Passive ventilation
A breath of fresh air for your indoor climate, the environment and your wallet.
If you’re wanting to make your building as green as possible, consider installing a passive ventilation system.
You’ll not only save thousands each year, but you’ll improve the quality of your internal climate whilst doing your bit for the environment too.
What is Passive Ventilation?
Passive ventilation is a natural ventilation system that makes use of natural forces, such as wind and thermal buoyancy, to circulate air to and from an indoor space.
These ventilation systems work to regulate the internal air temperature as well as bring fresh air in and send stale air out. This is largely achieved through the opening and closing of windows and vents which act as a source of air as well as an exhaust. Read more about natural ventilation
How does Passive Ventilation work?
Passive ventilation work in a number of ways including:
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Wind-driven ventilation – arising from different pressures created by winds around a building.
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Buoyancy-driven ventilation – created by forces resulting from the temperature difference between the interior and exterior of a building.
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Night Cooling - a passive cooling method, driven by the natural driving forces of the wind and/or thermally (stack) generated pressures. The heat absorbed by a building's exposed thermal mass during the day is released to the indoor air at night, after which it is purged by night ventilation. Meanwhile, external fresh air cools down the thermal mass which then acts as a heat sink during the following day. The night purge involves automatically operable windows or louvres being opened for a pre-set period of time over night, allowing a natural air flow through the building.
If you have any questions about passive ventilation feel free to contact us here.
Why choose Passive Ventilation?
There are a number of benefits to passive ventilation, including:
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Reduced costs. As passive ventilation systems rely on natural forces, you’ll save significantly on your building’s energy consumption and therefore save significantly on your energy bills.
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Low maintenance. Passive ventilation do not require costly maintenance, further reducing costs as well as saving you time and effort.
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Cleaner air. Passive ventilation systems ensure that clean air is flowing throughout your building at all times. This will improve your air quality which, in turn, will improve the health of the occupants of the building and increase productivity and concentration levels.
- Consistency. Passive ventilation ensures that each room is supplied with the right amount of both cool and warm air, keeping the temperature constant and at a pleasant level. This also removes the need to constantly adjust the system.
- Reduced carbon emissions. By implementing a passive ventilation system in your building, you’ll also be doing your bit for the environment.
Building your Passive Ventilation System
Passive ventilation is incredibly versatile. If you’re operating in an established building, there are a number of things we can do to add a passive ventilation system to the systems you already have in place.
The new passive system will complement your existing system to ensure you still reap the rewards of utilising natural forces.
If you’re building a new building from scratch, we can advise on the best options for a system with passive ventilation.
What kind of buildings can utilise passive ventilation?
Almost all buildings can make use of passive ventilation including office buildings, schools, theatres, and hospitals. See examples of buildings with passive ventilation.
From the very beginning, we have been on a mission to ensure excellent and safe indoor climates through passive ventilation for the benefit of people, the environment and productivity.
We can also help you with your passive ventilation project.
WindowMaster and passive ventilation
We are professional passive ventilation consultants and suppliers. We can help you install a system in an existing structure or plan your passive system in a new build.
We’ll work closely with you to find the best passive ventilation system that suits your needs.
We’ve worked on a broad range of projects, implementing passive ventilation for various buildings including apartment complexes, office buildings, schools and hospitals.
We can also help you with a passive ventilation system in your building.
What is passive ventilation
Passive ventilation means allowing fresh air into a building space while at the same time removing stale air.
It does this through passive means — using forces such as wind and pressure differences instead of mechanical ventilation systems or fans.
There are different methods of passive or naturally ventilating a building. But the most common is the opening and closing of windows. This can be fully automated, with strategically placed windows and vents providing air supply and exhaust.
Passive ventilation for a better indoor climate
You have for sure experienced the effects of excessive CO2 in a building — a stuffy environment makes it difficult to concentrate and hard to remain alert and focused.
For schools and other educational establishments this is an area of great concern, and studies have shown that students in a naturally ventilated classroom achieve significantly better results.
Reduced energy consumption
Passive ventilation regulates the indoor climate by a controlled air flow through the windows.
Compared to mechanical ventilation natural ventilation uses only a small amount of energy when the windows open and close.
A head to head comparison shows that natural ventilation has a 40% lower CO2 emission than a system with mechanical ventilation.
Further information
Natural ventilation by Wikepedia
