Air vent in the living room letting cold air in.

bflare

I moved into a bungalow last year & the living room is seriously cold in winter. It has a gas fire fitted & central heating. The gas fire is a open type i.e a fire tray with coal effect. I never use the gas fire as it seems to use a lot of gas. The chimney itself causes a lot of heat to escape but last night when I moved the TV unit I discovered an air vent underneath the window. I couldn't believe the draft which was coming through it. I am thinking that the air vent may be there due to the gas fire?


Is there anything I can do to limit the draft coming through the air vent? I am assuming I can not block it as it says DO NOT COVER.

giraffe69

Can you get an external air vent cover? Some examples at
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=external+air+vent+cover&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Doozergirl

If you don't use the fire then you could cover it.

As soon as you use the fire though, please open it!

bflare

giraffe69 wrote: »

Can you get an external air vent cover? Some examples at
www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=external+air+vent+cover&ref=nb_sb_noss_1[/QUOTE]

I have not actually taken a look outside to see what is there.

bflare

Doozergirl wrote: »

If you don't use the fire then you could cover it.

As soon as you use the fire though, please open it!

This is what I was thinking. In over a year I have used the fire once so I am certain I wont use it again. But I would be mindful that I had covered it over.

EssexExile

Yes the air vent is there for the fire. We had cavity wall insulation put in years ago & when they finished they insisted on drilling two 4" holes in our walls because of the gas fires.
In one room we had the fire replaced with a smaller one that didn't need the vent, so it was covered. In the other room the vent is blocked as, like you, we never use the fire (except during power cuts), but also we never close doors so air can get into that room from all over the house.
I cannot recommend blocking the vent unless you have the fire disconnected.

Dan-Dan

Dont blank it just because you dont use it, if practical have a Gas Safe engineer disconnect it for you at the correct point

sevenhills

bflare wrote: »

This is what I was thinking. In over a year I have used the fire once so I am certain I wont use it again. But I would be mindful that I had covered it over.

When the gas fire was removed from my living room they installed a vent at the bottom of the chimney breast. I have covered it with tape though.

RelievedSheff

The ventilation is there for a reason. Dont cover it over. Get an external baffle for it to deflect some of the cold air.

It is ok saying you dont use the fire so can block it. But what if you do use it and forget you have blocked the vent?

Is it worth the risk?

FreeBear

Doozergirl wrote: »

If you don't use the fire then you could cover it.

As soon as you use the fire though, please open it!

Also get yourself a Carbon Monoxide (that is CO, not CO2) alarm. If you forget to uncover the vent and still use the fire, a CO alarm could save your life. They are not expensive - https://www.screwfix.com/p/fireangel-co-9b-co-alarm-led-display/25134

RelievedSheff

In my opinion all homes with gas appliances should have a carbon monoxide alarm already.

They cost very little and save lives.