The rules for ventilating enclosed, commercial garages are changing at a rapid pace throughout North America, and it pays to stay one step ahead.
At the state and local level, standards long adhered to by the International Mechanical Code (IMC) and the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (ASHRAE) are being surpassed, with an emphasis on much stricter requirements intended to address significant flaws inherent to the long-standing, garage-ventilation paradigm.
Specifically, whereas before you could deploy carbon monoxide (CO) sensors and leave your garage fan motors in the “off” mode until tripped by high contaminant levels, garage ventilation systems must now run continuously during building occupied hours – even when a CO system is in place and operable.
The greatest source of energy consumption – consequently operational cost(s) – for an enclosed, commercial garage is the mechanical system that ventilates it. Up to two thirds of the monthly/annual energy bill is attributable to ventilation costs when garage operators run the property’s garage ventilation system in compliance with code requirements.
This creates a quandary for commercial-building owners and operators: They can put up with the added energy costs they’ll incur to meet the new code requirements or accept the risks associated with ignoring them, because simply shutting off your garage fan motors to avoid energy fees is no longer permitted in a growing number of states.
Fortunately, the NES demand-control ventilation (DCV) for commercial garages represents a quantum leap in technology, converging with the stricter standards to offer garage owner/operators a real and significant means to:
- Maximize building operational efficiencies such that the new, stricter requirements are met fully, if not surpassed; and, even better
- Generate significant energy – and therefore cost – savings.
Our innovative, garage DCV provides a smarter, more capable and adaptable approach to ventilating commercial garages, reaping substantial, across-the-board rewards.