How Intelligent Ventilation Renews Indoor Air Quality
Contents
– The principle of intelligent ventilation
– How intelligent ventilation works
– Installation of the intelligent ventilation
– Intelligent ventilation and smoke extraction
Thanks to sensors, intelligent ventilation allows you to renew the air in your home while optimizing its energy consumption.
The principle of intelligent ventilation
There are several ventilation systems: assisted natural ventilation, single flow HVAC or double flow HVAC. These different systems are more or less efficient (and expensive) in their extraction capacity and energy consumption.
However, it is now possible to better optimize their intrinsic qualities with indoor, outdoor, and pollutant sensors. The objective is to manage the extraction flow according to the presence or not of people, temperature and level of pollutants in the house.
Functioning of the intelligent ventilation
The possibilities will be different according to the installed systems.
Single flow ventilation
The single flow ventilation can be humidity sensitive. The principle is to regulate the quantity of extracted air according to the moisture of the air detected.
There are two systems. With the “hygro A” system, the extract units are equipped with hygrosensitive strips, which allow knowing the presence or not of people in the house. The “hygro B” system uses the same principle as the hygro A system. Still, it is equipped with hygrosensitive strips at the air inlets, which allows the modulation of the ventilation according to the weather conditions.
Double flow ventilation
The double-flow ventilation also allows exchanging the heat of the extracted air to give it to the incoming air, generating energy savings. It can also be equipped with humidity control.
It can also be decentralized, working room by room to distribute proper ventilation based on the number of people present or the hygrometry of each room.
Other solutions
Another possibility, pollutant sensors (formaldehyde, CO2…), can also be connected to the ventilation system to optimize the ventilation flows according to the rooms. It is also possible to add or integrate filters for certain pollutants in the ventilation systems at an additional cost.
Note: optimizing the flows as precisely as possible allows for significant energy savings. Air renewal can be expensive in terms of energy, considering you must heat the air entering from outside.
Installation of the intelligent ventilation
Intelligent ventilation is easily installed in new construction. The sensors, air inlets and outlets must, of course, be designed according to the rules of the art. For a renovation, it is possible to improve your ventilation. Thus, hygrometry sensors can be adapted to the air inlets and outlets.
These devices allow decentralized double-flow management with boxes comprising two fans, two filters and a heat exchanger. They allow for recreation with decentralized double-flow ventilation. In addition, independent extractors, room by room, can be added.
This solution allows us to make essential energy savings and filter pollutants. However, the installation in renovation is sometimes complex and expensive, and the aesthetics leave something to be desired.
Attention: implementing this type of ventilation in renovation requires a specific study of your building because its morphology, type of occupation, and location are determining factors.
Intelligent ventilation and smoke extraction
A natural smoke and heat evacuation system ensure your premises’ smoke extraction. You can also connect this safety device to toxic gas sensors (CO in particular).
There are also automated programs that take into account the outside and inside temperatures of the ventilated area and the presence of rain or wind.
Essential: a ventilation system does not dispense with being equipped with smoke detectors.
Read more:
- Ventilation: The Need to Renew Indoor Air Quality;
- Essential Prerequisites for an Air-Conditioning System.
