Why free ventilation is almost always stretched

to its functional limits?

Climate technology in a production hall has to be able to provide supply air and dissipate
heat loads and/or pollutant loads. In principle, air flows can be transferred in two ways: either
mechanically by ventilation and air-conditioning units or without machines by means of free
(natural) ventilation using pressure differences. These pressure differences are created
inside the hall by heat released during the production processes (negative pressure) and
outside by wind pressure.

Supply air flows in through openings in the lower wall area of the halls and then flows back
out again through waste air openings in the roof, typically smoke and heat exhaust, once
heat loads (in general) have been absorbed (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 Figure 2
Free ventilation through uplift and wind Window ventilation, supply air and
forces in a hall with heat sources waste air flow patterns, as a
diagram

Free ventilation in rooms such as office rooms is window ventilation. As these rooms have
lower ceilings than halls, the same opening (window) is used for both supply air and waste
air flows. Figure 2 shows the flow patterns that form in such cases. This solution can also
sometimes be found in halls with low ceilings.
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Where air-conditioning and ventilation units are not used, free ventilation is preferred due to
the low investment costs, almost non-existent operating costs and the fact that the energy
required to operate air-conditioning and ventilation plants can be saved. These are strong
advantages that raise the question of the extent to which free ventilation can replace
mechanical ventilation.

Free ventilation and heat loads

The temperature difference between the temperature inside the hall and the fresh air
temperature is what drives free ventilation. The greater this difference is, the stronger and (to
a large extent) more stable the thermal currents that form from the heat sources in the hall
are. This therefore reliably ensures load dissipation. Large temperature differences occur
when the loads inside are high and/or fresh air temperatures are low. As a result, halls with
high heat emissions are particularly suited to free ventilation. This means that stable thermal
currents can form in high-temperature operations in the steel and glass industry and boiler
houses with load distributions over 800 W/m in such a way that influences from weather
fluctuations (high temperature, strong wind) become negligible and free ventilation therefore
meets the requirement for secured heat extraction.

Taking halls with lower heat emissions into consideration, such as those that you would find
in machining operations with load distributions of approximately 150 W/m, temperatures that
form inside the hall are comparable to fresh air temperatures in the summer or, above all, in
extreme weather conditions. This means that the temperature difference between inside and
outside can become so slight that there is no longer any notable driver for free ventilation
and it is exactly then that it would be needed the most. Therefore, high-temperature
operations notwithstanding, free ventilation can no longer fulfil its function when fresh air
temperatures are higher.

Table 1 provides an overview of typical surface-related heat emissions depending on the

type of manufacturing. In all applications below 800 W/m, free ventilation is only possible to
a limited extent.

Type of manufacturing Heat load, W/m

Installation 50
Mechanical manufacturing 150
Manufacturing of plastic parts 250
High-temperature operations *) > 800
*) Glass industry, steel and rolling mills, boiler houses

Table 1: Estimates for surface-related

heat emissions by type of manufacturing

Low fresh air temperatures always lead to a significant temperature difference to the
temperature inside the hall, which, in principle, guarantees the function of free ventilation in
this temperature range. This option can only be used to a limited extent, however. The
supply air that enters the hall at fresh air temperature is induced into the hall air under rising
temperatures. The mixed temperature that occurs during this process must then meet the
comfort criteria or at least the tolerability criteria in the work area. This cannot be achieved
with just any low temperature, but is restricted by the temperature range from which heating
becomes necessary.

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High-temperature operations notwithstanding, it can be seen that over the year free
ventilation can only be used when the fresh air temperature falls within a limited range. This
is dependent on the heat loads of the hall but can be specified at roughly between 5C and
25C. Should temperatures fall below or rise above this, additional air-conditioning measures
will be required. In order to fully tap the potential that free ventilation has to offer in the
specified temperature range, the supply air and waste air openings must adapt to the
changing conditions throughout the day by means of servomotors via a control system. Wind
generally has a positive impact on the effect of free ventilation; however, it must be possible
to limit its effect particularly when winds are strong. Interference caused by the wind can be
compensated for by using variable supply and waste air openings.

Free ventilation and pollutants

Free ventilation is generally used to dissipate heat loads. This ventilation system has a
limited capacity for dissipating pollutant loads. In principle, reliable compliance with maximum
allowable concentrations (MAC) is not possible due to weather-dependent fluctuations. This
means that pollutants that are to be dissipated using free ventilation must not have MAC
values or be hazardous to health, and must only be present in very low concentrations that
are not harmful.

Free ventilation and fresh air filters

It should be noted that free ventilation systems are not able to deal with major pressure
drops of supply air filters due to the low pressure difference of the uplift. As a result, fresh air
is generally fed into the hall as supply air without being filtered. Operators must therefore
always check whether that is acceptable for the relevant production processes.

Designing free ventilation

The methods for designing free ventilation are vastly different to those for designing
mechanical ventilation. Pressure differences, which are affected inside by heat loads and
outside by wind pressures, are key factors. Both variables have calculation methods that can
be combined by superimposing them on the corresponding pressure balances. The basic
approach is to equalise the total of the dynamic pressure drops from supply and waste air
openings with the pressure difference of the uplift. In the case of production halls, factoring
the degree of room air pollution into the calculation is recommended. As a result, only the
effective part of the entire heat load in the room is taken into consideration, thereby leading
to a lower required supply air flow. As shown previously, for the (physical) capabilities of free
ventilation to be utilised to the full, it should be fitted with measurement and control
technology. In such cases, you can save calculating the wind effect and have it equalised by
the measurement and control technology.

You can find a very detailed representation of a free ventilation design in VDI 2262 Sheet 3
/1/. It takes into consideration both the level of room air pollution and the effect of the wind.
Richtlinie 10, instructions governing natural ventilation for large rooms, from Fachverband
Tageslicht und Rauchschutz e.V. provides an easier method. This method does not take the
level of room air pollution into consideration and therefore leads to higher supply air flows
and, as a result, larger supply air and extract air openings. The effect of the wind is not
calculated.

Designing mechanical ventilation

In practice, calculating mechanical ventilation in halls is restricted to mixed and displacement
flow ventilation. Load calculation procedures can be used to determine the supply air flows
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necessary according to the heat and/or pollutant loads to be dissipated. Although, in
principle, load calculations are airflow-neutral representations, in practice, they only deliver
results that can be used for mixed flow ventilation. This is because the supply air flows
determined by the load calculation are not necessarily those required to track the thermal
currents of a displacement flow ventilation system.

Free ventilation and functional limits

It can be seen that free ventilation is only possible without restrictions for high-temperature
operations if there are no pollutants. These are the only conditions under which thermal
currents are able to form in such a way that they are stable enough to be impervious to the
effects of weather fluctuations. The ventilation function is therefore ensured throughout the
year. For all other applications with lower heat emissions, throughout the year, the fresh air
temperature is set according to lower and upper limits by comfort and tolerability criteria.

Adhering to requirements, specified internal temperatures and, above all, pollutant

concentrations is only possible with mechanical ventilation. Hybrid systems are also possible
solutions. In these systems, ventilation tasks in the application area are performed in an
energy-saving way by means of free ventilation and mechanical ventilation only kicks in if
free ventilation reaches its functional limits. The question of whether the achievable energy
savings are worth the additional investment can only be answered using a TCO (total cost of
ownership) assessment.

Further Information
These relationships are very interesting and complex. We will therefore be providing you with
additional information on these key questions about production hall ventilation in further
blogs in the near future.

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Author: Tobias Brugger