Using evaporative cooling to prevent overheating in corridors.

Posted by Paul Compton on 08/07/14 11:30

In previous articles we wrote about how you can solve overheating in residential buildings’ common areas by using the smoke control system to provide simple and effective cross flow ventilation and extract warm, stale air from these spaces. However, there are cases when this won’t be enough and the system will need some help to lower the temperatures to the desired level.
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Topics: Natural ventilation, Overheating, Corridor ventilation, Evaporative cooling

Q&A from our ventilation solutions for overheating corridors webinar

Posted by Laurence Cockman on 15/04/14 11:30

At my recent "Ventilation solutions for overheating corridors in apartment buildings" webinar, I received some interesting questions in the Q&A session. Here are my answers, which have been edited slightly for clarity.

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Topics: Natural ventilation, Webinar, Smoke ventilation, Overheating, Corridor ventilation

Airtight buildings: environment vs. health

Posted by Laurence Cockman on 18/03/14 11:30

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Topics: Natural ventilation, Webinar, Smoke ventilation, Overheating

Cooling glass factories: ventilation is a tricky business

Posted by Graeme Clark on 11/09/13 11:50

Natural gravity ventilation is the best cooling solution

The benefits of natural ventilation in large industrial buildings are clear and well accepted: no electricity is needed to operate the system, as it simply uses the energy present in the warm air – and there is plenty of this in a glass factory – and this buoyancy-driven airflow is virtually maintenance free.

You can read more about the benefits of natural ventilation in our previous blog post: Natural ventilation is the solution for most heat intensive industries.

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Topics: Productivity, Natural ventilation, CFD, Energy saving, Industrial ventilation

Natural ventilation is the solution for most heat intensive industries

Posted by Graeme Clark on 03/09/13 09:50

In the vast majority of cases, natural ventilation is the most effective and economic solution for factories housing production processes generating high levels of heat: 

• Natural ventilation is best suited to buildings where a large amount of internal heat is generated, since this leads to a high temperature gradient.

• If the building is tall, then this provides even more ideal conditions for natural ventilation to work at its most efficient, since this creates a good stack effect that makes moving air between different levels within the building easier.

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Topics: Factory Survey, Natural ventilation, CFD, HVAC

Are you sure your natural ventilation system is energy efficient?

Posted by Paul Compton on 04/07/13 12:03

You are specifying an energy efficient ventilator: what do you focus on – ventilator U value or air leakage? The simple answer is that both are important and need to be considered together.

Maximum U values and air leakage

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Topics: Natural ventilation, Energy saving, U Value, Air Leakage

3 more considerations for good design in natural ventilation systems for power generation plants

Posted by Graeme Clark on 12/06/13 11:55

We saw in one of our early blog posts that power generation facilities such as Energy from Waste (Efw), Biomass, CHP, and Anaerobic Digestion plants are ideally suited for natural ventilation systems to dissipate heat, dilute fumes, and clear smoke in the event of a fire. In further articles, we covered the design and product selection of natural ventilation systems:

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Topics: Natural ventilation, Energy saving, Power Plants

How to choose the best natural ventilation system type

Posted by Graeme Clark on 19/12/12 08:57

We regularly work with consultant engineers and architects on the design of natural ventilation systems for power plants – and the number of projects is on the increase.

Natural ventilation has a number of advantages over mechanical ventilation and number one on the list is often to achieve a reduction in the amount of energy required to manage heat levels.

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Topics: Natural ventilation, Industrial ventilation, Power Plants

Why adding attenuation should not be an afterthought

Posted by Graeme Clark on 03/10/12 08:51

Following on from our recent blog on attenuation, we have recently been working on a project that offers an excellent example of why attenuation should indeed not be an afterthought.

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Topics: Natural ventilation, Power Plants, Noise reduction, Aerodynamic Performance

Why attenuation shouldn’t be an afterthought

Posted by Paul Compton on 31/05/12 09:59

If you are in the early stages of designing a ventilation system for a power generation plant, have you already thought about attenuation? Is the power plant near a residential area? Do you need to ensure that the ventilation system doesn’t allow unacceptable noise levels to come out of the building? It is important to make these considerations early on, as attenuation can have a big impact on the design.

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Topics: Natural ventilation, Climate Control, Power Plants

Why CFD is the answer when designing power plant ventilation schemes

Posted by Graeme Clark on 15/03/12 16:01

Power generation plants are complex building installations. When designing a ventilation scheme for this type of facility, the necessary calculations can’t be done on the basis of drawings alone. You need the right expertise in climate control and the right tools – a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis carried out by an expert is the best answer.

A powerful tool for a complex problem

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Topics: Natural ventilation, CFD, HVAC, Power Plants

The world’s first natural ventilation solution in a television studio

Posted by Paul Compton on 27/02/12 11:18

Television studios aren’t obvious candidates for natural ventilation, with the vast amounts of heat generated by the lights, cameras and equipment, and the need for acoustic insulation. Yet that was the choice BSkyB made for their new production centre in West London, Harlequin 1, which boasts the world’s first naturally ventilated TV studios.

An innovative box-within-a-box design

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Topics: Natural ventilation, Energy saving, Climate Control

Is there a place for mechanical ventilation in power plants?

Posted by Graeme Clark on 17/01/12 09:40

In most cases, natural ventilation is the right answer for power generation plants. However, there are instances where mechanical ventilation may be the best choice.

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Topics: Natural ventilation, HVAC, Climate Control, Industrial ventilation, Power Plants