In this article, the second in our series about designing smoke shaft systems, we will look at the choice of natural vs mechanical shafts in ventilation systems for smoke extraction.

You may think that fitting an actuator on a window instead of using a smoke ventilator will make a cost effective solution for smoke and natural ventilation, but unfortunately it is not that simple.

Here are some of the ways in which a window/actuator combination can be a poor substitute for a smoke ventilator:

Glass louvred ventilators, or louvred window ventilators as they are commonly known, are becoming increasingly popular for use in natural and smoke ventilation systems. There are several suppliers on the market, offering products that vary widely in terms of performance and controls. How can you make sure you will get exactly what you need when specifying or purchasing one of these ventilators?

There are three critical considerations you should make when preparing to specify a glass louvred ventilator:

Part 3 - Opening up the Closed Protocol Debate

Control systems for smoke ventilation need to meet the demand for increasing complexity of modern building complexes, such as large-scale residential schemes or high-rise tower buildings. As a property owner or developer, when making your choice of a fire alarm control system for your building, you will have to decide between an HVAC/BMS control system or one specifically designed for smoke ventilation, and between open or closed protocol.

As you make your considerations, it is important to keep in mind the key requirements your control system has to meet.

Part 2 - Why are there more complex demands these days?

The debate about the relative merits of open and closed control protocols is relatively recent. It has arisen because of the evolution of the smoke ventilation market towards more complex systems.

Part 1 - Selecting the right solution to control smoke ventilation systems

As a property owner or developer, when you have to select the best solution to control your building’s smoke ventilation system, you will most likely encounter the debate about the pros and cons of open and closed control protocols. This is the first in a series of articles that I hope will help you navigate the bewildering amount of information that is available on the subject.

I will start with the basics: what is a protocol and what does it mean when we say it is open or closed. 

Smoke is the biggest killer in a fire, and an effective smoke control system is critical to preserving life and property. On the other hand, the pursuit of energy efficiency has led to increasingly airtight buildings, which poses new challenges in preventing overheating in common areas.

It is possible to address both smoke and environmental ventilation with one solution: for example mechanical shaft systems have seen great developments in recent years and are now capable of providing a highly effective performance while taking up less space than other types of shaft system.

The complexity of product and design standards relating to smoke and heat control systems, which are in constant evolution in response to regulations and experience in the field, may seem daunting, but help is at hand!

Here is a copy of the questions and answers from our recent webinar on smoke and environmental ventilation of multi-storey buildings using shafts, slightly edited for clarity.

During the webinar I introduced our new whitepaper on the subject, which you can download here.

There is also a recording of the webinar available here.

Ventilation is needed in atria for heat dissipation, to manage carbon dioxide and body odour levels, as well as for smoke clearance or smoke control. What better way to provide this than with a dual purpose day to day and smoke ventilation scheme?

There has been a trend towards fitting sprinklers in residential buildings, driven partly by the fact that this can enable the relaxation of other fire safety measures, including the extending of travel distances.

We are also aware of a couple of incidences where sprinklers have been used to justify omission of smoke control in residential corridors. We believe this to be a dangerous trend.

At our recent webinar on smoke and environmental ventilation of multi-storey buildings using shafts, 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.

Over the past couple of years it has become increasingly common for smoke and natural ventilation systems to be separated into different sub-contractor packages. For example, extract ventilators supplied by the roofing contractor, inlet vents by the glazing/cladding contractor, and wiring/controls by the M&E contractor.

In theory this makes sense because it may seem easier to procure the system in local packages. In practice it often doesn’t work.

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.