The purpose of a make-up air system within the space of your business is to ‘make-up’ for air which has been taken out by an exhaust fan system. The make-up air system actively sucks in fresh air from the outside of your premises in order to replace the air that was removed as it could not be recirculated within the premises due to contamination.
The use of a make-up air system is a good option for premises that due to its situation have a requirement for improved ventilation that will:
- Protect your workers inside your premises.
- Make an improvement to the quality of air within the building.
Make-Up Air Can Solve Problems
Regular make-up system units work to give a building:
- Fresh air that is tempered.
- This covers both cooled and heated air
This provision will act as a balance to the volume of air that has been extracted from your workspace by for example an extractor hood.
If you have a workspace that has ventilation and you do not have a system to put in air from a separate source you will get a state of depressurisation. If your premises are draughty air can get in from outside. However, if on the other hand you have a sealed environment a ventilation system will not find it easy to exhaust the air you want to get rid of.
Having a high quality of air inside your premises is the primary purpose to having a make-up air system in your premises. Be it:
- Contaminants being removed from the air in your premises.
- Provision of an optimal working temperature.
There are a number of options to increase the air quality in your premises. Within a large number of commercial and industrial situations a make-up air system is:
- A significantly better option when compared to options such as ventilation fan systems for:
- Inside air quality.
- Safety of your workers.
- Comfort of your workers.
This is all achieved whilst not having an impact on efficiency of energy usage.
Applications in a Commercial and Industrial Setting
Provision of Ventilation for Distribution Centres and Warehouses
If you have workplace that is of a high-bay design the great news is that this is one of the least difficult building types for installing a make-up air system.
When considering a high-bay design of structure the natural inflow of air into the building is usually sufficient for any fresh air need during the hours that the building is occupied. However, as the building design becomes of a tighter type of structure i.e. more efficient it is likely that mechanical ventilation will be a requirement.
It should be noted that irrespective of the manner of air making its way into your building be it natural or mechanical you will have a requirement to deal with the temperature of the air that is entering the building.
Although the utilisation of fans for ventilation can assist in the provision of a fresh interior air quality in a climate that is temperate, in areas that the climate can be cold or very hot you can easily end up with a most uncomfortable temperature for your staff. The utilisation of a make-up air system is a very good option here as it tempers the air from the outside that you pull in. This will improve the conditions for your staff.
Considerations Specific to Industrial Facilities
The considerations move up a number of levels when you are looking at an industrial building. When you think about industrial facilities you need to look at not only the building but also the activities that happen inside the facility. The potential issues created by activities happening within the facility can have an effect on the design of the make-up air system.
You may reasonably think that as an industrial facility gets air infiltration from the outside of the facility, surely this is enough. However, you need to understand that air infiltration will definitely not equal the volume of air taken out of the facility by:
- Industrial level plant.
- Mechanical exhaust systems.
Therefore, if you are looking at putting a make-up air system into your industrial facility it will require an investigation into the facility so that you are capable of maintaining:
- An air pressure that is neutral.
- A good air quality.
- Optimal working temperatures.
Next Steps
If you are considering a make-up air system or modifications to your current make-up air system due to changes in your business, please give our friendly expert staff a call to see how we can help.
