Location of the extractor in ventilation systems

The extractor is an electromechanical device that is part of a ventilation system. This can be defined as the technique that allows replacing the air inside a space, considered inconvenient due to its lack of purity, inadequate temperature, or excessive humidity, with outside air of better characteristics.

In the case of humans, like in other living beings, ventilation is resolved through vital functions such as supplying oxygen for respiration, while also providing comfort conditions affecting humidity, air temperature, and speed. In the case of machines and industrial installations, ventilation allows controlling heat and ambient toxicity.

Ventilation Systems by Depression

Depression ventilation of a space is achieved by placing the extractor in a casing close to the most contaminated areas inside. This causes the extractor to be in depression compared to the atmospheric pressure of the outside air. Therefore, air enters through the inlet ducts, sweeping away the contaminants from the air, renewing it with clean air from outside.

When the system employed is a ventilation system under positive pressure, the procedure followed is the opposite, that is, the fan blows air inside, putting it under positive pressure relative to atmospheric pressure, which forces the air to circulate towards the exit openings to the outside arranged for that purpose in the casing located opposite the previous one.

Possible Locations for an Extractor

Extractors should be placed near sources of contamination to capture the stale air before it spreads throughout the space. The extractor should be kept away from windows to prevent contaminated air from re-entering the interior.

The arrangement of extractors will depend greatly on the location of exterior facades where the air intake or extraction will occur. One possible case is the diametrical arrangement, where the space has two opposing exterior casings. When it comes to a single-family home, this distribution is called a pass-through home. In this case, undoubtedly the best of all possible arrangements, the extractors will be matched in number to the intake ducts and will be perfectly aligned with them to achieve a thorough sweep of all the interior air of the space.

When the location has only one accessible side to the exterior, the extractor will be placed in the same exterior casing where the air intake openings are located. This ensures the sweeping of the interior air, which in this case will not be direct as in the previous case but will make a 180-degree turn.

When there are three accessible sides, the air intake openings will be placed in the facing facades while the third, perpendicular to the previous ones, will have an extractor that will cause the sweep from all the intake points.

Extraction from the ceiling: the extractor is installed at the ridge where a depression is created compared to the outside that moves the air from the air intake ducts located in the facade casings.