Radon removal – how to prevent radon gas from entering your home

radon removal

Radon is an odourless and invisible radioactive gas which can contaminate indoor air. It moves into houses from the soil beneath the building and increases the risk of lung cancer. The best way to prevent radon from entering a building is to take measures during the initial building process.

However, if your house does not already have a radon prevention system in place, the first step to fix the problem is radon testing: in other words, measuring the radon level of the indoor air. Radon testing is important because you cannot detect radon in your house by seeing or smelling it. In Finland, radon level tests are conducted during the cold season, in other words between November and April. You can order a radon test kit for your home, but remember to use only reliable radon test services.

If the test results show high levels of radon in your house, the best solution will depend on the ground level structure of the building.

Reducing radon in your house

Radon removal: house without a crawl space (a concrete floor placed directly onto the soil)

radon removal

You can mechanically remove radon using a VILPE ECo 110 or VILPE ECo 110 FLOW roof fan if your house does not have a crawl space.

The radon gas beneath the floor is drawn out of the soil using a VILPE ECo 110 (FLOW) roof fan. The radon is then directed through the plastic piping installed in the soil. The plastic ducts (subsurface drains) below the floor are connected using a sewer pipe.

Radon removal: house with a vented crawl space

If your house has a vented crawl space, radon removal should be conducted using a VILPE ECo 110 or VILPE ECo 110 FLOW roof fan and VILPE Ross ventilation poles to provide replacement air. The roof fan is connected to a plastic pipe from the crawl space to the attic. With Ross ventilation poles and a roof fan, the air will circulate more effectively within the crawl space, and radon gas will be removed through the roof fan.

Please note that it is possible to use only Ross ventilation poles to ventilate the crawl space. However, air circulation and therefore radon removal is most efficient when a roof fan or a ventilation pipe is part of an overall radon mitigation system.

It is also possible to have a passive radon ventilation system by replacing a roof fan with a VILPE sewer ventilation pipe and a cowl. If this passive ventilation system is not efficient enough, it can easily be converted into a mechanical ventilation system.

A radon fan

Radon fan // radon fläkt
Examples of VILPE radon fans.

A radon fan creates a mechanical radon mitigation system. VILPE 110 mm duct size roof fans are suitable for use as radon fans.

A VILPE ECo FLOW 110 roof fan is suitable for buildings with a building automation system, or if there is a need to monitor rotation signals (tacho pulse). You can control it using a VILPE ECo potentiometer or a building automation system with 0–10 V. The roof fan has an external service switch and an EC motor.

A VILPE ECo 110 roof fan is controlled by a built-in potentiometer inside the cowl. This roof fan does not provide rotation speed data., and its EC motor is pre-adjusted at the factory.

Please note that these radon fans are not suitable for indoor ventilation.

Watch this video to learn how easy the installation of our radon fans is.

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