Repair Garage - Overhead Door Make-up Air

Question

Repair Garage - Overhead Door Make-up Air

ME27272727 (Mechanical)

(OP)

21 Mar 24 16:18

I'm working on a vehicle repair bay, and it dawned on me that it would be a lot less hassle and cost to wire a garage door to open upon exhaust purge fan (min 0.75 cfm / SF) activation from NOx / CO2 detection in lieu of large stationary louver with motorized damper. Has anyone ever done this? I'd think door opening with some sort of auxiliary contact and a time delay relay to switch the fan on would be nice setup. Is this a really bad idea even if it's feasible electrically? Thanks.

HVAC-Novice (Mechanical) · Answer 1 · 2024-03-21 19:21:03

What climate? Do you need to heat make-up air?

How reliable is it to rely on the overhead doors? People sometimes de-activate them for service or other reasons. It also may be a safety issue if a door opens suddenly. Or if the control mal-functions the door opens in the middle of the night and intruders steal all cars.... I'm not saying those are realistic scenarios and they may not apply to your case. But you should run that by the owner/operator to get their input.

nuuvox000 (Mechanical) · Answer 2 · 2024-03-25 20:27:53

Opening it is one thing, but what about closing it? How do you know that vehicles and people are not going to be smashed when it closes? Also, seems like a security issue if it's opening without someone actually activating it themselves. I would not do it myself.

trashcanman (Mechanical) · Answer 3 · 2024-04-02 16:24:52

Forget the door opening idea. Instead use a wall mounted motorized louver or a roof intake unit with a motorized damper. Provide burglar bars also. Also, sound alarm if louver is opened or closed without the fan running.

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Repair Garage - Overhead Door Make-up Air