Automatic Opening Vent Systems (AOV)
Fire and Security Consultancy ltd install and maintain all forms of A O V system and also install an addressable interface to existing AOV systems to modify them to automatic control. We are the preferred installer for many Architect led designs and have been called upon to install AOV systems to new residential blocks throughout the South East. We install and maintain a vast array of equipment and have contracts in place with most manufacturers, ensuring that we can provide suitable support to your property, including Velux, S E Controls, Dyer and SCS systems.
Your building's occupants' safety relies on your regular maintenance of the Automatic Opening Ventilation (A.O.V.) system. This needs to be serviced and maintained at least once a year to conform to BS7346, BS5588 and EN12101. It is recommended that an A.O.V. system is regularly serviced and maintained by specialised personnel on a regular basis.
To comply with the latest building regulations every communal stairwell must have an Automatic Opening Vent to extract smoke. Most large buildings contain sufficient air to sustain a substantial fire, so the well known domestic advice to shut all doors in the event of a fire do not apply.
In fact the exact opposite applies. The greatest immediate danger to the occupants of a large building in the event of a fire comes from the smoke rather than the heat of the fire. Even a small fire can rapidly fill a large building with smoke to an extent where people escaping the building cannot see to find the escape routes and can be overcome by smoke inhalation.
The recognised method of addressing these problems is to provide a smoke ventilation system with automatically operated roof ventilators.
There are two types of smoke ventilation systems and it is important not to confuse the two:
Smoke Clearance Systems
These are installed in the corridors and stairwells of hotels, blocks of flats and the like and in enclosed or underground car parks. Their purpose is to ventilate the affected spaces which may become completely smoke logged following a fire. They are intended to clear the smoke to facilitate access. They are not specifically intended to offer protection to occupants escaping the building.
Life Safety Smoke Ventilation Systems
These are intended to provide a level of protection to people escaping the building. They are typically installed in shopping centres or malls, retail and private warehouses, public and industrial buildings and the like where due to the design of the buildings the escape routes to outside are complex or escape distances are greater then those recommended in the building regulations.
Such systems are designed so that the expected quantity of smoke is vented from the area leaving a layer of clean air below. Within this clear layer people are able to pass and exit the building safely. Smoke ventilation systems do not generally have any influence on the size of a fire in the building and they are therefore often used in conjunction with water sprinkler systems which can often contain the fire to a predetermined size.
In the case of a fire within a building, more than 60% of fatalities are caused by smoke poisoning. Smoke ventilation devices allow for the life-threatening smoke to be released into the open or to dilute its concentration. The danger is therefore reduced before smoke spreads through a building and escape routes like halls and staircases become impassable.
Automatic opening devices can be fitted to windows, roof-lights or doors. These devices will be linked to a central control panel, complete with a battery backup system in case of mains failure. This control panel can then be triggered from either manual override switches local to the ventilator and the ground floor, by dedicated smoke detectors, or by interfacing with a third party smoke detection/fire alarm system.
We provide regular maintenance and testing of all smoke ventilation systems. As a potentially life-saving system, it is important to maintain the reliability and efficiency of each and every installation.