Tips for organizing ventilation systems in apartments and houses: types and variants
Trying to save precious heat in the apartment as much as possible, we systematically get rid of all cracks. In less than a dozen years, almost everyone has replaced the old wooden windows with modern sealed windows, put the doors tightly fitting the frame, caulked up all the cracks in the walls. The long-awaited warmth came to us, but it did not come alone, but with uninvited guests. stuffiness, dampness and mold. We ourselves are to blame, because we have sealed the dwelling to such an extent that we rid it of the inflow of fresh air. Trying to solve the problem we open the shutters and windows, making it even worse than it was before, but it is easy to solve such a problem. you need a well-thought-out ventilation system in the apartment. We understand the main types of ventilation and decide which option is most applicable in each case.
Ventilation is as necessary a thing in any modern apartment as plumbing or heating, although many still do not pay proper attention to it. Ventilation systems can be classified according to several parameters.
The main difference between all ventilation systems is the way the air moves. According to this parameter ventilation can be:
Natural ventilation exists due to different temperatures of air inside and outside the room and wind pressure. Under the influence of these factors, polluted air goes outdoors through specially equipped ducts with fans (found in every apartment and private home), and clean air comes in through gaps in the windows. Such systems are cheap, reliable and very simple but they are highly dependent on outside factors and with a small difference between inside and outside temperatures or with no wind their effectiveness is reduced to zero. In addition, such systems can not be adjusted, and in winter the air in the apartment is too cold.
Artificial or mechanical ventilation is arranged when the power of natural ventilation is not enough. Such systems use a fan, filter, heater and other elements that can provide high-quality removal of contaminants and ensure optimal quality of incoming air under any environmental conditions.
According to the purpose, as is already clear, there are ventilation systems:
- Air intake, which is needed to bring fresh air into the apartment. Cheap systems simply conduct street air, more advanced ones can heat and purify it;
- Exhaust ventilation allows getting rid of exhaust air that contains a lot of carbon dioxide and humidity.
Supply and exhaust ventilation are always used together, the necessity of which needs no explanation. If the balance is disturbed, the pressure in the room will be excessive or insufficient, and the effect of slamming doors will not be long in coming.
According to the service area, there are different types of ventilation:
- local. Used mainly in industrial conditions and necessary when the sources of harmful substances are localized and one can prevent their spreading around the room. In normal houses and apartments, an example of local ventilation would be a kitchen hood;
- general ventilation allows air to circulate throughout the room at once. Such systems are installed in all apartment buildings.
There are different types of ventilation by design:
- Kit. a system that is collected from individual elements. It is flexible in adjustment, can be used for any room, but requires a professional calculation and design, takes a lot of space, it needs a separate room, but sometimes such a system is hidden behind a false ceiling;
- A monoblock system, or air handling unit, combines all the necessary elements in one housing. It is easier to install and less noisy.
Ventilation of the premises is provided by ventilation ducts, slots, valves, fans, special units, but sometimes as a supplement you can use the simple ventilation and split systems that can take the air from the street and bring it inside. As an independent such solutions can not be used.
A properly organized ventilation system in the apartment will provide clean air without dust and humidity, and this is a benefit for the skin, respiratory system, plants and furniture. Experts state that in apartments with good ventilation even dust on the surfaces collects much less.
Normative requirements for apartment ventilation
Since air exchange directly affects the quality of life, then to determine its optimal parameters were carried out scientific research, the results of which are reflected in the regulations.
The main document regulating the rules for the organization of ventilation of residential premises is SP 54.13330.2016 Multifamily Residential Buildings, updated edition SNiP 31-01-2003.
Rules for calculating the minimum volume of air exchange
The minimum volume of air for different types of rooms can be calculated using the data in Table 9.1. SP 54.13330.2016.
How to Install a Ceiling Fan | Lighting and Ceiling Fans | The Home Depot
When calculating, you can not just add up the figures. For residential rooms under the air exchange rate means the incoming air from the outside and its outflow into the kitchen, bathroom, etc.e, and for technical rooms. the inflow from living rooms and the exhaust outside the apartment.
Therefore, it is necessary to separately calculate the necessary volumes of inflow and exhaust in order to take as a result the maximum value of these two values.
There is a nuance here. The designer of an apartment building is obliged to calculate the value of an inflow for calculating the heat balance, and the value of an exhaust for calculating the parameters of ventilation units.
Residents of the apartments have the right to implement ventilation of a smaller capacity at their discretion, which is the case in most cases.
You can only determine the volume of air exchange with good accuracy if forced ventilation is used.
Detailed calculation of ventilation with formulas and real examples of calculations for specific rooms, we reviewed in another article.
The following must be taken into account in natural air circulation:
- excess moisture in the air (can be measured with a hygrometer) is expressed in the appearance of fungus on the walls and ceilings, as well as fogging of window panes in winter time;
- Lack of oxygen or excess carbon dioxide (can be measured with a gas analyzer) is expressed as a breathing difficulty for all people who are in the apartment.
If such effects can be observed throughout the apartment, it means a lack of general supply or exhaust ventilation. If they occur in separate rooms, this is an evidence of local air exchange problems associated with the formation of stagnant air zones.
How to ensure air circulation?
According to paragraphs 9.6 и 9.7 SP 54.13330.2016 the inflow of outside air must be provided in living rooms and kitchens, and removal. from kitchens, bathrooms and restrooms.
It is inadmissible to get air from the technical rooms into other parts of the apartment. It must be led directly into the ventilation shaft.
Thus, it is easy enough to make a scheme of air flow depending on the layout of the apartment, when its entrance from the outside will be carried out in rooms with windows, and the outflow occurs in the places of ventilation shafts outlets.
The movement of air between rooms in the apartment should also take place when the doors are tightly closed.
To do this you can do the following:
- installation of special ventilation holes, which are ordinary holes in the door, closed with special decorative elements;
- using a door frame without a threshold, which allows leaving a 5-10 mm gap between the floor and the closed door;
- Owners of domestic cats are often forced to install gaps in the interior doors, which also serve as a ventilation hole.
The procedure for organizing ventilation in doors made of solid wood, particle board or wood-fiber board is quite simple. To do this, you need to use a drill or jigsaw to cut holes into which special rings will be planted on the adhesive.
Or you can make a single window and close it with a decorative grid, which should be attached to the door with screws.
It is quite difficult to cut the ventilation holes in a plastic or even more so a glass door by yourself. It requires skill and special tools, otherwise there is a great risk of damaging the door, and you can get serious injury.
Exhaust fan in the bathroom: how to choose the right installation rules
It can be difficult to ensure a comfortable microclimate in the bathroom and shower room. An increased level of humidity is detrimental to cabinets, mirrors and drawers, contributing to the growth of mold.
If natural ventilation fails, you can put a fan for bathroom extraction unit forcibly removes waste humid air from the room.
We’ll show you how to choose the right model and walk you through the installation process step by step. Installation technology is quite simple, the main thing to take into account some nuances of connection and follow the instructions below.
Put fans not against the wind but downwind. On days when the wind is very strong, you may not need to turn on the fan. In a single-story home, install fans so that air blows from one side of the house and exits from the other side with the doors open for more airflow capacity.
- Lie down under the air conditioner and lie flat until fall arrives
- No air conditioning at home. go to work, for example
- A fan (though it’s written everywhere that it just “blows warm air”) also makes you feel better about the heat
- You can stay out of the sea or lake. do it
- Forget the word “ice cream.”!
Connecting the extractor fan in the bathroom and toilet: analysis of schemes and tips for installing the equipment
It happens, take a hot bath or shower, soak up steam, relax. it is time to clean up. Come to the mirror. and it is completely fogged up, and even a towel can not dry it. Or in the toilet for a long time remains the smell from the previous visitor or an intrusive air freshener. Familiar situations? To solve these problems will help connect the extractor fan in the bathroom and toilet, the total or two separate.
To neglect the quality of ventilation of the bathroom is not worth it, because it is not only a matter of comfort, but also of safety. Over time, mold and mildew develop along the bathroom, in the corners, and in the joints between the tiles, which are dangerous to human health. To completely remove them is often possible only during major repairs, so the purchase and installation of an exhaust fan more than pays for itself, preventing these problems.
In this article we will tell you how to organize a system of forced ventilation in the bathroom, what to pay attention to when buying equipment, how to install and connect everything yourself. Consider the options for connection schemes that are suitable for different models of fans and conditions of use, as well as give some useful tips about ventilation in the bathroom and toilet.
Rules and methods of installation of ventilation in a room without windows
It happens that in the building there is a “blank” room without windows. This situation can be observed in apartments, for example, after remodeling or on the first floors with access to a busy street (because of what they are sealed with a brick). They are also done in private homes: it and boilers, and storage rooms, garages, and basements.
Even more often such rooms are available in non-residential buildings: warehouses, office space, shopping centers. Sometimes they are used as a dressing room or pantry. No matter how “unnecessary” such a room did not seem to be in it must make the ventilation system.
Overhaul or replacement?
| The air inlet valve, mounted in a through-hole in the outer wall of the building |
Redevelopment made by the neighbor from above or a banal clogging of the satellite duct (after a long time of operation kilograms of soot, pieces of concrete are extracted from it) often leads to the fact that the exhaust air from the apartment is not removed at all. The candle flame in front of the ventilation grilles does not even flutter. To reanimate the ventilation system is sufficient to contact the management company, whose experts will help identify and eliminate the cause of the lack of draft. However, you may not get any help.
If you can not tolerate stale air in your home, there is an option to organize an individual exhaust ventilation system of the apartment, discharging waste air from the kitchen and bathroom directly to the street, and on the existing exhaust ventilation holes in these areas simply put plugs.
| Air intake for one room in the interior |
The system can operate continuously or “on demand” (eg, to include a signal from humidity sensors or sensors of air quality in the apartment). The bottleneck of such installations is frosting of exhaust holes in the street in the fierce cold. But most of the year they function without problems. if only there was electricity in the house.
The first thing necessary for proper operation of the system is the access of fresh air from the street to the living rooms. bedroom, living room. If the rooms have old wooden windows, no special equipment is needed. If plastic windows with airtight shutters are installed, the air inflow into the living rooms will most likely have to be arranged. For example, with the already mentioned above air inlets mounted in through holes in exterior walls.
Kitchen air extraction is often arranged with the help of a wall-mounted centrifugal extractor fan, superimposed on the through hole cut in the exterior wall of the house. On the facade of the house, the opening is sealed by an exhaust vent.
Centrifugal wall fan for the kitchen must have a built-in check valve, so as to prevent the inflow of cold air into the room from the street, when it is off. Example: Fans of the CF series (Vents). In southern regions also use axial exhaust fans with automatic shutters, mounted in a through hole diameter of 100-150 mm in the window glazing. Similar devices are supplied to the Russian market under the brand names Vortice, Sylavent, O. ERRE. Xpelair, Ductex and others.
To extract air from the bathroom and toilet. rooms that are not usually in contact with the outer walls of the house, you need a waterproof duct fan with a capacity of about 80-150 m 3 / h: put it usually in the bathroom, behind the false ceiling. It sends moist air from the bathroom and toilet to the outside through a duct, which is moisture-resistant and noise-insulated. To lay such a duct must be through living rooms, by the shortest route to the nearest outside wall, in the space behind the soffit, or in the voids of the ceiling along the perimeter of the room. The air intake in the bathroom and the air outlet outside are closed with air grilles.
It is logical to buy a centrifugal fan for sanitary rooms in the apartment with low noise level (32-36 dB (A)), adapted to long-term operation (resource. not less than 30 000-40 000 hours).
| Air handling unit for one room Marta |
The VKP-mini (Vents) with an airflow capacity of 80 to 176 m3 /h can be recommended. Up to 4 short ducts can be connected to the inlet spigots of this unit, the outlet spigot is only one. Durable models of duct fans made of polymeric materials, which can’t withstand long-term contact with wet and dirty air, produce Vortice (Lineo lineup), Cata (SMT), Panasonic (FV-12NS1), Shuft and others.
Among manufacturers of air ducts let us mention the company DEC. Diaflex, Sodiamex. Quality supply and exhaust air grilles in a wide range are available from Trox, Systemair, Halton, Swegon, IMP Klima, Arktos.
Ventilation hole inside a suspended ceiling
Moisture must not stay inside grid and stretch constructions, so a ventilation system is mandatory there.
Stretch or grid ceilings in some homes are installed on the bottom edge of the ceiling beams at a height of 19-21 cm from the ceiling. The ventilation hole is located inside the hinged structure.
In this case, the stretch or rack ceiling is sufficiently equipped with a passive ventilation: cut a hole in the ceiling, make it a decorative grid or a special plafond. Such openings can be made in several ways. Exhaust, a fan installed in the wall opening will exhaust air through the ceiling vents. This will allow you to choose a device of higher power and, accordingly, noisiness: the construction of the ceiling will muffle the sounds, and the air flow will be stronger, which will compensate for the small size of the ventilation grille in it.
Selection criteria
The most effective way to make proper ventilation is to purchase and install a forced-type electric fan. Usually for such purposes acquire wall-mounted axial fans of different capacities.
Wall axial fan for forced air
Choosing such a device should pay attention to:
- A safety system. The fan is a household electrical appliance, and the bathroom. a closed room with a high degree of humidity, so the device must have a maximum degree of protection of the housing against water and steam.
- Noise insulation. The noise level of the device should be minimal so as not to irritate the people living in the apartment. If necessary, you can install a special sound attenuator and supplement it with soundproofing materials that are placed inside the fan.
- The capacity of the ventilation device should be consistent with the size of the bathroom and the number of occupants. With insufficient power the meaning of this system is simply lost, because it can not fully perform its functions.
Requirements for forced ventilators
- Noise levels in a small room should be no more than 35 to 40 dB.
- The ventilation system must create a regular change of air at least 5-8 times per hour and must meet the standards SNIP.
- The exhaust unit must have a non-return valve if the air will be exhausted through only one branch duct.
- The enclosure must be at least IP34 waterproof.
- A 36-volt motor makes the unit quiet enough to operate.
