heating, ventilation & services Making the right choice
In influencing the choice of heating and ventilation systems architects can ensure these systems support their designs while delivering optimum building performance. Phil Brompton of Powrmatic explains
‘There are very strong reasons to opt for natural
ventilation to minimise the building’s carbon footprint, as the only energy consumption required is to open and close the ventilators’
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ing’s design and its services becomes increasingly important. For example, tightly constructed buildings with little or no natural air ‘leakage’ are reliant on ventilation systems to maintain suitable indoor air quality. In parallel, there are very strong reasons to opt for natural ventilation to minimise the building’s carbon footprint, as the only energy consumption required is to open and close the ventilators. Also, of course, many such buildings will have a requirement
A
for smoke ventilation systems, either separately from the day-to-day ventilation or as a dual purpose system. Of necessity, these ventilators will need to penetrate the
building envelope so this is an area where the architect’s understanding of the options will play a key role in terms of both building performance and aesthetics.
s regulations require improved thermal performance of buildings – through better thermal insulation and more airtight construction – the interplay of the build-
In selecting an architectural solution for smoke and natural
ventilation there are a number of factors that should be taken into account. Clearly the ventilators should be fully tested and certified (to EN12101-2) for the application while also offering a design that provides seamless integration into the building fabric to complement, or possibly enhance, the architectural design. For example, there are glazed ventilators for both natural and smoke ventilation that also provide an excellent source of natural daylight and can be integrated into inclined and vertical glazing systems. Engagement with suppliers should also include discussions
around installation options for the type of application (e.g. turn down base for upstands, glazing adapters for curtain walling, fixing flanges or direct fixing to masonry) along with choices of finish to match the building. Other factors to consider when specifying ventilators are their light transmission and U-value specifications, along Continued overleaf...
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