Ventilation (Architecture)

Basics

• The introduction of outdoor air into a space, mainly for improvement of Indoor Air Quality , but it can also furfill the roles of Heat Control and Humidity Control to a certain extent
• Essentially the introduction of "Fresh Air" (And also the removal of "stale air" )
• Can be as simple as an openable window (with screens), a Windcatcher , a Solar Chimney , or complex with mechanical systems (+ combinations of these)

Strategies

Artficial/Active Ventilation

• Active Ventilation is essentially any method of air moving that isn't passive
• This can be anything from Box Fans / Tower Fans , all the way to a whole home ducting system

Natural/Passive Ventilation

• Passive Ventilation is essentially anything that happens without any major system
• So windows, doors, movement of occupants etc
• Windcatchers and Solar Chimneys are kind of a grey area, but count
• For optimal effect requires optimization in the buildign planning phase, and/or user effort
• May not be as precise/maintain the same conditions

Mixed-Mode Ventilation

• Mixed-Mode Ventilation is essentially just some combination of the two above methods
• An example would be a house that has a ducted HVAC system, but also openable screened windows

External Links

• The Wikipedia Page on Ventilation (Architecture)