Looking after smoke control in car parks.

Posted by Tom Archer on 24/06/19 15:00

There are two only two types of car park – those that have already been built and those that are yet to be built, but there are many options for both smoke control and smoke clearance in these.

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Topics: Car Park Ventilation, smoke control maintenance

Car Park Ventilation: How much attenuation should a design include?

Posted by Conor Logan on 31/05/16 12:00

As a designer working on a car park project, there are important considerations you will need to make about ventilation to ensure good air quality. Approved Document F (ADF) stipulates that sufficient ventilation must be provided to enclosed car parks to avoid an excessive build up of carbon monoxide (CO). 

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Topics: Regulations, HVAC, Car Park Ventilation

When is smoke control needed in a car park?

Posted by Conor Logan on 24/05/16 12:00

Let me make it clear. I’m talking here about systems providing smoke control, not just smoke clearance as recommended in Building Regulations. These systems are much more complex and costly than compliant smoke clearance systems, so why would anyone choose to use them?

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Topics: Smoke Control, CFD, Smoke ventilation, Car Park Ventilation

EcoDesign: will new regulations prevent jet fans from being used in car park ventilation schemes altogether?

Posted by Conor Logan on 15/09/15 11:30

The EU EcoDesign Energy Efficiency Regulation for Fans 327/2011, which sets EcoDesign requirements for fans, is going through its final stages of preparation. It has raised an important issue that impacts on car park ventilation schemes.

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Topics: Smoke Control, Car Park Ventilation

Car park ventilation webinar Q&A

Posted by Conor Logan on 23/06/15 11:30

At our recent webinar on car park ventilation, I received lots of excellent questions during the Q&A section. Here you can see my answers to these questions, slightly edited for clarity.

During the webinar I introduced our new whitepaper on designing car park ventilation systems, which you can download here.

There is also a recording of the webinar available.

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Topics: Webinar, Car Park Ventilation

How to make car park ventilation schemes more energy-efficient

Posted by Conor Logan on 09/06/15 11:30

The Building Regulations do not advocate energy efficiency in car parks

The regulations applying to ventilation of car parks (at least in England and Wales) do not specifically advocate the conservation of energy, but surely they should do. It does not make sense that while buildings are subject to energy efficiency and low carbon emission targets driven by the Approved Document L of the Building Regulations, car park ventilation has no such requirement.

Moreover, an emphasis on lowest initial cost can mean that there is no consideration of the huge potential costs of running a ventilation system over the lifetime of a car park, and the CO2 emissions associated with this.

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Topics: Smoke Control, Car Park Ventilation

Car park ventilation webinar Q&A

Posted by Paul Compton on 11/11/14 11:30

At our recent webinar on car park ventilation, we had a large attendance with many questions asked. Here you can see my answers to these questions, slightly edited for clarity. 

There is also a recording of the webinar available. Watching the recorded version will still enable you to claim CPD points.

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Topics: Webinar, Smoke ventilation, Car Park Ventilation

Car park ventilation CPD webinar

Posted by Paul Compton on 21/10/14 12:50

31st October 2014, 12.30-13.30 GMT

Join me as I present a free CPD webinar on Car park ventilation.

This webinar covers:

  • An explanation of the basic legislative requirements and how these are achieved using impulse ventilation
  • Application of impulse ventilation, both for carbon monoxide and for smoke clearance or smoke control
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Topics: Smoke Control, Smoke ventilation, Car Park Ventilation

General principles of smoke control webinar Q&A

Posted by Paul Compton on 14/10/14 11:30

At our recent webinar on the general principles of smoke control, we had a large attendance with many questions asked. Here you can see my answers to these questions, slightly edited for clarity. 

There is also a recording of the webinar available. Watching the recorded version will still enable you to claim CPD points.

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Topics: Smoke Control, Smoke Containment, Webinar, Car Park Ventilation, CPD

Energy efficient car park ventilation schemes

Posted by Conor Logan on 07/10/14 11:30

Why is energy efficiency not regulated in car parks?

The regulations applying to car parks do not specifically advocate the conservation of energy but surely they should do. It does not make sense that buildings are subject to energy efficiency and low carbon emission targets driven by regulations such as Approved Document L (ADL), while car parks have no such requirement.
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Topics: Smoke Control, Smoke ventilation, Energy saving, Car Park Ventilation

Inverter control for car park ventilation: Good or bad idea?

Posted by Paul Compton on 03/06/14 11:30

The debate: what is it all about?

Over the last few years there has been a lot of discussion about use of inverter control for smoke extract fans. This has centred on concerns that the changing characteristics of the fan motor as it heats up may cause inverter failure. Inverter manufacturers do offer models with an “emergency mode”, where the majority of protections are disabled with the intention of allowing the motor to run to destruction.

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Topics: Smoke Control, Smoke Containment, Regulations, Controls, Car Park Ventilation

Questions and answers from Paul Compton's 'The General Principles of Smoke Control' webinar

Posted by Paul Compton on 08/10/13 10:38

First of all a big thank you to all those who attended my webinar last Friday on 'The General Principles of Smoke Control'. If you missed it or would like to watch it again, a recorded version is available here. Many questions were asked after the presentation and I decided to post them here for everybody’s benefit.

 

  1. How does smoke clearance and smoke control differ from smoke management?
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Topics: Smoke Control, Regulations, Car Park Ventilation, Smoke shafts

Questions and answers from Conor Logan's Car Park Ventilation webinar

Posted by Conor Logan on 17/09/13 13:36

Car

Car Park Ventilation:  Q&A

First of all a big thank you to those who attended my webinar last Friday on 'Car Park Ventilation'. If you missed it or would like to watch it again, a recorded version is available here. Many questions were asked after the presentation and I decided to post them here for everybody’s benefit.

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Topics: Smoke Control, CFD, Smoke ventilation, Car Park Ventilation, CPD

Car park ventilation: getting ‘free areas’ right in your design with the Colt webinar

Posted by Paul Compton on 20/08/13 11:17

Getting the design of car park ventilation systems right is essential car park screeningto the safety of a car park, as they must provide both day to day ventilation for the people using it and protection against fire, as required by Building Regulations. However, it’s not as straightforward as you might think.

Simple guidance on "free areas"...

Guidance on the ventilation requirements for car parks to meet the Building Regulations’ requirements is available in Approved Document B (ADB) and Approved Document F (ADF) for England, and their equivalents in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

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Topics: Smoke Control, Regulations, Smoke ventilation, Car Park Ventilation

How much ventilation is needed to make car parks safe?

Posted by Conor Logan on 18/10/12 12:01

As National Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week approaches (19-25 November), we ask what is the best approach to designing a car park ventilation system that guarantees good air quality at all times.
 
The requirements

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Topics: Regulations, Smoke ventilation, Car Park Ventilation