How to Size Ventilation Fans: GreenRinc Page 1 of 6

S IZING V ENTILATION F ANS

How to Size Ventilation

Fans
Sizing fo r
Properly sized ventilation in ve ntilat io n
airtight homes and apartments
helps to assure healthy indoor Prope r inst allation
air quality. Both intermittent
FA Qs
(spot) ventilation and
continuous (whole house) Page Contents
ventilation should be
considered. Intermittent Det erm ine the
Applicat ion
ventilation is used to exhaust
sources of moisture and odors, Calculat e Area
while continuous ventilation is Mea sur e th e
used to remove accumulated Equivalen t Du ct
indoor air pollutants. Ventilating Length
fans should be located near the
source of moisture and indoor air
pollutants in bathrooms, laundry
rooms, kitchens, hobby rooms and
smoking rooms.
1. Determine the Application
The first step when sizing for a
ventilating fan is to determine the
application. Decide whether you are
sizing for intermittent or continuous
ventilation. If intermittent, determine
which application i.e. bathroom,
kitchen or other. Use the following
industry recommendations to
determine Air Changes per Hour (ACH)
for your specific application.
Intermittent (Spot) Ventilation:
The Home Ventilating Institute (HVI)
recommends the following Air Changes
per Hour (ACH):
I. Bathrooms - 8 ACH
II. Kitchens - 15 ACH
III. Other Rooms - 6 ACH
Continuous (Whole House)
Ventilation:
Many building codes have adopted the
American Society of Heating
Refrigerating and Air Conditioning
Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 62, as
shown below.
I. House or apartment - 0.35 ACH

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2. Calculate the Area Being

Ventilated
The second step is to calculate the
area being ventilated. Calculate square
feet or cubic feet depending on which
sizing method you choose.
Both methods, the Sizing Chart Method
and the Performance Curve Method,
follow industry standards and will give
you similar outcomes. The Sizing Chart
Method is easier. The Performance
Curve Method is often preferred by
engineers.
Note: You should check with your local
building inspector to confirm that
these methods are accepted in your
area.
Sizing Chart Method:
Example:
Sizing for an 8 ft x 12 ft x 8 ft ceiling
bathroom using 12-foot long, 4 inch
diameter aluminum flex duct, one
elbow, one wall cap.
Step 1. Determine the ACH required
for the given application using the HVI
and ASHRAE standards above.
Bathroom - 8 ACH
Step 2. Calculate the Area to be
ventilated in Square Feet.
2a. Assuming 8 foot ceiling: room
length x width.
8 ft x 12 ft = 96 sq ft.
2b. Guideline for cathedral ceilings:
i. 10 - 12 ft cathedral = length x width
x 1.25
ii. 12 - 16 ft cathedral = length x
width x 1.5
Step 3. Use the Equivalent Duct
Length chart above to calculate the
duct run.
3a. 12 ft flex aluminum duct x 1.25 =
15 feet EDL
3b. One elbow equals 15 feet EDL
3c. One roof jack equals 30 feet EDL
• (12 ft length x 1.25 alum. flex) + 15
ft elbow + 30 ft wall cap = 60 ft EDL
This is the equivalent duct length (or
resistance) the fan must overcome to
move air through the duct to the
outside.
Step 4: See the Fan Sizing Charts for
the appropriate Panasonic model.
4a. Select the correct ACH chart for
the application

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4b. Find the intersect of the Square

Feet and EDL to determine the
appropriate Panasonic model(s). When
values are not exact move to next
higher value.
100 sq ft by 60 ft EDL = FV-15VQ3
Performance Curve Method:
A ventilating fan's performance is
plotted on a graph called a
performance curve. The performance
curve shows airflow in cubic feet per
minute (CFM) along the horizontal axis
and static pressure (resistance) along
the vertical axis.

Figure
A shows how a performance curve
works. The fan with a "Closed duct"
has high static pressure and no
airflow; and the fan with "No duct" has
low static pressure and high airflow. In
reality, an installed fan will be
somewhere in between these two
points.
This method requires two calculations
and plotting on a graph. First is the
Airflow (CFM) calculation, which
calculates cubic feet and the required
CFM for the area to be ventilated. The
second is the Static Pressure
(Resistance) calculation, which
calculates the Equivalent Duct Length
(EDL) of a straight duct run from the
inlet to the termination (outside) point
of the building. Third, the result of
airflow and static pressure calculations
are then plotted on the performance
curve of ventilating fan models to find
the ideal model for a given application
and duct run.
Example:
Sizing for an 8 ft x 12 ft x 8 ft ceiling
bathroom using 12-foot long, 4 inch
diameter aluminum flex duct, one
elbow, one wall cap.

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Step 1: Airflow (CFM) Calculation

First calculate area in cubic feet
(length x width x ceiling height). Then
divide this number by 60 to get the
Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM) required
to replenish the entire air volume in
one hour. Next, multiply the CFM value
by the appropriate ACH value for the
given application.
1a. 8 ft x 12 ft x 8 ft = 768 cubic feet
1b. 768/60 = 12.8 CFM value
1c. 12.8 x 8 ACH
• 102 CFM for intermittent bathroom
ventilation
Step 2. Static Pressure (Resistance)
Calculation
The Static Pressure calculation
provides EDL and adjusts for airflow
resistance caused by duct material,
elbows, and terminations devices.
2a. 12 ft flex aluminum duct x 1.25 =
15 feet EDL
2b. One elbow equals 15 feet EDL
2c. One roof jack equals 30 feet EDL
15 + 15 + 30 = 60 feet total EDL.
This is the equivalent duct length (or
resistance) the fan must overcome to
move air through the duct to the
outside.
Step 3. Airflow and Static Pressure on
a Performance Curve Chart: The next
step is to identify a fan that will
provide 102 CFM at 60 EDL. Figure B
shows the performance curve for a
Panasonic model FV-15VQ3. First, find
60 EDL and then drop straight down to
the horizontal axis to determine the
CFM's delivered at 60 EDL.

Example:
3a. Locate the point on the blue "FAN"

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curve at 60 ft. In this case, it is a

point on the blue fan curve between
the yellow "50 ft" and blue "75 ft"
lines.
3b. From this point on the FAN line
move straight down to the horizontal
axis to read CFM. In this case, it is
close to 100 CFM.
Therefore, a Panasonic FV-15VQ3 is
the appropriate model
Repeat Step 3. You may need to
repeat Step 3 on the performance
curve different fan models until you
find a model that matches the desired
CFM with EDL.

3. Measure the Equivalent Duct

Length (EDL)
The third step is to measure the
Equivalent Duct Length of the planned
duct run. This requires a basic
understanding of static pressure
caused by a duct run design and its
components.
Static Pressure and Duct Run:
A ventilating fan must overcome
resistance when pushing air from the
inlet, through the duct, to the outside
of the building. This resistance is
known as static pressure. The amount
of static pressure depends on the duct
length, type of duct, elbows and the
roof jack or wall cap.
Equivalent Duct Length (EDL):
Static pressure in a typical duct run is
caused by the type of duct material,
elbows, exterior wall cap, etc. The
table below shows the standard values
for duct components. The EDL chart
allows you to calculate the equivalent
straight duct length in order to
overcome static pressure caused by
each component in a duct run. The EDL
helps assure the fan performs as
expected under the airflow resistance
caused by the components listed in
this chart .

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