Trickle vents - Yes or No - New Double Glazing

[emptycoffers]

Had a couple of quotes for new windows - local firms - no pressure selling at all.
The exisiting windows don't have trickle vents.
Neither firm mentioned them until I asked.

Both said as the existing windows don't have vents - there's no building regs obligation to fit them on the new windows.

Both said they are very cheap to fit - about a tenner - but expensive to retro-fit.
One said some people complain about a draught.
One said drilling the frame compromises A- rating.

Otherwise neither put a case for or against.

What's the best thing to do? Are they an essential or not? Is opening windows better?

[johnd2]

If your house has better insulation you'll get less condensation, but the insulation has to be continuous with no gaps whatsoever.
Old houses weren't built to take insulation, so if you insulate you'll end up with a big difference between the newly insulated surfaces and the cold bridges at the corners of the rooms.. That's where you get mould, because the slight condensation spread over the whole wall becomes focused on one small area.
For new build and extension there is a limiting value for cold bridges that reduces the condensation risk, but in an existing house you'll just struggle to do anything except ventilate lots.

We have extended, which causes a condensation risk so I'm fitting mechanical ventilation to keep a constant flow of air towards the insulated/wet rooms.

[Gatekeeper]

I recall my parents having them in their windows and they used to make a hell of a racket when it was windy...sort of a humming noise that used to drive my dad crackers

[Telfordmaybe]

Definitely get them especially if you have insulation.

Surely it's the other way around? More insulation = less cold surfaces = less condensation?

And obviously never let your heating fall below 15C.

A house need ventilation but only houses with poor insulation and poor windows need excessive ventilation.

I think a normal house requires around 0.5 air changes an hour whilst an older house would need 2.

[PigletJohn]

I can't help thinking of all the people who moan about condensation and mould. A little bit of controllable ventilation can save a lot of grief.

[bojorojo]

You still should not need them!

[myfavouritecolourispurple]

Oh and our dehumidifiers are not electric, they have a thing like a loo cleaner in them and it absorbs water. Quite effective. I think I actually saw someone recommending them on MN a few months ago.

[myfavouritecolourispurple]

Definitely get them especially if you have insulation.

Otherwise there's a high chance of getting mould.

[bojorojo]

Why use electric and buy a dehumidifier? Honestly - save the planet and ventilate manually! All houses should be ventilated.

[bojorojo]

Trickle vents in wood frames here! Ventilation is important and if they are closed there is no draught. Houses are not designed to be hermetically sealed. They should be allowed to breathe. Modern day vision of what windows should do does not help the house. Always ventilate and don't over heat.

[cafesociety]

The trickle vents I had in my last house meant I could still hear road noise when they were shut. I was told trickle vents were obligatory if there was gas to the house, no option not to have them.

In this place there are no vents, I get condensation on the north side of the house mainly, worst in my bedroom obviously.

I have a good quality dehumidifier which is amazing. It leaves a pleasant atmosphere in the rooms after it's been used, and takes a surprising amount of water out of the air.

[shurrup]

Yep, just open your windows!

[Parkourbench]

Just open your windows.

I have trickle vents on all of mine and I don't find them very effective. My boys room at the from of the house has misted windows most mornings during winter regardless of whether the vents are open or not. What works is opening the windows for 15-30 mins on a morning, wiping the windows down and opening in the evening too if I get chance.

Trickle vents don't cope with steam in bathrooms or kitchens either.

[PigletJohn]

So would you agree with the people who say "no need for vents, just open your windows?"

[shurrup]

I've just moved into a new barn conversion which is right on the lane which I thought was not that busy but it can be. Obvs it's not a main road but at rush hour there are a lot of cars and during the day big farm vehicles go up and down. The noise from the road drives me mad. Then when I was in the kitchen I could feel a big draught from somewhere. Took me a while to locate it. I white plastic venty thing in the window. I shut it up but there is still a big draught coming from the edges of the fitment. I realised I had these vents in the windows around the house so I went round shutting them and putting my hand up to see if I could feel a draught. In the bedrooms at the front (NW facing) I cannot feel a draught. There are no bedroom windows at the back of the house. Downstairs when the vents are on the south side I can feel draughts when the vents are closed.

I discovered these vents are TRICKLE VENTS which are basically big holes cut into the frames of up to the minute energy saving 21st century double glazing units. What a contradiction!

It's the reason my wooden double glazing is not cutting out road noise and I am getting draughts.

I am madly Googling ways to block the dastardly things. I've never had them in any of my previous houses and never had any problems with mould or condensation.

They are the devil's work and another money making scam for builders.

[DustOffYourHighestHopes]

I know this is a zombie thread but just in case anyone finds it on search -

Oh god NO if you have any sort of roller blinds.

We asked for trickle vents for all our new windows. Well with recess-inset roller blinds (which look much much better than having roller blinds fitted outside the recess), the blinds effectively block the vents. So there's not much point in them, plus it makes the blinds really difficult to fit.

Wish our window person had told us beforehand but he's not clairvoyant I suppose.

[gericb]

Having been in the window industry over 45 years i can assure you that the key is ventilation on a daily basis to change the air in the house, the warmer the air the more moisture it will hold. At night when heating off the moisture will condense on the coldest surfaces notably the windows and especially in the bedrooms. A couple in bed will exude and breath out a considerable amount of moisture. Double glazing will cause condensation if it replaces draughty frames which would by their very draughty nature allow air changes and consequently draughts. Our industry has worked to make very efficient windows up to A rating, so the fitting of trickle vents must reduce the rating of the frames. They do allow draught even when shut as i know in my home. The second stage of all opening sashes will give very good ventilation and can be left open in bathrooms and toilets to avoid moisture build up. Bear in mind that sashes left on second stage at ground floor level COULD be a way for burglars to get in by jemmying them open so only leave top fanlights on second stage and make sure the sashes below are locked with the key.
Hope this helps

[CointreauVersial]

Definitely get them.

We don't have them in the DDs' bedrooms and it is a pain. Flinging open the windows is not an option, as we are in a bungalow and the windows are huge great things.

[Bunbaker]

Exactly PigletJohn

[PigletJohn]

Since you have the ability to close the things when not required, I can't understand when anybody would refuse to have them.

all they do is offer you the option to have controlled ventilation when and if you want it.

[LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett]

When we first moved in here I felt it was fusty, for want of a better word. None of the windows had trickle vents, so there was no fresh air in the bedrooms at night (we moved in Jan and we live in Scotland). We ended up replacing all the windows and have to say the trickle vents make a massive difference. Most new windows can't be opened a tiny crack the way my old sash windows could and I need that wee bit of air!

[PossumPoo]

Our windows can be locked about an inch open. I leave all the upstairs windows opened but locked, every day. We only discovered the windows could be locked and left open this way by mistake but I love it.

[TalkinPeace]

we have them and love them

[mausmaus]

I know what a trickle vent is. but I don't want them.

[DayLillie]

We had windows installed without vents. The installers even managed to overlook the ones in the extention. We live near a busy trunk road and had triple glazing installed to reduce the noise.

We already have a big hole in the wall with a grill over it to provide ventilation for the open fire. The chimney provides loads of ventilation and we have not had misted up windows since it was installed 10 years ago.

A friend looked into having cavity wall insulation put in and the contractors would not do it without putting two great big holes in the wall to ventilate the open fire, which is a Baxi with its own air supply. They do not know anything about fires, and just follow their part of the regulations. The house already has extra thick thermalite blockwork, so putting in the insulation, then holes would have made the house colder so they didn't bother.

If you are not careful, you could end up with a seive for a house.

My grandma had vents in a tower block, which was pretty airtight otherwise. Everyone used to tape them over, because it used to blow a gale through them on windy days (it is much more of a problem living higher up)

OK - end of ventilation ramble