Underground Car Parks: Why Is Ventilation So Important?
Underground car parks are a popular way to provide parking for a building without taking up any of the above-ground space. While car parks allow your residents or customers to securely park their cars on site, underground parking poses some problems.
For example, an underground car park won't necessarily have natural ventilation; these spaces are often completely enclosed. Yet, ventilation is vital in this kind of space. Why do you need a ventilation system in your car park? How can you check whether your current ventilation is up to scratch?
The Importance of Ventilation in Underground Car Parks
Underground ventilation has two primary benefits:
1. Removing Vehicle Fumes
As cars drive in and out of underground parking, they release fumes into the environment. These fumes pollute the atmosphere and pose threats to anyone who is exposed to a lot of them.
For example, car exhaust systems release substances like carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxide. While a little exposure to these pollutants every now and then may not be harmful, regular exposure to a larger buildup of fumes isn't healthy.
If an underground car park doesn't have adequate ventilation, these fumes have nowhere to go. They sit in the space and increase over time until they reach unhealthy levels. A ventilation system channels these pollutants out of the car park, so they can't build up enough to do any harm.
2. Managing Smoke From a Fire
Fires in underground car parks can be hard to manage. If the car park doesn't have a good ventilation system, the smoke stays in the area. This smoke poses a threat to anyone who happens to be in the car park when a fire breaks out. They may be overcome by fumes or may not be able to see through the smoke to find the nearest exit.
Plus, firefighters find it harder to contain and put out a fire if they have to work in a smoke-filled environment. Time is of the essence in an emergency. If cars catch fire, their fuel tanks can explode, so even a small fire quickly grows into a major problem.
If the car park has enough ventilation, smoke from the fire will leach out through the system into the outside. The smoke may not all clear, but the ventilation system should clear enough to make things easier for people trying to escape from the car park and for firefighters who come to put the fire out.
The Importance of Servicing
Ventilation systems only work if they are fit for purpose. Old systems may have worked fine when they were installed. Still, older systems may not provide sufficient ventilation to deal with current car emissions. Even new systems develop faults that prevent them from doing their job in an emergency.
For example, older systems don't always have strong enough mechanised extraction capabilities. Another important difference is that older systems may not come with carbon monoxide monitors that give alerts when these fumes get to dangerous levels.
Because of these concerns, regular servicing is just as important as installing the ventilation system itself. It's your responsibility to ensure that the car park has enough ventilation and that the system is in good working order. You should also replace ventilation systems often enough to maintain safety standards.
If you haven't had your car park's ventilation serviced recently, then contact us. As well as servicing existing systems, Cool Air Conditioning Pty Ltd can help you upgrade your ventilation to bring it up to current standards by installing additional features such as carbon monoxide monitors. We also install new mechanical systems to give you clean air and peace of mind in your underground car park.
