Car Park Ventilation System

What is ventilation & its purposes? Ventilation Standards

There are different standards and guides.
It depends on the countries and cities.

The standards and guides can help to determine the

sizes of fan, openings, air ducts, louvre, air purification
system, etc. Hence, the energy consumption, initials and
running cost of the system.
Mechanical Ventilation Systems

Supply Only System

Exhaust Only System

Balanced System
Air Pollution Control in Car Parks (HK)
Carpark ventilation Calculation Example
1. Introduction
The proposed development at TPTL 225, Pak
the proposed Tai Po,. N.T.
Shek Kok,building
commercial have have
a oneastorey basement
one storey basement Data of air quality was taken from the record of EPD’s air quality monitoring statics given in
carpark. Details of the carpark are summarized as below: “Air Quality in Hong Kong 2013” for the estimation. Values of the highest 4 hourly pollution
Basement area: 10053m2 concentration were taken.
Floor to floor height: 4m Among the various locations in the report, Tsuen Wan is the nearest location to the site for the
Parking spaces for private car: 273 specific data of NO2, the data are used in this calculation. It varies differently according to
Parking spaces for motor cycle: 15 locations in Hong Kong.
c) Vehicular movement within car park
The worst case traffic happens during the morning peak of the car parking area when residents
The proposed car parking area at the premises will be provided with mechanical ventilation. The drive their car out was adopted in the calculation. It is assumed that a maximum of 60 per cent
ventilation rate for the car parking area is determined to comply with the Environment Protection of vehicles per hour will be traveling in the parking basement.
Department air quality guidelines. Total vehicle Idling timer per Total idling time
movement per hour movement
2. Air Quality Guidelines (273+15)x0.6=173 3 mins 519 mins (8.65 hrs)
The following guidelines as stipulated in the EPD Professional Persona Practice Notes “Control of
Air Pollution in Car Parks” (Pro PECC PN2/96 issued on June 1996) should be met within the car d) Average speed of vehicle movement
parking area. Assumed to be 5 km/hr
Maximum Concentration
Air Pollutant Averaging time (µg/m3) (ppm) e) Length of longest lane inside the car park happens from basement to the exit
Around 200m = 0.2km

f) Conversion ratio for NOx/ NO2

Carbon Monoxide 1 hour 30,000 26.19
Assumed to be 20%
(CO) 5 minutes 115,000 100
4. Calculation of Ventilation Rate
Using the following formulas (extracted from World Road Association PIARC 1987), the air
Nitrogen Dioxide 1 hour 300 0.16 quantity required for the dilution of CO and NO2 emitted from the idling and traveling vehicles
(NO2) 5 minutes 1,800 1 inside the car park can be estimated.
a) For idling vehicle, the fresh air quantity
°
For the NO2 and CO are the major constituents of vehicle exhaust, the buildup of these pollutants 𝑄 = ×𝑇 × ×𝐹 , for CO
is the controlling factor of the ventilation rate required for the parking area.
°
𝑄 = ×𝑇 × ×𝐹 , for NO2
3. Assumption
a) Basic emission factors the vehicle type of petrol private carts & light goods vehicle are:
i) For idling vehicle, b) For travelling vehicle, the fresh air quantity
°
Pollutant Basic Emission Factor (Idling) 𝑄 = ×𝐷 × ×𝐷×𝐹 , for CO
CO 120 g/hr-veh
NO2 4.72x0.2=0.94 g/hr-veh 𝑄 =
°
×𝐷 × ×𝐷×𝐹 , for NO2

ii) For travelling vehicle, Where,

𝑄 = required air quantity per second (m3/s)
Pollutant Basic Emission Factor (Travelling)
𝑞 ° 𝐶𝑂 = basic value of CO emission per vehicle (g/hr-veh)
CO 4.4 g/km-veh
𝑞 ° 𝑁𝑂 = basic value of NO2 emission per vehicle (g/hr-veh)
NO2 0.80x0.2=0.16 g/km-veh 𝐶𝑂 = maximum permissible CO concentration (µg/m3)
𝑁𝑂 = maximum permissible NO2 concentration (µg/m3)
b) Background air quality 𝑇 = total idling engine running time in hr
Pollutant µg/m3 ppm Location 𝐷 = number of traveling vehicle per km = hourly traffic volume of traveling vehicles Ntv
CO 2070 1.80 Tai Po / mean driving speed of vehicles V
NO2 186 0.10 Tsuen Wan 𝐷 = travelling distance (km)
𝐹 = correction factor for ambient fresh air concentration of CO or NO2

1 2
 4.1. Carbon Monoxide (CO) for Idling Vehicles
Ventilation rate required to counteract the effect of CO emitted from idling vehicle with engine 6. Air Change Rate
Provided air change rate per hour is:
running is calculated as shown below:
= (3600 x (11.5 x 6)) / (10053 x 4)
𝑞 ° 𝐶𝑂 10 = 6.18 ACH
𝑄 = ×𝑇 × ×𝐹
3600 𝐶𝑂
120 10 1 7. Conclusion
= × 8.65 × × The estimated ventilation rate to meet the EPD Air Quality Guidelines for the car park is 33.30
3600 30000 (1 − 2070 )
30000 m3/s. The designed mechanical ventilation system at the flow rate of 69.00m3/s is therefore with
= 10.32𝑚 /𝑠 the standard.

4.2. Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) for Idling Vehicles

Ventilation rate required to counteract the effect of NO2 emitted from idling vehicle with engine
running is calculated as shown below:
𝑞 ° 𝑁𝑂 10
𝑄 = ×𝑇 × ×𝐹
3600 𝑁𝑂
0.94 10 1
= × 8.65 × ×
3600 300 (1 − 186)
300
= 19.81𝑚 /𝑠

4.3. Carbon Monoxide (CO) for Travelling Vehicles

Ventilation rate required to counteract the effect of CO emitted from travelling vehicle with
engine running is calculated as shown below:
𝑞 ° 𝐶𝑂 10
𝑄 = ×𝐷 × ×𝐷×𝐹
3600 𝐶𝑂
4.4 × 5 173 10 1
= × × × 0.2 ×
3600 5 30000 2070
(1 − )
30000
= 1.51𝑚 /𝑠

4.4. Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) for Travelling Vehicles

Ventilation rate required to counteract the effect of NO2 emitted from travelling vehicle with
engine running is calculated as shown below:
𝑞 ° 𝑁𝑂 10
𝑄 = ×𝐷 × ×𝐷×𝐹
3600 𝑁𝑂
0.16 × 5 173 10 1
= × × × 0.2 ×
3600 5 300 186
(1 − )
300
= 13.49𝑚 /𝑠

5. Ventilation Rate Requirement for Car Parking Area

Source of Emission Ventilation Rates Required for Different Pollutants
CO NO2
Idling (m3/s) 10.32 19.81
Travelling (m3/s) 1.51 13.49
Total (m3/s) 11.83 33.30
Required Ventilation Rate (m3/s) 33.30
Provided Ventilation Rate (m3/s) 11.5 x 6 = 69.00

3
Car Park Ventilation Type: (b) Mechanical Ventilation
(a) Natural Ventilation Mechanical Systems provide the greatest level of performance
for both smoke removal and carbon monoxide (CO) clearance
(b) Mechanical Ventilation and are required for underground car parks.
- Supply & Exhaust
- Exhaust + natural make-up Generally, the EPD guide will be referred and calculate the
required air change rate to remove the accumulated air
(c) Hybrid System (Any systems of (a) or (b) + Jet fan) pollutants created by the vehicles.

As rule of thumb, 6-10 ACH will be generally sufficient for

(a) Natural Ventilation keeping the air pollutants concentration level well below EPD
It is suitable for car park with permanent openings at requirement in HK.
each level for natural ventilation purposes.

In FSD COP, "Car Port" is defined as "A covered parking

area open for its entire length or width on at least 2
sides".

The FS installations will be different for fully enclosed car

park and car port.
Typical mechanical ventilation
This ventilation is not suitable for underground car parks. - air duct is required.

Remarks:
1. As there is no opening can be made
at basement floor, it is necessary to
have make-up duct shafts with
openings on ground to allow ambient
air entering to the basement car park
space.

2. What is the reason of a low-level

make-up air?

Rumsey Street Car Park with

natural ventilation, Sheung Wan
(a) Hybrid Ventilation

This can be any mixed form of natural ventilation or

mechanical ventilation with the aid from Jet Fan to
improve the cross-flow of air.

Impulse jet fans may be installed within the car park.

These are intended to direct any smoke towards the
extract points. The activation of the impulse jets may be
delayed in order to ensure that occupants means of
escape is not compromised by the action of the impulse
fan system.

Some CO2/NO2 sensor may be required to install at low

level of car park to sense the instantaneous air pollutants
concentration in order to activate the nearby Jet Fan to
"boost" the air pollutants toward the fixed point of air
extraction. The effectiveness of Jet Fan can be determined by a CFD simulation.
Normally, it is carried out by the Supplier since they have their product (Jet
Fan)' s operation data to help them to suggest a proper type of Jet Fan
and an effective and efficient jet fan layout for your project in reality.

As a designer, you shall need to further verify the recommended fan

selection and layout from Supplier.

Typical Hybrid System with Jet Fan

Effectiveness of the Car park ventilation system (b) Ceiling features

This depends on 2 key issues:

(1) Calculated flow rate is sufficient to predict the real

situation.
(You may need to work with Transport Consultant
/ Engineer to know their design on the carpark,
such as how many car parking space, different
types of vehicles (different vehicles emit different
air pollutants.)
Fan’s air movement parallel to beams is most effective Fan’s air movement perpendicular to beams is less effective

(2) Design layout on location of fans and air

movement path that can effectively extract the air (c) Vertical Clearance
pollutants and discharge to outdoor.

Different fans/ air duct arrangement layout will

greatly affect the effectiveness of car park
ventilation system.

Carpark geometry will also affect the car park

ventilation efficiency and effectiveness. As we are
not Architect, we cannot alter the decision of car
Sufficient clearance VS Insufficient clearance
park architectural layout.
(d) Obstructions
There are 3 types of air paths to demostrate how
they affect the car park ventilation

(a) ‘Natural air path’

Obstruction too close vs Obstruction out of the way

Preferred natural air path

Natural air path to be avoided
(e) Clashes with other services
 Step 3 - Design Example
ComLink Design Parameters Placement of CO sensors:
Aviator controls should be placed in the Mechanical Services Because the guidelines for positioning CO sensors
Switchboard enclosure. The RS485 ComLink line must start at in AS1668.2:2012 is based on a ducted system,
the controller and then daisy chain to all the JetVent Fans and we propose that the following guidelines be used as
For the purpose of estimating costs, the steps below may be bypassed. Allow 5N of a starting point for their placement in a jet fan system.
Drives. The last connection must have an End-of-Line resistor.
thrust per 100m2 of car park floor area to approximate the number of fans required. If the line is greater than 1,000m or includes more than 32
1. No part of the enclosure shall be greater than
connected devices, then a communications repeater must be
Fans should be placed in the laneways with the air blowing along them. This is to avoid added to extend the line. A repeater can also be used where 25 metres from a sampling point.
obstructions such as parked cars and also ensure that the throw pattern of the selected fan is the ComLink line branches off, such as at the beginning of (A 50 metre diameter circle around a CO sensor can
long enough to reach the next JetVent fan. each level in a multi-story car park. show coverage areas).
2. Additional detectors shall be installed in areas
Fantech can provide support for electrical cabling mark-up
JetVent Design Parameters; where people may congregate within the car park
designs, to help ensure the most efficient ComLink strategy and are not within separately ventilated areas.
• Based on 5N per 100m2 floor area, minimum total fan thrust = car park floor area x 5N/100m2
is used.

= 1920m2 x 5N/100m2
3. The most practical mounting position for a CO
= 96N
sensor within a car park is the support columns.
• Minimum thrust criteria can be achieved with
4 x JIU-CPCEC-SD fans on preset speed (operating thrust 4. CO sensors will be more effective if placed in areas
28.4N), total fan thrust = 28.4N x 4= 113.6N. where CO levels are likely to be higher. Eg. Placing a
CO sensor in front of a fresh air intake is not
• Fans are spaced within the 30m spacing recommendation for thrust levels.
likely to be effective.
• Final fan to wall spacing under 40m maximum spacing
If jet fans are placed in each laneway of a car park and
guide lines for fan thrust. This is because the exhaust
the recommended preset speed jet fan spacings are
point is an area of low pressure, making it likely to enhance
followed, the above guidelines can be achieved by using
the fan throw distance.
one CO sensor per jet fan and providing additional CO
ne) ) ne) sensors at congregation points. Therefore, for this car park
r Zo one r Zo ne)
n so n sor Z en so
r Zo we would suggest installing 5 (4 + 1) CO sensors for
Se e S o
S O ns good coverage.
CO (C
O (C Se
r( ter ter CO
ete me
iame e r(
d iam dia d et
m m 50
m iam
50 50 d
m
50

VSD
CONTROLLER
Exhaust
Fan
Key
CO Sensor (1 or 2 per fan)

RS485 ComLink cable

Fan Fan 3 Phase Power Supply

Fan 4 JetVent EC Fans

5 CO Sensors

CONTROLLER 1 Aviator Controller

VSD VSD
2 Variable Speed Drives (VSD)
Supply
Air

Fan
Fan SUB
Fan Termination EOL (120R 1/4W)
SUB 5 Smoke Detectors

Car park floor area = 1920m2

26 © FANTECH © FANTECH 27