HVAC and Fire Protection in Building Safety

This research paper discusses the importance of HVAC and fire protection systems in ensuring building safety. It covers topics such as exhaust fans, evaporative cooling devices, pressurization, mechanical ventilation, location requirements, sprinkler systems, and types of fire detectors and alarm systems.

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32. Exhaust fan
There are some considerations that should be taken into account when using an exhaust fan
include:
Exhaust fans that are not necessary to be shut down should be provided with electrical supply
from a clearly labelled devoted main switch.
The opening should be protected with a fire damper together with smoke damper and the exhaust
fan should stop functioning during fire mode (Australia, Australian Board 2009).
The exhaust fan should be installed and used according to the operating and installation
instructions of the manufacturers.
The exhaust fan should be inspected and reviewed by fire authorities and local building to
determine compliance with applicable fire and building codes.
33. Regulations regarding exhaust fans usage
Microbial Control: Under the Air handling and water systems of the building, there is a provision
regarding any room within a building is demanded by the Building Code of Australia to be
ventilated with outside air by the use of the mechanical system. This is to prevent providing a
condition that may favor the growth of microorganisms such as extreme moisture in the room.
Safety regulation: Bathrooms are normally cleaned with chemicals that are very aggressive
which may result in numerous health issues when inhaled. These chemicals can easily be
eliminated through the exhaust fan (Australia, Building Board 2015).
34. Evaporative cooling device
Evaporative cooling device is a device that cools air through water evaporation due to the large
enthalpy of vaporization of water by the use of thermal energy in the air, leading to a lower
temperature of the air. The dry air temperature significantly drops through the transition of phase

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to water vapour from liquid water. This cal, result in cooling of air by use of less energy
compared to refrigeration (Burke 2011).
Limitations
The evaporative cooling device requires frequent maintenance compared to other systems of
cooling such as refrigeration. This is because it builds up mineral and salts deposits which have
to be eliminated especially in areas of hard water. Since this device uses screens, nozzles, blades,
and wet pads for dispersion of water into the air, these surfaces may become a breeding ground
for bacteria, mildew, and mould in case the device is not regularly cleaned. The evaporative
cooling device is also climate dependent since it needs to operate in a dry climate. This device
also requires a constant supply of water and cannot be an effective device in regions where there
is the scarcity of water (Gupton 2012).
35. Pressurisation
Pressurisation is the application of pressure in a given environment or situation. Pressurisation
process is normally applied in cabin pressurization, where conditioned air is pumped into the
cabin of a spacecraft or aircraft so as to enable a comfortable and safe environment for crew and
passengers flying at high altitudes (Burke 2011).
36. Mechanical Ventilation
Comfort zone: Can be defined as a condition of mild that articulates contentment with the
thermal environment and it is evaluated through subjective evaluation. The human body
produces extra heat into the environment for continuity of its operation such that the transfer of
heat is proportional to the difference in temperature (Burke 2011).

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Climate Control: This is the maintenance of working environment through ventilation, cooling,
and heating by use of energy efficiency ways such as using the mechanical ventilation system or
natural ventilation grills (Gupton 2012).
Chiller Unit: This is a system used in generating cold water for air conditioning by removing
unwanted heat from the structure. Air cooled chiller unit uses fans to blow cool ambient air over
the condenser to eliminate heat from the system (Burke 2011).
37. Location of Air-condition plant
The air-conditioning plants are normally positioned on the roof of the building since the roof is
the ideal position for fresh air intake and heat rejection to the atmosphere. The cooling process is
normally noisy, and releases humid and hot exhaust air, hence the best position for the plant is on
the roof (Australia, Australian Board 2009).
38. Building Code of Australia (Air-conditioning)
Air-conditioning is one of the most significant factors for maintaining the quality of healthy
indoor air inside the building and the Building Code of Australia (BCA) demands that any room
occupied within a residence should have proper air-conditioning with outdoor air. A room within
a building is demanded by the Building Code of Australia to be conditioned with air outside by
the use of the fan or other mechanical systems that comply with Australian Standard AS1668.2
in case natural ventilation is not provided (Australia, Building Board 2015).
39. Air conditioning and Mechanical Ventilation
Air conditioning is a system that is made of cooling/warming mechanism and ventilation which
takes the air from the inside. Warms or cools it, and conveys it back to the structure. The

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function of air conditioning is to warm or cool that air to an appropriate temperature that is
required so as to ensure the comfort of occupants.
Mechanical ventilation is a system that enables movement of air in a circle by taking the air that
is in the structure, and without making any alterations to the air, the system mixes it with the
fresh air from outside since the temperature of the air exterior is lower than the inside one, and
then circulates the mixed air and fresh back into the structure (Codes 2011).
40. Airflow is a space
Some of the factors that affect the airflow in a space include:
Heat: Presence of heat in a space affects the airflow since hot air tends to rise while cold air
tends to remain below the space.
Presence of moisture: Presence of moisture in the space may result in condensation of the moist
air.
Design of the space: The design and shape of the space in which air is flowing affect the
movement and speed of air as it flows (Codes 2011).
41. Location requirements
External fire hydrants should be situated in a position that enables access to the pedestrians to the
building for the fire brigade or when installed as a feed fire hydrant within 20m of a handstand
such that when a appliances of fire brigade for pumping is linked to it, all building portions
should be within range of a 10m hose stream, delivering from a nozzle at the terminal length of
60 m of hose placed on the ground (AS2419.1).
Fire appliance hardstand areas and access; The fire appliances should be located on a site
adjacent to fire brigade booster connection, feed fire hydrants, and water storage tanks. A
minimum height clearance for all fire appliances of 4.20 m is acceptable under service bridges

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and pipelines. The fire appliance access way should have a minimum of 3.5 m, however, for
large isolated building, the entire perimeter vehicular access should have a minimum of 6m
throughout (International 2010).
42. Fire services
The fire services water has large diameter pipework compared to the ordinary water reticulation
since this pipework is designed to operate at pressures between 800kPa and 2000kPa due to their
wide diameter ranges of 89mm to 127mm. These wider diameters and high pressures are to
satisfy the flow requirements. This range of pressure can easily bust the normal water pumps
which have smaller diameters and cannot withstand this high pressure.
43. Sprinkler system
A sprinkler system is made up of a nozzle coupled to a pipe network and mounted beneath the
ceiling of a building. This system has a minute glass bulb with water in it. This bulb usually
prevents the water flow. In case of fire, the liquid in the bulb becomes hot, and then expand
resulting in shattering of the glass bulb which acts as an obstacle to the flow of water. The water
from the network pipes can then spray from the sprinkler. This system is activated automatically
in case of fire through expansion of water in the bulb unlike fire hydrant which has to be
operated by trained personnel manually (Burke 2011).
44. Sprinkler system
Sprinkler systems should have a separate water supply which may be a dedicated gravity tank to
provide sufficient, reliable, and flow of water since the sprinkler system is designed to apply
water at numerous degrees depending on the risk being sheltered. When this uses common water
supply, then there can be fluctuations due to may factor such as increased water consumption in

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the house or shortage in water supply, this fluctuation will affect the performance of the sprinkler
system since the water supplied to the systems may be insufficient to put out the fire (Gupton
2012).
45. Types of sprinkler system
There are four different types of sprinkler systems currently with reference to Australian
Standards, these include:
A deluge sprinkler system: These categories of fire sprinkler systems need a heat or smoke
detector like the system of pre-action. The system has an open nozzle that can be applied in case
or presence of the hazard. This sprinkler system is normally used in case of presence of
flammable liquids on the building such as in industrial sector where there are numerous
flammable liquid tanks.
Wet pipe fire sprinkler systems: This type of system constantly have water in them to enable
quick recovery to the fire and this is the most common sprinkler type used installed in houses in
Australia. This system has low maintenance and is also cost-effective. This type of sprinkler
system is normally applied office or high-rise buildings with few floors (Gupton 2012).
Pre-action sprinkler system with filled water and air: In this sprinkler system, water and air are
permitted to pass through when smoke detector or alarm goes off. This system requires two
triggers to commence the flow of water. This system can be set to prevent spouting of water in
case of mechanical failure or false alarm. This type of sprinkler system is normally applied in
places where sprinklers are specifically significant when there is real fire so as to prevent water
damage from accidental sprinklings such as in data centers, libraries, galleries, and museums
(Burke 2011).

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Dry pipe sprinkler system: This sprinkler system is comparable to the pre-action sprinkler system
since they use air that is pressurized which exits before the escape of water. This results in the
delay in discharge of water and it is applicable for buildings with low temperatures to prevent
freezing of pipes. This type of sprinkler system is applied in a parking garage where there are
low temperatures overnight without heating facilities (International 2010).
46. Types of fire detectors and alarm systems
Photoelectric: This smoke detector is the most common detector. The smoke is detected by the
use of the principle of light scattering or light obscuration.
Advantages
Provide early warning. When used in classrooms, it provides adequate time for the students to
vacate the building.
Sensitive to visual smoke particles. When used in industries, the fire can be detected even before
it actually begins
Detects smouldering low heat fires. This makes detecting very effective when used in the kitchen
since it can detect in case of the heat rises above the allowable level (Burke 2011).
Disadvantages
High potential for a false alarm when used in the kitchen since it may detect the heat from
heating systems and give a false alarm.
It must be cleaned on a regular basis especially when used in industries where it is bound to be
tainted by industrial fumes and smoke.
Contaminations caused by dust from classrooms may reduce its sensitivity (Burke 2011)y.
Ionization: This type of fire detector is common uses due to its ability to detect smoke
originating from fire especially of fires generating tiny particles during combustion.
Advantages

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It can detect invisible products of combustion. This can be effective when used in laboratories
where there can be fire without any fire particles being generated.
Earlier detection compared to other thermal or smoke detector. This is very advantageous when
used in public places such as hospitals where there is need of enough time to enable exit of a
large number of people within a short duration.
Early detection is also very significant is companies where there is need of quick termination of
industrial processes in case of fire since the majority of these processes may promote spread of
fire (Australia, Australian Board 2009).
Disadvantages
May provide false detection is used where there are solvents that are volatile. This can happen in
laboratories where there are many solvents that may trigger the false alarm.
The false detection can also be experienced in industries dealing in volatile chemicals and this
false detection may result in shutting down of all the industrial processes.
This alarm system only detects the presence of smoke only and not toxicity. There are fumes that
can be dangerous than fire especially in manufacturing companies (Burke 2011).
Flame detector: This is used in the detection of light radiation component of a fire. This
component is normally used in areas where explosions or fires are rapidly occurring.
Advantages
Extremely fast acting. This feature makes it suitable for use in companies dealing with
inflammable chemicals.
This component can also be effective in largely populated business premises where there is a
need for a quick-fire response to enable fast exit.
This device can also be applied in fuel loading docks to enable fast detection of the fire (Codes
2011).
Disadvantages
Expensive: This is the reason why many private industries cannot afford it.
Requires unobstructed field of view. This device is only effective in places where there are no
obstacles. An obstacle may lead to failure of the system to detect the fire leading to damages in
industries.

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Difficult to maintain. The maintenance difficulty is the main reason why many of these detectors
have failed in schools and have not been repaired (Codes 2011).
47. Role of the fire authority
The County Fire Authority in Victoria provides emergency and firefighting services to regional
town and rural areas in Victoria. This body provides information regarding fire issues relating to
the building design, maintenance, alteration, services, and construction. It also inspects a new
building to investigate if the fire safety requirements are in accordance with the Building Code of
Australia. The authority provides day-to-day advice regarding the construction activities of the
building. After the construction of a building is complete, the County Fire Authority monitor the
fire precautions, ensure that the electrical systems are safe, fire-fighting equipment is in position,
and escape routes and fire doors are appropriately positioned before occupants can start using the
building (International 2010).

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Bibliography
Australia, Building Code of. 2009. Australian Board. Perth: CCH Australia.
Building Board. 2009. Australia: Australian Building Codes Board.
Burke, Robert. 2011. Fire Protection: Systems and Response. Sydney: CRC Press.
Codes, Building. 2011. National Construction Code: Building code of Australia Class 1 and Class 10
buildings. Australia: Australian Building Codes Board.
Gupton, Guy. 2012. HVAC Controls: Operation & Maintenance. Perth: The Fairmont Press, Inc.
International, Codes. 2010. Building Code of Australia. Melbourne: Australian Building Codes Board,
Standards Australia International Limited.