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The heat lost through ventilation accounts for around one third of the total heat lost from a commercial building and around a quarter of the heat lost from an industrial one. If the building is using mechanical means such as fans to move the air around, the cost of ventilation increases further.
Ventilation in buildings is needed to provide adequate fresh air for occupants and to protect the building fabric from damp and condensation. There are generally two issues to resolve with ventilation:
- Too much ventilation that is uncontrolled - often a result of leaky building fabric, such as poorly fitting doors and windows
- Too little ventilation to meet health and safety requirements
Too little ventilation is rarely a problem with existing buildings that are less than five metres wide. However, new building regulations are forcing greater levels of air tightness in commercial buildings, which could result in the need to supplement ventilation rates in the future.
In buildings with large, wide floor spaces, the issues become more complicated. There may be sufficient ventilation available for the space, but this will be focused around the periphery of the building, resulting in few or no air changes within the centre. This is unacceptable from a comfort and safety perspective, so in such buildings there is a requirement to provide dedicated ventilation services via ductwork into the space.
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