Types of Ventilation in Commercial Buildings – Their Pros and Cons
Commercial ventilation systems play a pivotal role in controlling the indoor environment by using air exchange. All air conditioning, ventilation, and heating systems used in non-residential settings appear under this category. The primary types of ventilation include mixed-mode ventilation, natural ventilation, and mechanical ventilation. These types of ventilation rely on how the device exchanges/moves the air. Each ventilation has its unique functions and individual pros and cons.
Natural Ventilation
Natural ventilation is the least expensive kind of commercial ventilation. This form depends on exterior temperatures and air pressure to bring changes into the inside environment.
The indoor environment gets natural ventilation by opening the building’s vents, windows, and doors. The exterior air finds its way into the commercial building and offers a steady air exchange through this. However, weather conditions affect the usefulness of this ventilation.
Mechanical Ventilation
Mechanical ventilation depends primarily on the application of fans and more other mechanical equipment to enhance air exchange. You can use this ventilation as an entire commercial property ventilation system or as a one-room ventilation system.
Prepare yourself to pay more to get this commercial ventilation equipment because it enhances huge operating costs and uses several systems.
Mixed-Mode Ventilation
The mixed-mode ventilation combines both mechanical ventilation and natural ventilation. This type of ventilation is a hybrid system that uses mechanical elements and natural elements to make equipment that works well under several conditions.
The application of large exhaust fans with a factory building’s open windows and doors is an excellent example of this form of ventilation. The fan works by drawing the exterior air into the property via windows and doors. It does this while pushing the inside air out.
Mechanical ventilation offers more consistency than mixed-mode ventilation. However, mixed-mode ventilation when it comes to effectiveness because it’s more potent than natural ventilation.
The commercial setting pollutants are more plentiful than the residential location pollutants. Indoor air quality is likely to be degraded because of contaminants produced by raw materials and merchandise, the manufacturing process, and the significant percentage of the public members. Examples of these pollutants include:
Particulates
These refer to inorganic solid matter pieces and small particles that one can inhale. These include fibers, powders, dirt, metal fragments, pollen, wood fragments, and more other solid matter.
Organics
Organics refer to the living microorganisms capable of causing discomfort and illness. Examples include bacteria, mold spores, viruses, and germs.
Fumes
Fumes refer to the gaseous material that causes physical discomfort or smells bad. Examples include paints odors, solvent odors, cleaning supplies odors, pesticides odors, and fuel odors.
Increased Pollutant Amounts
The commercial facility air can feature higher percentages of pollutants than residential setting air. For example, in manufacturing facilities, small particles and microscopic pollutants can quickly enter into the air from various processes, like cutting, treating, sanding, painting, and sawing material.
Absence Of Natural Ventilation
The majority of commercial settings feature limited natural ventilation sources. Here, this means that employees will not simply allow in fresh air by opening windows and doors.
Constant Exposure
Staff members and employees get exposed to the commercial facility’s air pollutants from time to time. This issue happens because the staff members and employees can stand up and leave the facility to escape the air pollutants.
Personal protective devices, like filtered breathing equipment and masks, can help a lot in severe cases. However, mechanical ventilation is the only way to follow because this is only a part-time solution.
Mechanical ventilation is the most preferred because it offers the most reliable and effective air cleaning/filtration among different types of ventilation systems. Examples of the mechanical ventilation styles you can use include balanced ventilation, supply ventilation, and exhaust ventilation.
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