Changes to Ventilation Requirements for Gas Appliances in Kitchens

To operate safely, all gas appliances need an adequate supply of air. In particular, open-flue type appliances require an adequate supply of air to ensure complete combustion of the gas and efficient operation of the flue to remove the combustion products. The air supply is provided by fixed ventilation openings, e.g. air bricks/grills.

The HSE, on advice from the Council for Registered Gas Installers (CORGI), has issued details of changes to these ventilation requirements which must be made by 1st June 2008.

Where changes are not made by 1st June 2008, kitchens are likely to be designated by CORGI engineers as 'At Risk', i.e. the appliance should be turned off and the customer notified that the appliance should not be used until the defect has been rectified.

Since August 2005, as part of a phased introduction of this requirement, existing gas appliances with below 40% ventilation and appliances installed in a compartment and provided with less than 90% ventilation have been identified by CORGI engineers as "At Risk".

From 1st June 2008 all installations providing less than 90% ventilation will be regarded as putting consumers "At Risk".

Actions for schools/Other Children's Services establishments with kitchens:

Schools and other establishments with kitchens will need to be proactive to avoid the possibility of their kitchen being shut down after June 2008.

You should not wait until your next routine inspection by a CORGI engineer to establish the position, particularly if the next inspection is not scheduled until Spring/Summer 2008.

Headteachers/other managers should take advice from a suitably qualified CORGI engineer (via their Building Surveyor) to establish whether their kitchen equipment has suitable ventilation as described above. If remedial actions are required, enough time will need to be allowed to make any changes required by the due date.

Corgi Engineers are able to ascertain whether or not the installations meets the requirement regarding ventilation and in most cases can provide information regarding the size of vents needed, based on a 'rule of thumb' calculation. However, accurate calculations will need to be undertaken and work carried out by specialist ventilation contractors.

Funding will need to be identified to deal with remedial work if needed. The maintenance of school kitchens, including meeting statutory requirements, falls within the premises responsibility of Governors and therefore improvement to meet these requirements must be a first call on 2008/09 Devolved Formula Capital allocations if sufficient funds are not already available in existing allocations.

HSE advice is that, in many cases, increasing the size of the airbrick, or removing obstructions, such as a fly screen, can resolve the situation.

Further Advice and Guidance