Finding the Best Ventilation System for your Building

The Benefits of Natural Ventilation

Natural ventilation is the process of structuring or using installations to funnel hot air out of a building. Since hot air rises and cool air stays on the bottom, the best way to get rid of hot air is to install ventilators that take the hot air away. This is why it takes a long time for a room to cool down once the A/C is turned on if there isn’t anywhere for the hot air to go.

Unfortunately, many industries and commercial buildings don’t understand how to get natural venting to work for them. They either just “tough it out” with minimal ventilation, or they spend lots of money on exhaust fans or air conditioning, assuming that’s the best option available.

That’s why it’s important for every plant manager to know all of the options. Ask yourself how much ventilation you need, and “which option is best for my building?”

Hybrid Ventilation

If you think they only options are natural cooling or air conditioning don’t feel bad, we hear that a lot. You see air conditioning all around the country in all types of buildings. For residential, commercial, and institutional buildings, it is just a part of daily life in the U.S.

Alternatively, it can be prohibitively expensive or impractical to try to cool a large industrial building with air conditioning. In some instances it can even be impossible considering the amount of heat in the process. That’s where hybrid ventilation comes in.

Hybrid ventilation uses natural methods when the weather allows for it, and powered equipment or A/C when it doesn’t. This solution can be very effective, cutting costs dramatically without making buildings too hot.

An example of this would be a warehouse that uses Apollo natural ventilators in addition to moderate air condition. The A/C is turned on for the hottest days or when the process is slowed down. Meanwhile that natural ventilators are useful when the weather conditions permit it. They can even be used in conjunction as we mentioned above, with the vents open and the A/C running at the same time. Proper ventilation design combines the methods for a very efficient and cost effective solution.

We see hybrid ventilation in use more and more in industrial facilities and office buildings. In fact, the new Apple spaceship campus is planning to get most of its cooling through natural ventilation. Supported by A/C when necessary, this smart design benefits from the best of each option.

Call the team at Moffitt today to learn more about hybrid ventilation and how to find you the right solution for your facility.