Features of attic ventilation in apartment buildings

The design features of apartment buildings require special attention to the ventilation system. For high-quality air exchange in residential premises, it is necessary not only to rationally design the ventilation system of the house, but also to make sure that the attic and basement are in proper condition.

Often, attic spaces are not given importance, but they are extremely important, especially when you consider that the ventilation of the attic of an apartment building is responsible not only for the comfort of the residents of the upper floors, but also for the safety of the entire structure.

Failure to comply with attic ventilation standards in an apartment building leads to the following consequences:

• Violation of ventilation in the summer. Under the bright sun, the roof overheats, due to this, the air in the attic heats up. If the air exchange is not properly organized, then living in the apartments of the upper floors in the summer becomes uncomfortable, which is why the tenants are forced to supply the rooms with additional air conditioning systems.
• Exhausting the apartments of the upper floors in winter. Due to the temperature difference in the apartment, the humidity rises, condensation forms. This situation is especially familiar to the owners of plastic windows. Condensation damages wallpapers, appliances and furniture, causes mold, fungi and microorganisms harmful to health. Unfortunately, in this situation, the organization of additional heating of the room does not save the situation.

In the attic of an apartment building, high humidity is:

• Condensation is the reason for the slow destruction of the building, a help for the development of corrosion inside reinforced concrete elements and rotting of wooden structures.
• The development of mold and fungi that enter apartments through ventilation shafts and cause various diseases.
• Violation of the natural ventilation system of the entire building.
• Rapid wear of heat-insulating materials, overheating or hypothermia of apartments.

Considering the question of how to make ventilation in the attic of an apartment building, one should take into account not only the need to design high-quality natural ventilation, but also the costs that are required to organize and maintain an artificial ventilation system (supply, exhaust or combined).
The modern rhythm of life is very different from what it was under the Soviet regime, when most apartment buildings were built. These buildings were designed for a different level of noise and air pollution; other materials and technologies were used for construction. This also influenced the creation of ventilation systems.
As for new buildings, in some cases additional artificial ventilation is immediately laid down, it becomes a condition for comfortable living indoors and a guarantee of the safety of the home in the future.

Maintenance of standard mechanical ventilation is an additional load on the power grid, an increase in the payment for electricity required for general house needs.

Of course, modern technology can provide an effective alternative. Solar energy has made it possible to create models of solar collectors, which are becoming indispensable assistants in organizing ventilation both in houses under construction and in the existing housing stock.

Due to its compact dimensions, the collector does not take up much space. The simplicity and aesthetics of the design minimizes maintenance costs. The use of a renewable resource – solar energy – is:

• opportunity to improve the quality of life;
• contribution to the ecology of the region and the city;
• significant savings in electricity consumed for general house needs.

The presence of properly organized ventilation in the attic will avoid the installation of additional climate control systems in apartments, help reduce the need for space heating in winter, minimize the load on the power grid and boiler rooms, and allow the use of attic space for the needs of the administration (for example, rent) and residents.

Attic ventilation equipment