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Smoke ventilation: why noise and effi ciency are important considerations
Smoke ventilation is an important topic at the moment, and its role as a life-safety system within a building means that getting it right is crucial. Beyond its core safety function,
however, there are a couple of further considerations for those tasked with specifying these systems, which go a long way to ensuring its overall eff ectiveness. Bradley Crisp, senior industrial and smoke sales at Applied Technology, a division of Elta Fans, explains
S
moke ventilation is something that very quickly becomes important in extreme circumstances. It plays a critical role in
mitigating the eff ect of fi res, particularly in the early stages of a blaze, by keeping escape and access routes free from smoke to allow occupants to exit the building. Such systems are also important in providing a level of reassurance to occupants, and across all applications they are an integral part of building safety.
Regular maintenance
In order to ensure optimal operation in worst-case scenarios, smoke ventilation systems need to be maintained and inspected on a regular basis. This involves a range of checks, given the number of components that are present within a system. Whether it is replacing motor bearings, rotating fan impellors, or checking the running current, a thorough maintenance schedule needs to be
26 December 2021
adhered to. Indeed, there is a big industry push on avoiding the issue of ‘fi t and forget’, whereby life- safety systems are installed and then ignored. It is heartening to see a collective eff ort in addressing this problem. However, it should be noted that depending on the purpose of the building, regular testing can potentially become an issue if noise factors are not considered.
Left: Bradley Crisp, senior industrial and smoke sales, Applied Technology
Noise pollution
Particularly in residential buildings such as apartment blocks, but also across several other types of locations, there is unlikely to be a time when the building is empty. This means that testing of a smoke ventilation system will have to be undertaken while occupants are present, and if it is noisy, this will create issues. Clearly, testing has to continue from a safety perspective, but challenges may arise surrounding occupant complaints. There are also scenarios in which smoke fans
are being utilised for a secondary purpose, such as operating in ‘trickle mode’ (also known as environmental mode or day-to-day ventilation) to remove warm, stale air from public areas. It is a good way to improve the indoor air quality within a building, which is in itself a hot topic at the moment. This allows the smoke ventilation system to serve a dual purpose. However, this once again highlights the
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