The Importance of Airflow Mapping in Ambient Ventilation System Design
Imagine this… You install an ambient ventilation system – not a cheap investment. The system is installed, but the indoor air quality doesn't exactly improve. Weld fume is drifting through workers respiratory zones, some areas are filled with more fume then before and there is still a thick blue haze near ceiling lights. How?
Prior to installing a ventilation solution, it is extremely important to predict the results through modeling. This process is called Airflow Mapping, and through it you understand just how effectively your planned ventilation system design will function. After all, all full-facility ventilation solutions should be unique to their environment given the facility's unique demands.
Through the Airflow Mapping process, you will gain an understanding of the environment's current situation and needs. This baseline knowledge, coupled with information about the productivity and processes of the facility, allow professional airflow engineers to make educated guesses about the necessary airflow it would take to create an ideal indoor air environment – plus the cost associated.
With that information in mind, the plant manager can weight their internal resources with their indoor air quality target to determine what a feasible solution might look like. This is where the advanced modeling comes in.
Engineers can take these targets, the current environment and potential solutions into account to create a visual representation of airflow and quality throughout the facility. RoboVent calls this process VentMapping, and it results in the peace of mind that the solution you are designing will perform.
With the models in place and outcomes agreed upon, decisions can be made and solutions can be implemented. Unlike the initial scenario, there is a reasonable guarantee that the solution will perform to or beyond expectations and the investment won't be a wasted one.
Additional Resources
This information was first shared in the RoboVent webinar Facility-Wide Weld Fume Ventilation. The complete webinar is available here.
To learn more about weld fumes, how they affect your IAQ and what you can do about them, make sure to watch RoboVent's 5-part webinar series on the subject available at robovent.com/category/webinars/.
