Do you know that for optimal storage of vegetables, the temperature in the room should not exceed + 5 * C? In this case, the relative humidity should be no more than 90%. In addition, sunlight should not enter the room, and the air should be clean and fresh. Do you have such conditions in the basement? If not, don't be discouraged. All this is fixable.

Content

1. We determine the characteristics of our storage and draw up an action plan
2. Ventilation system how it works
3. Choosing a basement ventilation method  video

We determine the characteristics of our storage and draw up an action plan

More than two centuries ago, the outstanding Russian scientist A.T. Bolotov wrote that in the room where vegetables are stored there should not be raw and musty air, the vegetables will rot. And at the same time, he notes that there should not be a draft, because he will dry our vegetables. Well, we have nothing to add to the words of the scientist. It remains to be done, as he recommends.

But before you do something, it’s good for us to look around. What does our basement correspond to and what doesn’t? For greater reliability, we need a hygrometer. It is freely sold and costs no more than 10 cu A hygrometer measures both the temperature in the room and relative humidity. So, we measure and draw conclusions:

• if the temperature in winter drops below + 2 * C, we need to insulate the basement, how to do it right you can find out from the corresponding article on this site;
• if the temperature is above +5, then it is necessary to lower it, one of the options to do this is to ensure the proper level of ventilation and isolate the area from heat sources;
• in the case of a slight excess of relative humidity - this can easily be fixed by ventilation, if the basement is too damp (heavy condensation on the walls and ceiling) we make waterproofing, and then we are already doing ventilation;
• air quality is easy to determine, and without any devices, if the musty ventilation system does not fit the area or is completely absent, if there is a draft - the system also needs to be modernized.

So, based on the foregoing, we draw up a work plan. Since the topic of this article is how to make ventilation + in the basement for food storage, we will focus on ventilation systems.

Ventilation system how it works

Before you start choosing a basement ventilation system, let's take a look at what it is and how it works. All ventilation systems are divided according to the following criteria:

• air movement method (natural and artificial);
• designs (monoblock, typesetting, channel and channelless);
• service area (local or general);
• destination (supply, exhaust and supply and exhaust).

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Consider, due to what natural ventilation of any type works (artificial is understood as an electric motor + fan). So, natural ventilation is due to the following factors:

• atmospheric pressure, depends on the height of the building and the depth of the basement (which is why in the supply and exhaust ventilation system, one end of the pipe is higher than the roof ridge, and the other almost at the floor);
• continuous pressure of air masses (ordinary wind);
• temperature difference in the street and in the basement (by the way, the greatest return on such a system is when the temperature difference is 16 * C).

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Thermal and wind motives, i.e. cause of air movement. Since we are talking about the basement, the first one is of little interest to us. This is because it is associated with the temperature of heating the air, and mainly applies to such rooms as a bath, sauna or kitchen. And since our topic is not the ventilation of the basement + in the house, then we will consider only the wind impulse.

Briefly and simply, this means the energy of the wind, which blows the exhaust air from a vertical duct. The easiest and cheapest way to increase this energy is to put a deflector. Using wind energy on the street, he will create a zone of reduced pressure in the duct pipe. Those. the deflector almost forcibly pulls the exhaust air out of the basement.

Based on this knowledge, we proceed to the selection of the system.

Choosing a basement ventilation method

As already mentioned, ventilation systems are artificial and natural. If this is a country house that is visited only on the weekend, then installing an artificial (mechanical) system is not advisable for several reasons:

• whatever the system is, it is still an electrician and a mechanic, and it is not recommended to leave it for a long time without supervision;
• since it is tied to electricity, with its absence there is no ventilation.

Thus, the most reasonable option is the installation of a natural system. Why is she good:

• cheap (no fans, electric motors and other electronics);
• economical since Does not consume traditional energy resources at all;
• structurally simple, and therefore durable;
• autonomous;
• fully compatible with all other ventilation systems at home (if necessary, you can always add artificial).

What will our system look like? Basement ventilation, diagram below. So, we have a schematic plan of the supply and exhaust system. Two air ducts: supply and exhaust (vertical). One end of the supply ventilation pipe is placed no higher than 50-60 cm from the basement floor level. Its second end extends through the foundation / wall hole immediately at the earthen edge. Of course, we install a grid from rodents.

The vertical duct starts immediately at the ceiling and rises higher to the entire height of the house. Its upper part should protrude above the ridge of the roof. They place the pipes in different places, no matter what the suction of fresh air. The higher the pipe, the greater the thrust. If the thrust is not enough, it can always be increased due to the deflector. It is not expensive, but in windy weather it will significantly increase the rate of air exchange in the room.

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By the way, according to the standards for a ventilation system of a room with a humidity level above 80% (our case), ducts made of stainless steel, galvanized pipes or vinyl plastic should be used. The former are expensive, the latter are afraid of low temperatures. Therefore, the galvanized version is very practical. It is more profitable to make a system of pipes, they are 20% cheaper and easier to dock during installation.

And another nuance, do not forget to make a drainage siphon for condensate on a vertical duct. It is made of a pipe with a diameter of more than 20 mm. You can not tinker just buy and install.

The diameter of the pipes or the cross section of a rectangular duct is selected individually depending on the volume of the room. There are special calculation formulas for this. We only note that for a room of up to 8 m2, a pipe with a diameter of 120 mm is enough. That's the whole system.

Author: Sergey and Svetlana Khuentsov

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