Best Practice Guide

Food and Beverage Growers and Processors

Introduction

Planning an Energy Program

Funding and Approval

Commissioning

On-the-Farm Energy Use

Lighting

Building Envelope

Central HVAC System

Industrial HVAC and Energy Use

Reducing Loads

Optimization

Condenser/Chilled Water Subsystem

Heating Subsystem

Air Handling Subsystem

Natural Ventilation and Air Infiltration

Boilers

Steam

Combined Heat and Power

Compressed Air

Refrigeration

Motors

Demand Response

Distributed Generation

Water Use


Fetzer Vineyard

J Vineyards and Winery

Mission Foods

S. Martinelli and Company

Sara Lee

Vineyard 29


View the Glossary

Central HVAC System

Natural Ventilation and Air Infiltration

Printer-friendly version

Share your thoughts

Vineyard 29 in Napa Valley. Photo courtesy of Vineyard 29.View Details.

All buildings need some sort of natural or artificial ventilation. Not only does proper ventilation prevent the buildup of harmful indoor air contaminants like mold, mildew, and soot, it also plays a big role in controlling indoor temperatures.

Otfen, the best cooling is still as simple as opening a window. Large bay doors, clerestories, and/or windows are easily manipulated to allow outside breezes to push air into a building, forcing hot air upwards and out. In new construction or with major renovations, architects and engineers can model these airflow patterns and purposefully design apertures that maximize natural ventilation.

Wind-driven ventilators can also be used. These use no energy, unlike their mechanical counterparts that use electricity to power a small motor. Wind-driven ventilators provide natural ventilation and help exhaust indoor air to the outside.

With either natural or mechanical ventilation systems, free night cooling during warm summer months is an excellent no-cost way to lower energy use and stay cool. Open all air vents when nighttime temperatures drop so that the cool air can circulate and lower indoor temperatures. This technique is particularly suited to buildings with high thermal mass, such as those with concrete walls, since these buildings are slower to cool down, but slower, too, to heat up. Free cooling helps keep indoor temperatures comfortable even as outdoor temperatures rise.

Air infiltration - basically, uncontrolled air leaks - is the opposite of natural ventilation. In the summer, hot outdoor air enters inside while cool, conditioned air escapes outside. In the winters, cold air enters and warm air escapes. Besides adding to HVAC loads, air infiltration causes uncomfortable drafts and may lead to the buildup of humidity. To avoid air infiltration, insulate carefully around all doors and windows and install weather stripping. Also check curtains and doorways around cold storage, process freezing, and other refrigerated areas.

Business Examples

The winery at Vineyard 29 employs principles of passive solar design and natural ventilation to help minimize the use of energy-intensive heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment.


A carved cut into the hillside was structurally reinforced so that the building could be backed into the hill. The rear portion of the winery sits two-thirds below the grade; inside, 30 to 40 foot ceilings form one large volume of space in which the temperature is tempered by the thermal mass of the hill itself, rarely getting too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter. Vent shafts in the rear work with front-facing windows and doors to push hot air through the interior and out the shafts, creating a chimney effect.


Other architectural elements aid climate control within the winery. The building's front is north facing, which helps the entire building block solar radiation. Louvers and low-emissivity windows reduce solar heat gain through windows, but also let in ample natural light.