Ventilation System Considerations for Healthy, Comfortable Metal Buildings

A quality metal building ventilation system can mean the difference between a hot, humid — and, most importantly, unhealthy — environment, and one that fosters efficient work while protecting the structure itself for the long term. But determining the best path forward and the right metal building accessories is easier said than done. Metallic Products aims to help.

Understanding your ventilation system and accessory options helps you approach a build fully prepared.

Here, our ventilation pros lay out important information every metal building owner and contractor should consider when laying the groundwork for a new build. From the types of airflow options available, to how to determine the right accessories for the job and where to work such considerations into the planning process, it’s all about helping you go in informed.

Understanding the Types of Ventilation Systems Out There

The first step to selecting the best ventilation accessories for your metal building is to understand the types of ventilation systems available to you. Not every approach will work for every building. Let’s take a high-level look at today’s most common types of ventilation systems, the accessories that support them and potential issues to think through before moving forward.

Natural Ventilation

A way of ventilating a space without the use of mechanical means such as power ventilators. By incorporating openings in strategic areas throughout a space in the form of louvers, ridge vents and similar ventilation accessories, you allow fresh, clean air to move into a space while also ushering warm, stale air, fumes, smoke and other annoyances out.

• Benefits: With few (if any) moving parts, this is a low-maintenance way to keep spaces healthy and comfortable. Meanwhile, the system’s ability to carry out its work without electrical components means you aren’t out additional power costs.
• Setbacks: Because such systems rely heavily on wind movement, natural ventilation alone often isn’t enough for large-scale production facilities, agricultural operations and processes that generate extreme heat and fumes.
  

  It’s important to ensure your ventilation accessories suit structure’s airflow and aesthetic needs.

Mechanical Ventilation

A means of helping a structure breathe with metal building accessories such as industrial roof-mounted fans or wall-mount fans. The accessories that fuel mechanical ventilation are typically connected through a system of ducts and pipes, refreshing a space by moving air through — and moving heat, fumes and the like out.

• Benefits: The powered nature of these ventilation accessories gives them the ability to keep areas such as large industrial spaces and agricultural operations free of unwanted heat, fumes, odors and moisture. In addition, because such systems are easy to turn on and off, and to adjust throughout the day, they provide better overall air control.
• Potential Setbacks: Mechanical ventilation accessories run on electricity, which means additional power charges will factor into the mix. They also make more noise than accessories powered by natural ventilation. With more moving components, there’s a higher likelihood of future repair and replacement needs, too.

Hybrid Ventilation

An air system comprised of a mix of mechanical and natural components. Also known as “mixed mode ventilation,” it involves fresh air coming into a space through an apex vent, turbine vent or other naturally powered ventilation accessory, and removing warm, stale or contaminated air with help of mechanical components such as exhaust fans.

• Benefits: This is an extremely effective means of ventilation for areas where healthy air quality is crucial, such as operations that involve chemicals and fumes, or medical facilities with vulnerable populations.
• Potential Setbacks: Mixed mode ventilation requires careful calculations to ensure you have adequate airflow inside the space, and that contaminated air is being discharged somewhere that it won’t cause problems. Of course, the same issues that impact mechanical systems carry some weight here. You will incur certain electricity costs, and moving parts could require repairs and/or replacement down the line.

Spot Ventilation

A means of keeping air clean and healthy but on a smaller, more targeted scale. It serves as something of an add-on to your overall ventilation efforts, removing excess heat, fumes, smoke and humidity in areas where they’re most prevalent. (Think of it like the exhaust fan over your home’s stove.)

• Benefits: Spot ventilation keeps specific areas of your structure healthier and more comfortable, and supports your ventilation system as a whole. And when your system doesn’t have to work so hard, it tends to last longer and require less maintenance.
• Potential Setbacks: Spot ventilation is meant to work in tandem with existing systems, rather than by itself. In addition, repair, maintenance and electrical costs can factor into things, depending on your specific system.

Assessing Your Metal Building Fan, Vent and Accessory Options

We like to say that, because no two metal buildings are exactly alike, their ventilation needs aren’t, either. There are a number of factors to keep in mind when determining the right metal building fan and accessory options for your project. We’ll detail a few top considerations here.

• Metal Building Size and Use: The number of fans, vents and related metal building accessories you’ll need is directly related to how big a building is and its overall air quality. High-output structures plagued with heavy smoke and fumes, for instance, will require vents with larger throats able to handle heavier workloads. You’ll want to do some math here to determine your ideal air changes per hour (often abbreviated to ACH or ACPH). A calculation used to determine how often air should enter and exit a space in an hour-long period, you can find your target number by multiplying the room’s CFM by 60, then dividing it by the room’s volume as measured in cubic feet.
• Optimal Airflow: How much control do you need to have over the amount of air moving through your steel building at a given time? If airflow needs vary widely throughout the day, it might be wise to incorporate accessories that allow you to make easy adjustments. Products such as our round vents and apex vents, for example, feature dampers that help a building’s users manually regulate airflow and temperatures. And our adjustable louvers are just that — adjustable — to allow users to open, close and tilt the blades to best suit their needs.
• Eye-Pleasing Aesthetics: Although function is the key factor to look for when seeking out metal building fan and vent options, looks matter, too. You’ll want to find an accessory that suits your structure in the manner you see fit, whether that means a paint color or finish that blends seamlessly with the surrounding building or a pop of color that draws the eye. Your accessory provider should be able to fill you in on your available options — including accessory sizes, colors and finishes.

Why to Factor Steel Building Ventilation Early on in Your Project

Position your projects for success by factoring steel building ventilation in from the start.

Steel building ventilation accessories play a crucial role in creating healthy, comfortable environments, and looking out for a building’s long-term health. Even so, their “out of sight, out of mind” nature means they often go overlooked until a build is well underway.

Though it is possible to incorporate vents, louvers and the like into a metal building later on, it isn’t always ideal. Let’s take a look at a few reasons we recommend factoring your steel building ventilation accessories into a building envelope at the start.

• Keeping Metal Building Construction on Schedule: Metal building accessory providers regularly receive emergency calls from companies requesting last-minute ridge vents, or realizing they never added wall louvers into a design. Although we’re glad to help and work to execute requests quickly, every order comes with some lead time. (For us, that lead time averages five to 10 working days.) When you factor in the potential for shipping delays, that seemingly simple accessory oversight could shift a project’s timeline by multiple weeks or more.
• Better Protection for Your Bottom Line: Putting off an accessories order until the last minute can prove costly in a number of ways. On one hand, accessory additions late in the game often mean having to approach clients to report their build will cost more than what was originally quoted. (And that can create tenuous business relationships.) Last-minute requests can also result in rush charges on your accessory manufacturer’s end as they move your work ahead of other clients’.
• Optimizing Efficiency and Overall Building Health: Adding certain metal building accessories into structures once they’ve gone up forces installers to find a way to incorporate them while beams, wiring and other elements are already in place. Doing so often makes for more time-consuming installs and can mean placing accessories in areas where they’ll fit — not necessarily where they’ll provide the best ventilation benefits. By thinking through such needs before the build begins, you can create a ventilation system that does its work well and extends the lifespan of your structure, too.

Determining the right approach for a metal building ventilation system can be intimidating, but it’s important to remember you aren’t in this alone. Your metal building accessory provider handles such work each and every day and will be happy to work with you to determine what you need. o]

If you have questions about any of the above, or if you’re interested in learning how Metallic Products can help move your next steel building project forward, feel free to reach out to our team. We like nothing more than helping new builds take shape — or helping existing buildings breathe better — and we’d love to hear from you.