Along with industrial facilities created for a wide range of technical activities, there often comes the need for meeting the three following requirements in the area of ventilation:
1) To provide proper working conditions,
2) To create optimal environmental conditions for the appropriate course of production processes,
3) To guarantee fire safety to people and buildings.

It does not matter what activities are carried out in those facilities – basically, all these factors should be taken into account in any situation. Naturally, there are some industries, where the environmental conditions are not very demanding, but even in those cases there are usually some guidelines to be followed (e.g. regarding humidity).

Industrial ventilation systems are designed for capturing dangerous and harmful compounds in air (fumes, dust or incineration residues) and transferring them outside the facility occupied by humans. Additionally, one should ensure that the air transferred outside is not highly polluted and does not cause any loss or environmental contamination. Besides, ventilation must provide proper air exchange, temperature and humidity. It ensures appropriate working conditions for people and adequate ventilation processes.

Within the scope of fire safety, industrial ventilation systems should provide efficient smoke and heat control in order to prevent fire from spreading inside a building and to make it possible to evacuate people in a safe manner.

Therefore, efficient industrial ventilation constitutes an essential element of the technical infrastructure of industrial facilities. Proper design and suitable selection of devices for ventilation systems, considering not only general requirements but also specific local conditions, are the key to meeting all requirements.

Where are industrial ventilation devices and systems used

We use industrial ventilation systems in buildings that are used directly for manufacturing and technical production, as well as for product storage. This category includes e.g.:
• Warehouses;
• Factory halls;
• Special-use buildings;
• Hangars;
• Cooling towers.

What do industrial ventilation systems include

Depending on their purpose, industrial ventilation systems most often consist of the following components:
• Comfort ventilation system – it provides appropriate environmental conditions for people and technological processes,
• Fire ventilation system – to ensure fire safety.

Comfort ventilation systems are responsible for exchanging air in rooms. It consists in removing polluted or hot air and supplying fresh or cold air.
The appropriate amount of fresh air transported by a ventilation system is an essential factor for creating good indoor climate. The amount of supplied air, apart from the type of rooms, mostly depends on the number of people occupying the rooms at a given time. Such systems supply an adequate amount of air and control CO2 concentration in rooms.

Some comfort ventilation systems make it possible to reduce operating costs due to the fact that they e.g. monitor the operation of VAV regulators and room parameters, enable the customer to change the system working parameters independently using the web server, and use special solutions with proven control algorithms. iFlow is an example of such an energy-efficient system.

It is also worth noting that comfort ventilation provides high quality of air in terms of dust and microbiological purity. Proven SMAYLAB® technologies, mostly used in laboratories, are a flexible option suitable for rooms where appropriate pressure grading must be maintained (overpressure or underpressure). SMAYLAB® makes it is possible to control the amount of exchanged air and keep constant room temperature and humidity.

Fire ventilation, which is a part of industrial ventilation systems, should clear evacuation routes efficiently, leaving people enough space to evacuate from zones engulfed in fire. For these purposes it is necessary to apply complex solutions: fire ventilation, smoke dampers and smoke exhaust fans. In order to improve smoke exhaust efficiency it is appropriate to make the route between the place where fire breaks out and the smoke extraction point of a building as short as possible.

Operating principle of overpressure systems

Smoke extraction systems are turned on automatically during fire. Smoke dampers located on the roof or building façade open automatically. The system turns on after receiving a signal from smoke detectors, a smoke vent button and a fire alarm system. Smoke extraction systems also include devices installed in aeration vents placed in lower parts of buildings. Due to the use of the smoke curtains and movement control panels, smoke efficiently leaks through the embedded dampers outside of a building. The smoke control and decrease in temperature inside a building make it possible to minimize losses.

Pressure differential systems supply the appropriate amount of outside air, which is required in a single-point way, due to the presence of leaks. This operation covers the highest or the lowest storeys of the building. Air supply units (e.g. iSway) are placed on the roof of a building. Communication between different elements of the system is continuous, even if one of the cables becomes damaged. The pressure differential system is turned on upon receiving a signal from a fire alarm system. A fan with a frequency converter supplies a protected space with air. The use of a frequency converter makes it possible to control the motor revolutions precisely, and thus the fan output rate. During fire the system provides the appropriate amount of air, which transfers smoke outside, leaving evacuation routes clear and free from toxins.

Learn more about the operating principles of pressure differential systems.

Industrial ventilation, or how to protect large facilities against fire and contamination

Industrial ventilation systems and devices may by classified according to the intended function in a building. SMAY offers a complete set of devices and units designed for extracting smoke, heat and toxic pollutions from zones engulfed in fire, as well as for overpressure protection of fire escape routes.

Some exemplary solutions for mechanical ventilation during fire, are presented below:

• Devices and kits for extracting smoke and heat

• Devices and units for overpressure protection of fire escape routes

Devices manufactured by SMAY may be used as elements of many different smoke control systems. These include smoke dampers, fire dampers, smoke exhaust ducts, ventilation grilles, diffusers and fans, but also complex pressure differential systems, as well as systems for smoke extraction from garages, staircases and halls.

The Safety Way pressure differential system deserves particular attention.

Industrial ventilation systems have to operate quickly and effectively. The Safety Way pressure differential system is designed for generating and maintaining overpressure in protected spaces to prevent smoke accumulation. The iSWAY-FC® product set is responsible for generating (in staircases, lift shafts or fire-fighting lobbies) overpressure with a specific value relative to the fire-engulfed area. iSWAY-FC® is activated upon receiving a signal from the fire alarm system. A fan with a frequency converter supplies a protected space with air.

iSWAY-FC is a product set for pressure differential in smoke and heat control systems. The iSWAY-FC® devices are a complex solution for overpressure protection against smoke accumulation in evacuation routes in buildings, in case of fire. Due to their compact design and many offered versions, they may be installed in almost every place within a facility, while various capacities of offered fans make it possible to ensure the required level of pressure grading and to maintain normative velocities of air outflow from protected spaces.