ᐅ Drafts from electrical outlets and light switches, and noisy ventilation system
Created on: 1 Feb 2019 11:14
D
Dodo86
Hello everyone,
After you gave me such great advice about phone line noise shortly after we moved into our house this summer (thanks again to everyone for that), I have two more questions for you.
First, a brief update on the phone line noise issue. After much back and forth, two large sound attenuators were installed, and the problem is now mostly resolved.
Drafts from outlets/switches:
We built a KfW 40 Plus solid construction with Ytong insulation, clinker brick or Ytong insulation with Ytong/render (the general contractor called it a mixed façade).
Just yesterday, while cleaning, I happened to notice a cold draft coming from the outlet in the reveal of the kitchen window. I then checked all switches and outlets installed in the exterior walls, and a noticeable draft is coming from all of them.
Do I have the right to request remedial work here? My online research was only partially clear.
Noisy ventilation system:
This has been bothering us for some time now. We have a Nibe F2040 heat pump with the indoor unit VVM 500 and the ventilation system Nibe ERS 20-250CL.
In the bedroom and children’s rooms, the normal operating noise level is about 27 decibels at the bed and directly at the ceiling outlet 45 decibels. I find it very annoying in the bedroom. I mentioned this to the site manager. He and a technician from the plumbing company simply said it was normal and that I would have to prove it is outside the norm. Are there any official standards or regulations about this? Can he just claim everything is normal based on his subjective opinion? He did not measure the noise.
I would appreciate your assessment.
Best regards,
Dodo
After you gave me such great advice about phone line noise shortly after we moved into our house this summer (thanks again to everyone for that), I have two more questions for you.
First, a brief update on the phone line noise issue. After much back and forth, two large sound attenuators were installed, and the problem is now mostly resolved.
Drafts from outlets/switches:
We built a KfW 40 Plus solid construction with Ytong insulation, clinker brick or Ytong insulation with Ytong/render (the general contractor called it a mixed façade).
Just yesterday, while cleaning, I happened to notice a cold draft coming from the outlet in the reveal of the kitchen window. I then checked all switches and outlets installed in the exterior walls, and a noticeable draft is coming from all of them.
Do I have the right to request remedial work here? My online research was only partially clear.
Noisy ventilation system:
This has been bothering us for some time now. We have a Nibe F2040 heat pump with the indoor unit VVM 500 and the ventilation system Nibe ERS 20-250CL.
In the bedroom and children’s rooms, the normal operating noise level is about 27 decibels at the bed and directly at the ceiling outlet 45 decibels. I find it very annoying in the bedroom. I mentioned this to the site manager. He and a technician from the plumbing company simply said it was normal and that I would have to prove it is outside the norm. Are there any official standards or regulations about this? Can he just claim everything is normal based on his subjective opinion? He did not measure the noise.
I would appreciate your assessment.
Best regards,
Dodo
Dodo86 schrieb:
Draft from sockets/switches:
We built a KfW 40 Plus solid construction with Ytong insulation - brick or Ytong insulation - Ytong/plaster. (The general contractor called it an alternate facade.)
Just yesterday, by chance while cleaning, I noticed a cold draft coming from the socket in the reveal of the kitchen window. I then checked all switches/outlets installed in the exterior walls and found that all outlets have a clearly noticeable draft.
Do I have a right to request remedial work here? My online research was only partly conclusive.Hmm, was a blower door test performed?
Your ventilation system is probably just undersized and always operating at its limit. I’m not familiar with the unit, but it could also simply be that the building method makes it noisier than other systems.
Hello,
Yes, a blower door test was done. With about 0.6 it was quite okay, I think.
But is it really okay to have cold air coming in through the electrical outlets? I’m also worried about mold.
Is there anything we can do with the ventilation system besides installing a bigger one? Shouldn’t the general contractor have known about this?
According to the living space regulations, we have 165 m² (1777 sq ft), and the knee wall is 140 cm (55 inches) with finished flooring.
Yes, a blower door test was done. With about 0.6 it was quite okay, I think.
But is it really okay to have cold air coming in through the electrical outlets? I’m also worried about mold.
Is there anything we can do with the ventilation system besides installing a bigger one? Shouldn’t the general contractor have known about this?
According to the living space regulations, we have 165 m² (1777 sq ft), and the knee wall is 140 cm (55 inches) with finished flooring.
Drafts coming from electrical outlets are not acceptable.
To prevent this, airtight electrical boxes are available. If these are not used, the boxes should be firmly installed in the walls using sufficient material (plaster or cement mixture) to ensure no drafts can occur.
Kaiser offers sealing inserts made of PVC.
These can be installed later as inserts into the electrical boxes to achieve airtightness after installation.
I would report this as a defect to the electrician, regardless of what the blower door test results indicated.
To prevent this, airtight electrical boxes are available. If these are not used, the boxes should be firmly installed in the walls using sufficient material (plaster or cement mixture) to ensure no drafts can occur.
Kaiser offers sealing inserts made of PVC.
These can be installed later as inserts into the electrical boxes to achieve airtightness after installation.
I would report this as a defect to the electrician, regardless of what the blower door test results indicated.
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