- Why is smoke and heat extraction so important?
The smoke and heat extraction system (RWA) is classed under “preventive fire
protection” and will save life in the event of a fire. During a fire considerable quantities of combustion products such as smoke and fire gases and heat energy are produced. The most important task of an RWA is to discharge the products of combustion from the building efficiently and quickly. Rooms and buildings without RWA fill up with toxic smoke gases within a very short time. The risk of people trying to escape and the rescue services is strongly increased in buildings without RWA since the lack of smoke and heat extraction leads to an uncontrolled blazing fire, and the thick smoke makes active and passive rescue impossible.
Fire victims caused by direct contact with fire only occur very rarely. Almost 90% of the fatal fire accidents are due to suffocation caused by smoke gases. “Fire victims are smoke victims”- there are two reasons for this:
- Lethal constituents in smoky gas
- Corrosive components which burn the lung and airways when breathed in
Large amounts of smoke gas rise on account of thermal buoyancy and fill the room or building with smoke. The high ambient temperature can lead to the building collapsing in worst cases. In summary, the following objectives are achieved by the use of smoke and heat extraction systems in buildings:
- Personal protection: keeping rescue routes smoke-free
- Active rescue
- Passive rescue
- Localisation of the fire
2. Environmental protection: reducing damage to the environment
- Minimising damage caused by fire extinguishing activities
- Minimum use of extinguishing agents
3. Property protection: conserving the building structure
- Support for fire fighting
- Ventilation of the fire
- Minimisation of the thermal load
- How natural smoke and heat extraction works?
In the event of a fire, the RWA openings in the upper part of the building are opened. The hot ascending smoke gases can escape through these openings even during the initial phase. The necessary fresh air openings in the lower part of the building assist this process by balancing out the required mass flow. Ventilation with GEZE Drives The aeration and ventilation with electromechanical drives has the following objectives:
- “Accessibility for all”: the electrical ventilation drive systems are convenient
and easy to operate. - Controlled ventilation: with the aid of control technology that can be
configured to match the individual ventilation requirements in a building,
these systems permit intelligent, coordinated and user-independent building
ventilation. GEZE window drives are excellently suitable for the automation of
ventilation windows. If an RWA is used, its drives can of course also be used
for daily ventilation.