Smart Ventilation Units (SVU)

Meeting the design challenges of BB101 for school ventilation.

Jonathon Hunter Hill

Sector Manager - Education

+44 (0) 1483 227517

+44 (0) 1483 771910

j.hunterhill@sav-systems.com

What you need to know

BB 101: Guidelines on ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality 2018 presents engineers with a number of new challenges.

AirMaster SVUs, having been designed for the rigorous standards of the European marketplace, have long been ready to meet the demanding standards of BB 101 (2018).

Low noise, demand-controlled operation and ePM₁₀ 75% filtration make AirMaster SVUs a simple and effective choice for school ventilation, so that children are not forced to breathe polluted air whilst at school.

With firm roots in the modular marketplace, AirMasters have been designed to be easy to install and are virtually plug and play.

Features

The air that our children breathe...

...how safe is it?

Pollution and filtration

Studies have found that air pollution in classrooms is often worse than it is outside, and action must be taken to protect our school children. Ventilation equipment therefore becomes a key line of defence to stop further build-up of pollutants. AirMasters are equipped with filters to at least ePM10 75%, which can be upgraded to ePM1 55% for highly polluted areas.

Noise Management

With noise attenuation of up to 49 dB(A) and casing breakout volume of 35 dB(A) measured at just 1 m, AirMasters are well equipped to deal with noise. For SEN applications, casing breakout volume can be limited to just 30 dB(A) at 80% throughput. These factors make AirMasters the quietest decentralised ventilation units in the UK.

Energy savings

The aluminium counterflow heat exchangers that are used in AirMasters enable heat recovery efficiency of up to 90%, dramatically cutting the amount of supplementary heat required in a classroom to maintain a comfortable room temperature. Classroom units are normally supplied with an integral CO₂ sensor for demand-controlled operation, reducing energy consumption during unoccupied periods.

Draught-free ventilation

For mechanical ventilation units, supply air temperature and velocity must be carefully controlled to avoid draughts. By using a heat exchanger and the Coanda effect, an AirMaster unit eliminates the risk of draught even on the coldest days.

Analysis by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)

To carry out detailed analysis of classroom ventilation systems, SAV Systems recently invested in SimScale, which is a cloud-based CFD , Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and thermal simulation software. SAV’s interest is in carrying out CFD analysis on classroom ventilation systems, including our own AirMaster Smart Ventilation Units (SVUs).

In winter conditions, classroom ventilation systems are at risk of delivering air at too low a temperature, causing discomfort due to draughts. The aim of the CFD analysis was to simulate classroom conditions when using an AirMaster SVU to prove that operation would be draught-free.

The results below for a typical classroom with 32 occupancy are preliminary, but they clearly confirm the Coanda effect, even temperature distribution and draught-free operation. We are open in our methodology and can provide full information on model inputs to consultants or other outside parties wishing to verify our results.

Jonathon Hunter Hill recently participated in a webinar on Classroom Ventilation Optimization, which can be found here. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CIXpo3zPh8)

Should you have a project where ventilation or draught-risk may be of concern, we can carry out a CFD analysis of the rooms in question. Please get in touch using the Contact Forms.

AirMaster

Trusted Technology Partner

In 1991 in Aars, Denmark, AirMaster develops smart ventilation units and since then has been evolving with solutions that cater to our behaviour, needs and well-being, and at the same time can be part of the perfect energy solution for the renovation and building projects of the future. With more than 10% of the employees working on development and documentation AirMaster also partners with universities, including the University of Aalborg and the Technical University of Denmark and participates in several research-based projects involving the efficient, decentralised ventilation solutions of the future, making the company a world-class manufacturer.