Productive Air | Car Park Ventilation System Installation

Do You Have A Car Park Exhaust Project? We Can Help!

Car Park Ventilation

Car Park Ventilation is either fresh air or mechanical. Mechanical fans remove vehicle exhaust gases from these structures while delivering fresh air into the parking area. AS/NZS1668.2:2012 is the Australian Standard that applies to ventilation of buildings for Carbon Monoxide (CO) concentrations. Productive Air also supplies, installs and maintains CO gas detection systems as they provide energy and cost savings.

Mechanical ventilation is used for the controlling of air quality within a confined building space. A variety of different types of fans are used to solve different problems within buildings. Typically, the problems are associated with smells, humidity, smoke, grease, car exhaust areas such as toilets, bathrooms, car parks and kitchens tend to require mechanical ventilation.

Choosing the right fan for the building does require a professional firm like Productive Air if you want the correct type of exhaust fan. We consider:

How the exhaust air will be vented.
The size or volume of the space.
How many airflow changes are required with a 24 hour period
The type of space
Electrical & structural requirements

Productive Air are experts in the installation of both commercial and residential underground car park ventilation systems. All our systems are installed as per specifically designed to blend into the building structure, and where possible are concealed until needed. They are compliant with all relevant codes and standards.

The two primary requirements are:

Ventilation systems must operate at all times, unless they are automatically controlled by a carbon monoxide (CO) monitoring system
The system must also provide at least one air change in every 24 hr period

Depending on the type of car park, loading bay or service area, there are a variety of ventilation systems that can be utilised:

Natural Ventilation Systems
Mechanical Ventilation Systems
CO Monitoring

Natural Ventilation

Ideally, this is the preferred method of ventilating car parks as it simply requires fresh air openings being provided to the car park. However, this method relies on a path to the outside being available. This is not usually the case in underground car parks, hence the need for mechanical extract systems.

Mechanical Extract Fans

These systems use powered fans to control the build-up of Carbon Monoxide (CO) in the car park. Regulations state that the system must be capable of limiting the concentration of CO within the car park to a predetermined level.

Traditional Systems

These use metal ductwork to transport the fumes or smoke being extracted to the outside. Accommodating large ducts can be problematic due to the low headroom in most car parks, low level ducts can be subject to damage to and from vehicles. The ducts must be evenly distributed around the car park and also drop to low levels to provide the low level extract points.

Jet Fan Systems

Otherwise known as jet vent, jet thrust, impulse and induction systems. Jet fans replace ductwork and drive fumes or smoke towards extract fans, keeping pollution within acceptable levels.

Jet fan systems originated around 15 years ago in the Netherlands and have become increasingly popular as they overcome many of the problems associated with metal ductwork.

Benefits of Jet Fan Systems:

Space saving – jet fan systems are more discreet and take up considerably less room than ducted ones.
Low noise – because the main extract fans are relatively small and for CO control, run at lower speeds than traditional systems, the noise generated is considerably lower.
Energy saving – they are often combined with Carbon Monoxide (CO) detection to initiate CO control, this ensures that fans are precisely controlled to dilute pollution without running unnecessarily.
Cost saving – jet fan systems cost less than a comparable ducted system, are quicker to install and easier to maintain

Carbon Monoxide (CO) Monitoring System

Many car park ventilation systems are either running at full speed, are operating on timers during perceived peak periods, or are turned off. The first approach imposes a significant energy cost and the other two can compromise occupant health and safety.

Since car park fans are very power hungry, variable speed drives can make a significant difference to the power consumed. With a carbon monoxide monitoring system, ventilation rates and fan speed can vary depending on the level of CO detected by the sensors. In turn, this results in significant energy and cost savings.

Contact us today for further information. We have considerable experience in installing ventilation systems in car parks.