning chimneys a phenomenon called backdrafting. Indoor air quality problem in which potentially dangerous combustion gases escape into. Since the flue gases of some combustion appliances can include carbon monoxide, backdrafting is dangerous. In some cases, it can be life threatening. Range hood manufacturers cant answer homeowners questions. Most residential Q A columns get regular questions from homeowners asking how to solve backdrafting problems or how to provide makeup air for exhaust fans. Yet range hood manufacturers are notorious for failing to provide installers with any guidance on makeup air. Several years ago, I looked into the problem and reported what I found in an article published in the August 2. Energy Design Update. The genesis of my research was a homeowner query posted on Breaktime, the Web forum maintained by Fine Homebuilding magazine. Cheryl Morris described problems with her expensive new 1,2. GE Monogram range hood. It will pull a negative in the house, she wrote. Reached by phone, Morris told me, It pulled the ashes out of the fireplace, halfway across the room, right up to my husbands Lazy Boy chair. Pro Cricket 2014 Mobile Game Download more. According to Morriss Breaktime posting, the range hood manufacturer could not propose a solution. I have been contacting GE, with absolutely no help, she wrote. Their comment is that they have never heard of this problem. Since most residential kitchens are adequately served by a 1. Situation that occurs within a house when the indoor air pressure is lower than that outdoors. Exhaust fans, including bath and kitchen fans, or a clothes dryer can cause depressurization, and it may in turn cause back drafting as well as increased levels of radon within the home. However, the homeowners claim that GE had never heard of such problems needed to be verified, so I set out to discover whether GEs experts are really as clueless as Morris alleged. Lends elegance to any kitchenGeneral Electric was marketing its 1,2. In fact, a GE Monogram press release bragged that the appliance could be installed anywhere The ventilation system operates at maximum venting capacity of 1,2. Beautifully finished on all sides, the new Monogram island hood lends elegance to any kitchen. Morris had purchased model ZV4. SSFSS its powerful fan draws 1. Silent about makeup air. I got a copy of the GE Monogram installation instructions, and discovered that they were remarkably unhelpful. Astonishingly, the instructions make no mention of the range hoods requirement for makeup air. The issue was deflected by a confusing reminder that combustion appliances require adequate combustion air Sufficient air is needed for proper combustion and exhausting of gases through the flue chimney of fuelburning equipment to prevent backdrafting. Follow the heating equipment manufacturers guideline and safety standards such as those published by the National Fire Protection Association NFPA, and the American Society for Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers ASHRAEAmerican Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers ASHRAE. International organization dedicated to the advancement of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration through research, standards writing, publishing, and continuing education. Membership is open to anyone in the HVAC R field the organization has about 5. Although it is true that furnaces and water heaters require adequate combustion air, the GE appliance in question is a range hood, not a combustion appliance. Range hoods have at least one thing in common with combustion appliances they also require makeup air, although the GE instructions fail to note that fact. So why do the instructions refer to the need for providing makeup air for furnaces and water heaters but fail to inform installers that range hood fans also need a source of makeup air Moreover, in a house with an atmospherically vented water heater, a 1,2. GE Monogram range hood may cause backdrafting of flue gases, even if the water heater was originally installed in compliance with NFPA and ASHRAE standards. So complying with these standards for water heater installation wont keep you out of trouble. Tracking down the standards. The reference to ASHRAE and NFPA standards in the GE installation instructions was particularly unhelpful, since the numbers of the intended standards were not specified. GE went out of its way to advise range hood installers of the best way to install a water heater or a furnace that is, by following ASHRAE standards. Why didnt GE bother to tell range hood installers that ASHRAE also has something to say about the best way to install a range hood ASHRAEs residential ventilation standard, ASHRAE 6. A standard for residential mechanical ventilation systems established by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers. Among other requirements, the standard requires a home to have a mechanical ventilation system capable of ventilating at a rate of 1 cfm for every 1. According to this standard, the smallest home in which a 1,2. Mc. Mansion indeed. Wouldnt it behoove GE to let the installers of its monster fan know how to perform a backdrafting test Concerning the reference to NFPA standards, I tried to pin down what GE was hinting at. Shop range hoods to improve your kitchen ventilation. From undercabinet designs to highend custom installations, we offer thousands of options plus the expertise to. HUGE 70 OFF SALE The highest quality Stainless Steel Range Hoods. Unbeatable prices. Exceptional service and support guaranteed. Only at the Range Hood Store. Ducting Kits We are pleased to offer our own range of ducting kits. These have been designed to offer quick a quick ventilation solution when installing a new Tumble. VENTING OPTIONS HORIZONTAL WALL VENTING This is an alternative option to vertical venting. Ducting goes horizontally from the range hood through the houses. Glotech and Easiduct quick cooker hood ducting guide all the basics you will need to know to make your own extractor ducting systems. When replacing or installing a range hood, take note of the size, shape and mounting type before going to the store. The new hood should be at least as wide as the. I contacted Allan Fraser, a senior building specialist with NFPA. After hearing me read the relevant paragraph from the GE instruction booklet, Fraser said, That is a bad reference. As far as makeup air for range hoods is concerned, NFPA doesnt cover it. Frankly, it is not an issue on our radar screen. Answer Center ignorance. Armed with the limited recommendations provided by GEs installation instructions, I sought more information by placing two calls to the GE Answer Center 8. Does GE have any recommendations on providing makeup air for a 1,2. GE range hood installed in a residential kitchen The first GE expert responded, What is makeup air An explanation was provided. She responded, Do you mean you want to know the cfm of the fan After further discussion, I was put on hold. A few minutes later, the expert returned to the phone to report, That information is not something we would have here. Later, a second call to the same number reached a GE expert with more confidence. What you need is a range hood damper, part number JXDA2. Its a damper for a 7 inch round duct. We can also sell you an adapter if you need it. But where does this damper goIt goes in the ductwork, from what I understand. Is it possible to speak to a technician familiar with the installation of this damper We dont have technicians you can speak to. As it turns out, part number JXDA2. Intentionally vague. I sought better answers by appealing to General Electrics press office, where I eventually reached Paula Cecere, GEs product specialist for the GE Monogram product line. When Cecere was informed that the GE Answer Center experts seemed to have no understanding of makeup air requirements, she didnt disagree. I dont doubt you, said Cecere. You have uncovered a communications gap. This subject is something that I am trying to learn about myself in my role working with these appliances.