What Are Trickle Vents?

The adjustable vents found at the top of a door or window are known as trickle vents and are designed with building ventilation in mind. Small holes are created at the top of the door frame or window frame in order to allow the passing of air from one side to another. The user can control the level of ventilation by adjusting the trickle events as they are clipped onto the profile.

The trickle vents are created from injection-moulded PVCu and are designed to match your existing door or window as closely as possible, coming in a wide variety of wood grain and colours.

Where Do You Need a Trickle Vent?

Trickle vents are required in a number of different areas according to the latest Building Regulations. These include:

New-build home doors and windows
New-build extension doors and windows
Replacement doors/windows that already had trickle vents

The government are currently discussing potential changes to the Building Regulations, so the rules around trickle vents may change in the near future. You can find more information on the possible revisions here.

Why Do We Need Trickle Vents?

Over the past decade, we have come on leaps and bounds in terms of window energy efficiency. In order to create and maintain a healthy environment inside the home and other buildings, background ventilation is needed. Trickle vents serve this purpose well, filtering the polluted indoor air out of the building and replacing it with fresh air from outside. Therefore, the trickle vents provide a consistent and controllable room ventilation system, a key component of healthy living inside the home. As we move more and more towards energy-efficient living, trickle vents represent an opportunity to ventilate a home without the use of energy.

Where Are Trickle Vents Most Useful?

Let us start by saying that using trickle vents in every single room around the house is certainly ideal when it comes to background ventilation. That being said, they are particularly effective in certain areas of a building, including the bathroom, kitchen and utility rooms. Essentially, the areas of the building that contain moist air, whether it be from the shower, boiler or something else. The damp air needs to be filtered out and that is exactly what a trickle vent does. If you allow the warm, damp air to collect and build, you will likely start to notice damage to the walls, ceiling and the general health of the occupants.

Will Building Regulations Change and Will This Impact Trickle Vents?

The government is currently discussing possible updates to the Building Regulations are carrying out consultations. Part F of these regulations refer to ventilation and this section will likely be updated when revisions are made. As such, trickle vents will be more prominent in the coming years. Between January and April 2021, the government ran a consultation period that was open to the public and industry experts. The government is now studying and considering any input they received and potential revisions will come in by 2025.

Why Do Trickle Vents Create Such Debate?

Since the creation of trickle vents, the implantation of them in the UK has been discussed at great length. Although the functionality and design of the trickle vent have improved over the years, the industry has remained locked in debate as to their merit. Some argue that trickle vents work against the energy-efficient capabilities of new windows and that there are other better ways to ventilate a modern room. Some also claim that they are ugly to look at. However, those in favour of trickle vents claim that they provide a more permanent source of constant airflow when compared to energy-efficient windows. This debate will like rumble on for years to come but, what’s for sure, is that trickle vents will be a lot more prominent as time goes on, especially after the Building Regulations revisions.