AOV testing · smoke control

Smoke kills more people than flame. AOVs are what get it out of the way

Automatic opening vents clear smoke from stairwells, corridors and lobbies so residents can escape and the fire service can get in. We test them, service them, fix them and certify them.

Call us now — 01628 566531 Book a survey

WeeklyIn-house function test of the system

Twice a yearFull service by a competent engineer

Log bookEvery test recorded and signed off

24/7Callout when a system goes into fault

What an AOV system is doing

In most blocks of flats and a lot of commercial buildings, the single staircase is the only way out. If that stairwell fills with smoke, nobody is using it — and the fire service cannot get up it either.

An automatic opening vent is a window, louvre or roof unit that opens on command to let the smoke out. Detection or a manual call point triggers it, a control panel drives it, and an actuator physically opens it. Larger buildings use a smoke shaft with a vent on each floor, opening only on the affected level.

It is a life safety system, and it spends its entire life closed. That is exactly why it has to be tested — a battery, actuator or control panel can fail quietly and nobody would know until the morning it mattered.

What we cover

Control panels — operation, fault indication and battery condition
Actuators & motors — full open and close, travel and end stops
Detection & call points — correct zone triggers the correct vent
Vents, louvres & roof units — seals, hinges and obstruction
Standby batteries — tested, and replaced on their cycle
Certification — a written report and log book entry every visit

Your testing obligation

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 the Responsible Person must keep life safety systems in effective working order. Smoke control is one of them.

Weekly — in houseA short function test from the control panel to prove the vents open and reset. Quick to do, and it needs logging every week.

Every six months — by an engineerA full service: panel, actuators, detection, batteries and the physical vents, with a written report at the end.

After any building workNew partitions, ceilings or ductwork can change the airflow the system was designed around. Worth re-checking rather than assuming.

Keep the recordsYour log book is the evidence. It is the first thing an enforcing authority or insurer asks to see after an incident.

What we typically find

Flat standby batteries

The most common fault by a distance. Mains drops, and the system has nothing left to open the vents with.

Panel left in fault

Silenced months ago because of the noise, never repaired. The system is effectively out of service.

Vents painted or sealed shut

Redecoration or window works leave a vent physically unable to open, whatever the panel says.

No test records at all

The system may well work. Without a log book there is no way to demonstrate it, which is its own problem.