Top 5 Consulting-Specifying Engineer articles, November 2-8: Displacement ventilation best practices, HVAC fans and smoke control, fire protection changes in schools, more

Articles about displacement ventilation best practices, HVAC fans and smoke control, fire protection changes in schools, retrofitting HVAC systems, and emergency and standby power were Consulting-Specifying Engineer’s five most clicked articles from last week, November 2-8. Were you out last week? Miss something? You can catch up here.

By Ksenia Avrakhova November 9, 2015

Consulting-Specifying Engineer Top 5 most read articles online, for Nov. 2-8, covered displacement ventilation best practices, HVAC fans and smoke control, fire protection changes in schools, retrofitting HVAC systems, and emergency and standby power. Link to each article below.

1. Displacement ventilation best practices

Displacement ventilation (DV) is a low-velocity, non-turbulent cooling system for commercial buildings that is not always fully understood. Learn when and where these DV systems can be best used.

2. Integration: HVAC fans and smoke control

Fire, life safety, and HVAC systems must be integrated by the engineer to achieve reliability in smoke control systems. This includes mechanical equipment, physical barriers, or a combination of both.

3. Fire protection changes in schools

Changes in codes and in society’s expectations for school safety have driven increased fire protection and security requirements for colleges, universities, and K-12 schools.

4. Your questions answered: Retrofitting HVAC systems in existing buildings

While the mechanical engineering team has much more control over how HVAC systems are designed and how they fit into the facility for new construction, retrofitting HVAC systems to accommodate existing buildings is considerably more challenging.

5. Emergency and standby power in hospitals

Consulting engineers who specify emergency power equipment understand that installations for hospitals are required to comply with NFPA 110 in conjunction with NFPA 70. System designers must interpret the requirements of these standards, ensure their designs follow them, and educate their clients about how the standard affects their operations.

The list was developed using CFE Media’s web analytics for stories viewed on csemag.com, November 2-8, for articles published within the last two months.

– Ksenia Avrakhova, production coordinator, CFE Media, ksia94@gmail.com.