search.noResults

search.searching

saml.title
dataCollection.invalidEmail
note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
FEATURE FACILITIES MANAGEMENT


RESTORING FAITH IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS


David Millward, group product manager at Elta Group,


discusses how future-proofed ventilation systems can provide the answer to help facilities managers restore our faith in public buildings


W


ith more focus than ever being placed on the link between infection transmission


and indoor air quality (IAQ), public confidence in our buildings has taken a knock. As a result, many urban environments are now having to be redesigned. But, with a recent Government whitepaper stressing that ventilation is an important factor in mitigating against the risk of infection transmission, more must be done to improve IAQ. Providing an improved level of air quality


within a building must also be balanced with maintaining thermal comfort and keeping running costs to a minimum. This is a challenge all too familiar to facilities managers, who have a vital role to play in restoring faith in public buildings.


IT’S ALL ABOUT THE CORRECT BALANCE A good place to start is accepting the fact that regulations are changing and will continue to change, which means ventilation levels will need to mirror this. What was once compliant at the time of installation will be less effective than it should be several years down the line. Like everything in life, it’s all about balance.


The World Health Organisation recommends between 8-10 litres of air per second, but this value can change depending on the circumstance. While increasing the minimum ventilation rates could be a quick win, simply pumping large volumes of outside air is expensive and likely to impact the temperature within a building. It also raises questions over the extent to which outside air is of high enough quality to improve IAQ, which is a further factor that facilities managers must consider.


DEMAND CONTROL The solution lies with demand control ventilation. It works through a value being set


32 SPRING 2021 | ENERGY MANAGEMENT


for the initial required ventilation levels, but because it is speed controlled and monitored, the air flow can be adjusted automatically depending on condition and energy use. It can also be altered to reflect a change in occupancy levels or building layout and usage. Specification typically allows for 20% more


air flow and 10% more pressure than the selected ventilation rates, to predominantly cover the miscalculations in system design, and is often removed during the tender process to lower equipment cost. This increase above the design requirement provides some much-needed future proofing if the needs of the building change, and is something that facilities managers should prioritise to ensure ongoing good IAQ.


FUTURE-PROOFING SYSTEMS This moves us nicely onto making sure systems are designed for compliance with future legislation changes. With limitations already placed on the amount of electricity a ventilation system can consume while operating, a common mistake made when selecting fans is to ignore the additional energy losses – surplus to specific fan power (SFP) – associated with speed controls. These can be significant and should be added


to the power consumed by the fan to accurately calculate a ventilation system’s SFP. To help reduce consumption, it is advised to install a fan with a low energy EC motor, composed of a permanent magnet motor and drive.


RESTARTING EXISTING SYSTEMS AFTER A PERIOD OF DISUSE Finally, it is important to note that when faced with a building that has been unoccupied for a sustained period of time, a facilities manager’s first task will be to restart ventilation systems that may have been inactive for several


/ ENERGYMANAGEMENT


months. This requires a thorough and strategic approach, to ensure equipment is working as effectively as it should be. Regular checks and maintenance should


become a matter of routine, with recommendations including to purge ventilate for two hours before and after occupancy and maintain trickle ventilation even when the building is not occupied, i.e. overnight. The concerning re-emergence of Sick


Building Syndrome, in which employees suffer from symptoms such as headaches and sore throats, highlights the importance of good IAQ even beyond ongoing concerns surrounding COVID-19. As workplaces start to reopen, facilities managers must ensure that existing ventilation systems are working as effectively as possible, to mitigate these health concerns.


SMART VENTILATION A facilities manager tasked with future- proofing a building’s ventilation system should aim to adopt a smart ventilation strategy, coupled with a low energy EC motor and high performing impeller. Elta Fans’ Revolution SLC EC is a great example of an innovative long-cased axial fan that has been designed with these core principles in mind.


Elta Group www.eltafans.com/revolution-slc-ec


Elta Fans’ Revolution SLC EC


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36