Ventilation Equipment for the Manufacturing Industry
Ventilating manufacturing facilities, whether it’s heavy-duty steel rolling mills or lighter-duty manufacturing plants, is a very specific and essential task. Manufacturing processes create byproducts and removal of these byproducts is essential for the safety of staff, quality of raw materials and longevity of the manufacturing equipment.
Common byproducts of manufacturing are dust, fumes, odors, mist, liquid waste and noise. Each of these byproducts have varying degrees of risk and varying impacts on production.
Many dusts and fumes are combustible, liquids can be corrosive, mists create maintenance issues and slip hazards. To keep processes running and people working within a safe environment as intended, it is best practice to maintain exceptional indoor air quality.
This article discusses the ventilation requirements of a manufacturing facility and how to address them.
Ventilation Requirements for Manufacturing Industry
Many factors should be considered before understanding what ventilation equipment is needed. The main factors to consider when ventilating a manufacturing facility include:
- Occupancy rate
- Indoor air quality (IAQ)
- Storage requirements
- Energy consumption
- Airflow patterns
- Air pressure balance
- Filtration requirements
Some factors are monitored by 3rd party officials, such as indoor air quality. This is due to manufacturing factories producing a product that necessitates airborne waste and particularly airborne dusts, mists and gasses that are hazardous.
OSHA, EPA and State DEPs are watchdogs, monitoring potential air, water, safety, and noise issues. Adhering to published Codes and Regulations is a continuing responsibility.
Ventilation Equipment for Manufacturing Facilities
Depending on the type of manufacturing facility, all or some of the following ventilation equipment may be required for a safe, efficient, and if necessary, comfortable environment.
Dust Collector
Dust collection systems facilitate the air purification process within a manufacturing structure. A dust collector keeps employees and equipment within the manufacturing facility safe. This is achieved through controlling indoor air pollution by treating atmospheric discharge from machinery.
The type of byproducts emitted from machinery helps determine the type of dust collector suitable for the manufacturing facility. The size of the dust, element type, and quantity all play a significant role in determining which dust collector is required.
Find out more about dust collectors.
Learn about the difference between various dust collectors.
Mist and Oil Collectors
Government regulations prevent certain levels of exposure to oil and mist. This is due to the harmful impact oil mist has on employee safety and health. Furthermore, excess mist and oil negatively impacts overall plant maintenance such as causing damage to HVAC systems, surfaces, and electrical components.
Mist & oil collectors are available as primary and secondary mist collectors.
Primary mist collectors are mounted or attached to the machine at the source to filter contaminants. Whereas secondary mist collectors are stand-alone. They can be hung from the ceiling or on a stand.
Learn more about mist collectors.
Exhaust Fans
Exhaust fans for the manufacturing industry play a vital role in ventilation. Exhaust fans solve the major ventilation issues such as:
- Remove chemicals & odor
- Reduce fire & explosion risks
- Evacuate heat
- Supply fresh air
- Circulate air throughout a facility
Exhaust fans used in industrial manufacturing facilities also supplement other ventilation equipment in order to achieve the required indoor air quality.
There are many different types of exhaust fans available to suit any manufacturing facility.
Read more about exhaust fans.
Centrifugal Fans
Centrifugal blower fans are suitable for manufacturing factories due to the ability to manage materials in the airstream as well as chemically corrosive air flow. Furthermore, centrifugal fans produce much higher pressure than axial fans.
Configuration of the centrifugal fan largely depends on the environment, and more importantly, the application in the production facility.
Read more to understand centrifugal fans.
Make Up Air Unit
Implementing exhaust fans and other mechanical ventilation methods to remove heat leaves a manufacturing facility with negative pressure. This negative pressure increases pressure on the structure as well as the demand on the heating and air conditioning systems throughout the space.
The net result of a negative pressure within a manufacturing facility is limitations on the exhaust rate, unstable pilots, poor air circulation, doors that are difficult to open (or close) and excessive energy bills due to the excessive load on the HVAC equipment.
All of these conditions can be resolved by introducing make-up air equipment. This is a fan designed to “make-up” the air that has been exhausted.
Make-up air units are available in several configurations to supplement the ventilation in an industrial manufacturing plant. Depending on your climate, a make-up air unit can be provided with various types of heating and/or cooling.
Learn more about the different types of make up air units.
Read a case study on how make-up air units helped reduce energy costs.
Natural Ventilation
The most cost effective method to ventilate a high heat producing manufacturing plant is by implementing natural ventilation. By strategically placing vents, dampers and louvers throughout the facility we can use the natural convection properties to relieve the heat within the space.
The result is cooler temperatures and improved indoor air quality.
A manufacturing plant can be designed using 100% natural ventilation or a hybrid system using some form of mechanical ventilation equipment to either introduce or remove air from a space. This is often referred to as pressure – gravity ventilation.
Read more about natural ventilation equipment.
HVLS Fans
HVLS (High Volume Low Speed) fans for the manufacturing industry help by destratisfying the air. With higher temperature air being trapped near the ceiling, and cooler air near the floor, HVLS fans will blend the air.
This mixture of air creates a constant temperature from floor to ceiling and promotes significant energy savings. Typical results allow for the thermostat to be lowered by several degrees during the cooler months and raised several degrees during the warmer months.
These results most often provide a return on investment in which they pay for themself in a short period of time.
Read more about HVLS Fans.
Stop wasting time searching for the right equipment for a manufacturing facility.
Contact us now for a to find out the best ventilation solution and get a quick, hassle-free quote.
We’ll be happy to help explain which model and make is best for your application.
