Industrial Ventilation Fans

Many workplaces use industrial ventilation, especially if they have many airborne contaminants. It is one of the most used methods to lower exposure of toxins in the air or flammable vapors to employees. It replaces contaminated air with cleaner air. The two main types of industrial ventilation: local exhaust and dilution ventilation.

Local exhaust ventilation systems stop contaminants before they are able to spread. It does not need fans to circulate the air. It works something like a vacuum which results in a low concentration of pollutants. It is probably more suitable for high amounts of fumes and dust or very toxic chemicals. This type of ventilation is typically energy efficient and cost effective, but the installation is more expensive than dilution ventilation and is high maintenance.

Dilution ventilation can be done by a few different methods, which range from simply opening doors and windows to allow fresh air to enter to using huge fans. The purpose of these fans is to direct the air away from workers to keep them from breathing contaminated air while they work. A few of the benefits to this type of ventilation are easy installation in most circumstances, usually little maintenance and they are efficient in controlling source of contaminants that are small. Some disadvantages are that it can’t usually handle toxic chemicals and vapors in large amounts. Large commercial fans are an example of dilution ventilation.

Industrial ventilation systems’ goal is to force the air outside and not recirculate it unlike an HVAC system. No matter what method is selected, it is important to have at least one system in buildings that have air contaminants. Ventilation systems eliminate pollutants such as welding fumes, flammable vapors, mold, dust, asbestos fibers, and toxic chemicals.

Ventilation systems are vital to indoor air quality monitoring. The comfort and health of employees is at risk when certain pollutants are present. The fact is that indoor air in some industrial buildings may be worse for employees’ health than the air outside. To make sure that the ventilation system is functioning properly and to do air quality control, professionals usually take air samples and model the air flow with a computer.