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Your steel building’s louver vent pulls a lot more weight than it might let on. It creates healthier indoor environments. It helps the other aspects of your building’s ventilation system work as they should. It keeps moisture and debris safely outdoors. (And on top of all that? It looks good doing it.)
Despite all the hard work these metal building accessories put in, there’s still a fair bit of confusion about what exactly they offer a space. At Metallic Products, we’re all about educating, and we’re here to set the record straight. Read on to learn the ins and outs of your buildings’ louver vents — how they work, the benefits they bring and the options available to you.
What is a Wall Louver?
The wall louver is a metal building accessory with angled blades affixed horizontally to a frame. Although it resembles window blinds, its purpose is to support unpowered (or natural) ventilation for your structure. It does its job by serving as something of an intake fan, urging fresh, clean air into a space.
Of course, it doesn’t do its job alone.
This tool of the trade works in tandem with other ventilation elements such as your ridge vents, round vents and power ventilators. While the wall louver is introducing fresh air into your steel building, your other ventilation accessories are working to usher out excess heat and moisture, dangerous fumes, pollutants and other elements that can make for unhealthy and uncomfortable environments.
What Are Your Wall Louver Options?
As with so many metal building accessories, there are a wide range of wall louver options out there. It’s all about determining the louver vent that best suits your structure and operations — and the surrounding environment, too.
At Metallic Products we offer three general varieties: fixed louvers, adjustable louvers and architectural louvers. Here’s a look at what each is, and a few points to consider when determining the right louver to suit your needs.
Metallic Products Note: Our wall louvers come in a range of sizes, and with customizable color and finish options to suit individual spaces and preferences.
Are Your Metal Building’s Louvers and Dampers One in the Same?
The simple answer to this question, of course, is no. (But is anything ever that simple?) The truth is, when you get into the real nuts and bolts of what your various metal building accessories do, things can become confusing. This is especially true as it relates to your louvers and dampers.
You see, although both louvers and dampers feature horizontal blades and aid in airflow, their specific purposes are quite different.
Dampers work much like an adjustable louver, with the blades opening and closing for easy airflow modifications. These products aid in the release of smoke, heat and fumes, and can even help slow a fire’s spread.
When fully closed, they create a seal designed to keep outdoor air, moisture and other elements from making their way in. When opened, the goal is to usher interior fumes, heat and stale air out.
Unlike louvers, which serve as standalone products, dampers are often one element of a larger product. At Metallic Products, for instance, we incorporate dampers into products such as our ridge vents, apex vents and round vents, but don’t sell dampers on their own.
What Additional Benefits Does a Louver Vent Offer?
We’ve already covered wall louvers’ ability to increase airflow and improve indoor air quality, but that’s just the start of it all. Here are a few more ways they help look out for your people and overall structure.
We hope the above has shed a bit of light on your metal building louver vents and the big benefits they bring to a space. If you have questions, or if you’re interested in learning how Metallic Products can help with your steel building needs, feel free to reach out. We look forward to hearing from you!