General Ventilation

Whether for an office building, commercial property, industrial warehouse, underground parking garage, or a residential apartment building, it's necessary to understand the importance of proper ventilation. Knowing what ventilation does for modern structures, why ventilation needs to be maintained, and which products are most useful for which applications can help you take care of your property. 

When and Why is Ventilation Important?

Ventilation is critical for ensuring human comfort in man-made structures, especially in modern structures with a very tight building envelope. Many years ago, buildings had a natural ability to "breathe," which meant that air flowed in and out through natural cracks and breathable building materials.

Today, buildings are designed to be far less breathable. This makes them easier to heat and cool at times of the year when outdoor temperatures are very cold or hot. However, lack of breath-ability makes ventilation even more important in modern buildings. Below are some reasons why ventilation is critical in modern structures. 

• Moisture control. Ventilation prevents moisture from building up in structures. Good ventilation keeps humidity low and prevents condensation from building up on windows and walls. 
• Comfort. People are more comfortable in homes and buildings that have moderate to low humidity. Ventilation helps control humidity and thus helps ensure human comfort.  
• Good health and human safety. When moisture builds up in a structure, this can contribute to the development of mold spores, which can affect health and human safety. Proper ventilation helps prevent this from happening. 
• Structural integrity. Moisture can cause structures to rot. Ventilation promotes a good solid structure and prevents this from happening.  

What Kind of Facilities Need Ventilation?

All facilities need ventilation, from the smallest house to the largest commercial or industrial building. Often, homes have simple forms of ventilation, such as attic vents that promote good air circulation throughout the home. Larger commercial buildings often need more mechanical forms of ventilation.

Some common examples of facilities that need ventilation include:

• Workshops, welding shops and garages. Activities like painting, construction and sealing can contribute to low indoor air quality. Workshops benefit from shuttered mounted wall exhaust fans to promote good circulation. 
• Warehouses. Warehouses are large indoor spaces that need large industrial fans, like cabinet mounted wall exhaust fans and shuttered mounted wall exhaust fans. 
• Parking garages. Parking garages retain fumes from vehicles and require installation of products like mounted wall exhaust fans to remove carbon monoxide and other deadly gasses.
• Schools. Schools are large facilities that can be used for a variety of different activities, from showering in the locker room, to sporting events in the gymnasium and classes in the classrooms. To maintain good air flow in a school, most schools require installation of devices such as upblast centrifugal roof exhaust fans, filtered roof supply, hooded roof supply and so on.  
• Hospitals. Similar to schools, hospitals are large, diverse spaces that may be used for a variety of purposes, including showering, sleeping, academic lectures and so on. In hospitals, ventilation needs range from shuttered mounted wall exhaust fans to bathroom exhaust fan kits. 

Health Dangers from Improper Ventilation

Improper ventilation can be dangerous for many reasons, depending on the quality of the air in the building. Mold can cause upper respiratory problems including asthma. Children who grow up in homes with mold are more likely to develop asthma that could stay with them through adulthood. Exposure to mold can also cause nasal stuffiness, skin irritation, eye irritation and other problems such as chronic lung illnesses. 

In addition, mold is not the only potential problem that can arise from poor ventilation. Fumes in the air can cause irritation of the airways, asthma and lung disease. Proper ventilation can help ensure the air stays fresh to prevent this from happening. 

Work With Your Ventilation Supplier

Whether you're a homeowner who is improving ventilation in your own house, or you're a contractor who is constructing a large commercial building, it's important to work with a good ventilation supplier. At Industrial Fans Direct, we sell over 25,000 fans, blowers and other venting equipment. Products like upblast axial roof exhaust fans, upblast centrifugal roof exhaust fans, fiberglass wall exhaust fans and more.

To get more guidance about installation and use of these products, contact us today at 866.727.1060. We can answer your questions about applications, maintenance and best practices for installation.