Superior Fireplaces VRE6000 Assembly, Installation And Operation Instructions Download Page 7

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AIR FOR COMBUSTION AND VENTILATION

WARNING: This firebox shall not be installed in a

room or space unless the required volume of indoor

combustion air is provided by the method described

in the National Fuel Gas Code, ANSI Z223.1/NFPA 54,

the International Fuel Gas Code, or applicable local

codes. Read the following instructions to ensure proper

fresh air for this and other fuel-burning appliances in

your home.

Today’s homes are built more energy efficient than ever. New materials,

increased insulation and new construction methods help reduce heat

loss in homes. Home owners weather strip and caulk around windows

and doors to keep the cold air out and the warm air in. During heating

months, home owners want their homes as airtight as possible.
While it is good to make your home energy efficient, your home ne eds

to breathe. Fresh air must enter your home. All fuel-burning appliances

need fresh air for proper combustion and ventilation.
Exhaust fans, fireplaces, clothes dryers and fuel burning appliances

draw air from the house to operate. You must provide adequate fresh

air for these appliances. This will ensure proper venting of vented

fuel-burning appliances.

PROVIDING ADEQUATE VENTILATION

The following are excerpts from National Fuel Gas Code, ANSI Z223.1/

NFPA 54, Air for Combustion and Ventilation.
All spaces in homes fall into one of the three following ventilation

classifications:
1.  Unusually Tight Construction
2.  Unconfined Space
3.  Confined Space
The information on pages 7 through 8 will help you classify your space

and provide adequate ventilation.

Unusually Tight Construction

The air that leaks around doors and windows may provide enough

fresh air for combustion and ventilation. However, in buildings of

unusually tight construction, you must provide additional fresh air.
Unusually tight construction is defined as construction where:

a. walls and ceilings exposed to the outside atmosphere have a

continuous water vapor retarder with a rating of one perm (6 x

-11

kg per pa-sec-m

) or less with openings gasketed or sealed

and

b. weather stripping has been added on openable windows and

doors and

c. caulking or sealants are applied to areas such as joints around

window and door frames, between sole plates and floors, be-

tween wall-ceiling joints, between wall panels, at penetrations

for plumbing, electrical and gas lines and at other openings.

If your home meets all of the three criteria above, you must provide ad-

ditional fresh air. See Ventilation Air From Outdoors, page 8.
If your home does not meet all of the three criteria above, proceed

to Determining Fresh-Air Flow For Firebox Location.

Confined and Unconfined Space

The

National Fuel Gas Code, ANSI Z223.1/NFPA 54

allows two meth-

ods for determining whether the space in which the heater is being

installed is confined or unconfined. The standard method defines a

confined space as a space whose volume is less than 50 cubic feet

per 1,000 Btu per hour (4.8 m3 per kw) of the aggregate input rating

of all appliances installed in that space and an unconfined space as

a space whose volume is not less than 50 cubic feet per 1,000 Btu

per hour (4.8 m3 per kw) of the aggregate input rating of all appli-

ances installed in that space. Rooms communicating directly with the

space in which the appliances are installed*, through openings not

furnished with doors, are considered a part of the unconfined space.
Where the air infiltration of a structure is known, the Known Air

Infiltration Rate Method may be used. Follow the

National Fuel Gas

Code, ANSI Z223.1/NFPA 54

to use this method to determine if the

space is confined or unconfined.

DETERMINING FRESH-AIR FLOW FOR FIREBOX LOCATION

Determining if You Have a Confined or Unconfined Space

Use this work sheet to determine if you have a confined or uncon-

fined space.
Space: Includes the room in which you will install heater plus any ad-

joining rooms with doorless passageways or ventilation grills between

the rooms.
1.  Determine the volume of the space (length x width x height).
  Length x Width x Height =__________cu. ft. (volume of space)
  Example: Space size 22 ft. (length) x 18 ft. (width) x 8 ft. (ceiling

height) = 3,168 cu. ft. (volume of space)

If additional ventilation to adjoining room is supplied with grills

or openings, add the volume of these rooms to the total volume

of the space.

2. Multiply the space volume by 20 to determine the maximum Btu/Hr

the space can support.

_______ (volume of space) x 20 = (Maximum Btu/Hr the space

can support)

Example: 3,168 cu. ft. (volume of space) x 20 = 63,360 (maximum

Btu/Hr space can support)

3. Add the Btu/Hr of all fuel burning appliances in the space.

Vent-free fireplace ________ Btu/Hr