ᐅ Ventilation System – What to Do When Planning to Change the Use of a Space?

Hello,
we are still unsure whether to install a ventilation system in our new building or not.
We are constructing a residential house with several commercial office spaces.
Some of the rooms are designed so that they could be repurposed later.
For example, offices could be converted into bathrooms, bedrooms, or kitchens.
How is this usually handled with the ventilation system in such cases? Should double ductwork be installed from the start, allowing supply air ducts to be switched to exhaust air later?
Or could the ducts for individual rooms be capped so that those rooms are not ventilated at all? What would be the most practical approach?
Maybe someone can help me with this?

You can simply switch the connections, turning the supply air into exhaust air and vice versa.

You could also cut off a room.

However, the ratio between supply and exhaust air must be correct afterwards.

Keep in mind that if independent residential units are created from the offices, the ventilation systems must operate separately.

Lile08 schrieb:
Or what would be the most sensible option here?

Since ventilation is always a complete system, it would really be most practical to plan this together with someone who truly knows the subject. Some initial guidance on what to pay attention to has already been provided.

@Sebastian79
So you can simply switch the supply air and exhaust air connections on the device? And still use the same duct as before?
That wouldn't be a problem then.
We have an appointment with the installer soon anyway and wanted to discuss everything. Another installer once told us that all ducts would need to be doubled completely. That made us a bit uncertain 😱

The pipe itself does not care whether it is for supply air or exhaust air. In the utility room, the pipe only needs to be repositioned (which is more or less straightforward and usually not a big issue; it might need to be extended or rerouted slightly—none of this is a major problem as long as everything happens within the same room at the ceiling). It only gets more complicated if you split the system into two parts. Then, the ventilation system must be separated, and you would need two air circulators.

These are details that an installer typically cannot just explain on the construction site. Such matters require a planner or someone similar (for example, the installer’s supervisor).