Year-Round Natural Ventilation
Decreasing costs is a surefire way by which factory owners can increase their bottom line. Energy consumption is typically a building’s third highest expense, just behind labor and materials. That is why cutting those costs can make such an enormous difference. The open spaces of industrial facilities make heating and cooling the interior of the building expensive. It would cost a fortune to provide HVAC for an entire factory floor and floor fans just end up blowing the stifling air around. These facilities could benefit from year-round natural ventilation.
How Does Natural Ventilation Work?
In a natural ventilation system, warm air is directed out of the building through a rooftop vent. Additionally, cool air enters through ground level wall louvers. The system utilizes the natural properties of air movement, including pressure differences and wind, to avoid having any moving parts that need to be powered. The result is a system that requires no electrical consumption and no maintenance.
The benefits of a natural ventilation are easiest to see during the hot summer months, but the system provides benefits all year round. In cooler months, the vent dampers can be closed to allow the stifling air to stay inside of the building. These shutters are used to control the flow of air and being able to keep the warm air produced by the process or the personnel on the factory floor, is a helpful way to keep the space warm. Most dampers are certified for rain and snow so owners don’t need to worry that heavy snowfall will prevent the flow of air or that any moisture will enter the building.
Removing expensive heating and cooling systems can have an immediate impact on the bottom line. By replacing a powered exhaust fan system with a natural ventilation system, the owner of an industrial facility can reduce energy consumption by thousands of dollars. Moffitt Corporation offers two unique styles of large rooftop natural ventilators.
MoffittVent
This ventilator is a large single unit placed on the top of the building’s roof. Wind blowing across the top of the ventilator pulls the warm air out of the building. This keeps the interior cool. High winds are not an issue. These vents meet wind-rating classification up to 130 MPH.
Though the top of the ventilator is open, a series of internal gutters and drains divert water away from the interior. This protects the inside of the building from the elements. The gutters meet high rainfall requirements to ensure they don’t overflow and flood the building.
Constructed of galvalume, aluminum or stainless-steel sheeting, the vent will stand up to corrosion even in areas with high rain or snowfall. The user can control the damper inside of the building. Because of this, no one has to climb on the roof to change the damper position.
The MoffittVent is ideal for large facilities with long metal roofs.MatrixVent
The MatrixVent low-profile style of natural ventilation has been in use around the world. The MatrixVent is smaller and lighter than the MoffittVent. This means easier retrofit installation.
A MatrixVent system has a very low profile, rising only about two feet off the surface of the roof, meaning it has a lighter wind load than other ventilators like the MoffittVent. Furthermore, the low profile has a minimal impact on the architectural and aesthetic properties of the building.Each vent weighs three pounds per square foot so there is no need to install costly structures to support the weight of the system. Additionally, the aluminum construction makes the vents durable and corrosion resistant.
The interior blades direct water away from the building up to seven inches of rain per hour.
In addition to the energy savings that come from eliminating powered heating and cooling systems, the MatrixVent also provides plenty of natural sunlight to the interior of the building. This sunlight helps to reduce lighting costs and serves to increase worker productivity.
Moffitt Corporation has spent years innovating and perfecting the intake portion of the system. Their wall louvers come with a full 90 degrees of operation, allowing facility owners to have much more control over how much air enters the building. Each of the wall louvers has 70-90% free area, drastically increasing their efficiency when compared to related products. The louvers use the same rugged materials as the vents. As a result, they are weather resistant and are unlikely to wear out before the exhaust vent.
How Much Does It Cost?
Facility owners’ biggest concern is always cost. Each situation is different, but Moffitt offers free no obligation ventilation design. Hot or cold, rainy, or dry, a natural ventilation system is the most efficient way to warm or cool an industrial facility. The savings only grow the longer the facility uses the system so contact Moffitt today to begin the quote process.