Short report “Cost Effective Ventilation in Hot & Humid Climates”

During a well-attended event organized by KIVI Kring Caribbean – Aruba on the 29th of June 2023, speaker Jan van Haren Manager at Pro-tec Mechanical Contractors Aruba gave an excellent presentation on the importance of proper building ventilation.

     

His presentation can be found here.

Some highlights of the presentation are:

  • Pressurize the building with preconditioned outside air
  • Standards indicate proper ventilation rates. An example for an office space was shown: 25 m3 fresh air per hour per person on 10 m2 area
  • Preconditioning requires energy leading to extra operational costs
  • Measure CO2 or VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) in spaces where people are
  • CO2 healthy level of 1200 ppm or less should be maintained
  • Although preconditioning of outside air has its cost the benefits are much bigger, i.e. less sickness, more productivity of persons present in the building and lower building maintenance costs
  • CO2 measurement before and after the presentation showed a surprisingly increase up to 3000 ppm in Room A  of the University of Aruba, where the activity was organized. A clear lack of ventilation that created an unacceptable high level of CO2.

      

The speaker Jan van Haren also provided the participants with some handouts on this topic.