How to create a performance-based regulation on ventilation – the French Experience

In France, in Residential buildings, since 1982 the ventilation regulation imposes air flow rate to be continuously extracted from every room with humidity production. A boosted level of air flow rate shall be reachable in the kitchen. Since the mid-80s demand-controlled ventilation based on humidity level in each room has been allowed, provided that the system is validated by a national commission. In practice, for 40 years every new residential building has a mechanical ventilation system and 95% of them are centralised extract only systems.