Installing a ventilation system in your home is a great way to ensure your indoor air environment has plenty of fresh and clean air. Whole house ventilation system needs to be designed to provide households with healthy indoor air all throughout the year.
From the view point of comfortable living & working conditions, the good and efficient ventilation system should meet the following functional requirements:
- Rate of Supply of Fresh Air
- Air movements or Air Changes
- Temperature of Air
- Humidity
- Purity of Air
01. The Rate of Supply of Fresh Air:
A ventilating system should be capable of supplying fresh air inside a room and also removing the used air to outside. The quantity of fresh air to be supplied into a room depends upon the use of the house to which it is subjected. The rate of supplying fresh air is decided by considering several factors such as a number of occupants, type of work, period of working, the age of occupants, etc.
02. Air movement or Air Change:
At the place of work, air has to be moved or changed to cause proper ventilation of the space. The rate of air change depends on the number of persons inside, room temperature, nature of the work, etc. Air change per hour is the volume of air entered into a room in one hour with respect to the total volume of air. All standard codes have prescribed a number of air change required for different categories of rooms, like living room, kitchen, bathroom, etc.
03. The Temperature of Air:
It is desirable that the incoming air for ventilation should be cool in the summer and warm in winter before it enters the room. When the velocity of the incoming air is high, its temperature should not be lower than the room temperature.
04. Humidity:
Air contains a certain amount of water vapour in it. When the work is required to be done at a high temperature, low humidity and grater air movements are necessary for removing a greater portion of heat from the body.
05. The Purity of Air:
It is essential that the ventilating air should be free from impurities such as odours, organic matter, inorganic dust, and unhealthy fumes of gases. All these impurities depend on the habits of occupants, the volume of the room, surrounding condition, the source of ventilating air, etc. To get pure ventilating air, the entry of ventilation system should not be situated in the neighbourhood of chimneys, latrines, kitchens or other sources.
Good airflow is important, as improper ventilation system can lead to illnesses and general discomfort as well as cause damage due to poor moisture and temperature control.
Also Read:
Types of Ventilation
What is Make-Up Air?
