Most often, airtight plastic windows are installed in urban apartments today. Yes, and the owners of real estate in high-rise buildings have long replaced wooden entrance doors with insulated metal ones. A common house exhaust system is responsible for the removal of exhaust air in such residential premises. Risers in high-rise buildings pass in all entrances on all floors. But there is simply nowhere to get fresh air into the apartments because of the plastic windows and doors of a modern design. Therefore, the owners of such real estate should definitely attend to the installation of additional supply devices that will be responsible for high-quality ventilation.
Types of supply equipment
In small apartments with plastic windows, air flow is usually provided using special valves. Such devices are simply inserted into holes previously made in the wall.
Owners of urban real estate of a large area are more likely to use to ensure the inflowair more sophisticated equipment - air handling units. For an apartment of considerable volume, they are better suited because they provide much more efficient ventilation. The air is forced into the premises when using PU as a result of the operation of the fans.
Urban real estate owners today usually use this type of special household compact equipment. There are two varieties of such PU on the market. The supply unit for the apartment can be purchased, for example:
- normal with low productivity without air ducts;
- universal with air ducts.
Most often, equipment of the first type is installed in apartments. Such installations are cheaper and are quite capable of providing normal air exchange in all rooms at once. When using them, you just need to ensure the free movement of air around the premises. If there are no gaps under the interior doors in an apartment with such a PU, holes are additionally made in their canvas at the bottom, which are subsequently covered with decorative grilles.
But for large urban residential real estate, you can, of course, purchase more expensive universal PU. Such equipment provides more efficient ventilation and is installed indoors with the simultaneous installation of air ducts.
Of course, it is worth choosing a supply unit for the apartment with heating of the air coming from the street. Almost all modern models of such equipment, both conventional anduniversal.
Inlet ventilation design
Thus, the choice of specific equipment for creating a pleasant microclimate in a city apartment depends primarily on its area and volume. For a small Khrushchev, for example, you first need to calculate the required number of valves, and for a large one - the performance of the PU.
The last indicator in modern household PU is usually regulated. However, it is still necessary to select an air handling unit for an apartment in terms of performance in such a range that it subsequently provides at least a single air exchange in the premises.
Where to locate
Also, when designing, of course, you should decide on the installation location of valves or PU. Ordinary, not too powerful PU in most cases are mounted directly in the apartment. Such equipment has a rather aesthetic design and is usually hung in one of the rooms next to a window or balcony door.
More bulky and noisy universal, supplemented with air ducts, supply units for apartments, as already mentioned, are used less often and are most often mounted on the ceilings of loggias. Sometimes they are hung on the facade of the building next to the window.
Inlet valves in city apartments are most often mounted under windows behind heating radiators. This arrangement subsequently provides heating of the air coming from the street in winter. Sometimes valves in apartments are mounted and simply on the wall next to a window or radiator.
Calculationinstallation
In order to choose the right universal PU, first of all, you should determine the volume of the apartment. That is, simply multiply its height, width and length. For example, for an apartment with an area of 30 m2
30x3=90 m3/h
Sometimes, supply ventilation units are also selected for an apartment, capable of providing double air exchange. In our example, the required performance of the launcher will be equal to 180 m, respectively, 3/h.
Calculate the number of valves
With such devices in the kit, as in the case of PU, there is an instruction that indicates their performance. It is quite difficult to accurately calculate the number of valves needed for an apartment. The fact is that the performance of such equipment is indicated by the companies that produce it with a fully open damper. In city apartments, due to not too much pressure, the valve shutter is almost always in one of the intermediate positions. That is, the performance of the valve can vary in a rather large range, depending on pressure drops.
Typically, city property owners don't waste time on complex, precise calculations of the number of valves, but simply install them, one for each person living in the apartment. So many openings in the outer walls for effective ventilation in most casesis enough.
Technology for installing supply valves in an apartment
The installation work of such equipment is usually done as follows:
- apply markings on the wall in the form of a circle;
- according to the marking with a puncher, a series of holes are drilled in the wall with a small step;
- with a hammer and a chisel, the wall material is knocked out within the contour of the circle;
- the infiltration pipe is wrapped with an insulator and inserted into the hole so that it protrudes slightly into the room;
- insert soundproofing material into the pipe;
- lubricate the contour of the hole and the edge of the decorative valve grille with silicone sealant;
- insert the grate into the duct;
- mount the inside of the valve.
At the final stage, the filter washer is attached to the inner wall.
Installation of supply ventilation in the apartment step by step
The installation of a conventional, not too powerful, PU in urban residential real estate is carried out approximately according to the same technology as valves. First, holes for fasteners are drilled in the room according to the size of the installation on the wall. Next, an exit is knocked out under the installation pipe. At the next stage, the PU is simply hung on the wall. At the same time, the branch pipe is displayed on the street.
Installation of universal installations is carried out according to a more complex scheme. In this case, also preliminarily on the ceiling of the loggia or the facade of the housethe PU itself is mounted. Next, the main air duct is connected to it. Then:
- sleeve stretches through the apartment;
- from the main air duct through tees, branches are laid in different rooms.
Helpful tips
Thus, when using modern equipment, it is not difficult to make the microclimate in the apartment more pleasant and he althy. It will be quite easy to install both valves and compact PUs with your own hands. But in order for the supply ventilation in the apartment to work as efficiently as possible in the future, when installing equipment and designing, you should adhere to the following recommendations of specialists:
- When choosing a remote control, you need, among other things, to pay attention to its functionality. It is desirable that it be additionally equipped not only with an air heater, but also with a humidifier, as well as a system for automatically changing parameters, for example, by day of the week.
- When installing universal PU air ducts should be laid in such a way that the number of their turns is minimal. Otherwise, the ventilation system in the apartment may be too noisy.
More complex and expensive equipment
For very large urban real estate, experts advise purchasing, nevertheless, not a supply, but a supply and exhaust unit. For an apartment of a significant volume, such equipment is better suited insofar as when using itexhaust air from the premises will also be removed forcibly.
Installation of the supply and exhaust unit in the apartment is carried out with additional laying of exhaust air ducts. The equipment responsible for the removal and inflow of air, in this case, is often assembled in one building.
Also, experts advise purchasing a supply and exhaust unit for an apartment with a heat exchanger. In this case, the air entering the premises will subsequently be automatically heated from the exhaust air. Inside the recuperator there are many plates through which heat is transferred from one stream to another. Such additional equipment works without being connected to the mains.
At the same time, air handling units for apartments with recuperation that provide artificial air removal are, of course, more expensive than usual ones. However, such equipment will allow property owners to further save on heating and electricity required for heating the air coming from the street.
