ᐅ Elevator in a Single-Family Home – Is Concern About Excessive Air Draft Justified?
Created on: 25 Jul 2023 09:29
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bwollowb
We are planning to install an elevator in our new single-family house. However, from my experience at work, strong winds can cause drafts through the elevator shaft, which naturally creates a whistling noise. I am now concerned that we might have the same issue in our future home. Is this worry justified? Can anyone share their insights? Thank you!
ypg schrieb:
May I ask the reason for the elevator?I think this is still missing https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/grundriss-planung-unbedingt-vor-beitrag-erstellung-lesen.11714/ 🙂https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
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ypg schrieb:
May I ask the reason for the elevator? It can’t be for wheelchair accessibility since the overall design doesn’t really support that. Of course, you can ask! I have a condition that makes it likely I will need a wheelchair in old age. The rest of the house isn’t optimized for that yet because I don’t want to plan everything around that right now or be reminded of it every day.
Oh no. But it’s good that you can plan ahead.
bwollowb schrieb:I can understand that as well. However, I would not only do this then, but generally, remove or reduce the narrowing offset in the front area of the hallway caused by the corner of the wardrobe, so that the hallway forms a straight line. The same applies to the hallway on the upper floor in that area; I would also generally leave out the unnecessary door to the bedroom (behind the dressing room) and the separate toilet in the master bathroom. One would think you won doors and corners by the dozen in the price quoting.
The reason the rest of the house isn’t optimized for this yet is because I don’t want to align everything for it now and be reminded of it every day.
H
hanghaus20231 Aug 2023 10:34I would at least reconsider all doors that are smaller than 90 cm (35 inches).
The staircase to the garage is used very rarely.
The staircase to the garage is used very rarely.
Until now, I have only been a silent reader in this forum, but I decided to register because of the topic about elevators. This is actually my profession.
Main question: Wind noise
The regional building codes require ventilation openings in elevator shafts (requirements vary by state or region). This ventilation is usually permanently open, especially in older buildings, and has a minimum size of 0.1 m² (1.1 sq ft). Therefore, you will hear noise from the elevator at your workplace. You won’t notice any air draft when the elevator passes by at speeds typical for residential and office buildings with fewer than 10 stops.
A brief overview:
0.15 m/s (0.5 ft/s) for so-called home lifts, which sometimes only have dead-man controls
Approximately 0.5 to 0.6 m/s (1.6 to 2.0 ft/s) for hydraulically driven elevators with up to about 6 stops
1 m/s (3.3 ft/s) for standard traction elevators
There are two possible solutions:
1. Cost-effective and usually not problematic in private homes:
Omitting the shaft ventilation to the outside. This avoids issues with energy-saving regulations and blower door tests. The necessary ventilation can be redirected into the stairwell through a grille located at the top of the shaft.
2. A solution commonly used in various modern buildings:
An insulated louvered damper is installed in front of the external ventilation opening. It only opens for a few minutes a day to ventilate and is monitored by smoke detectors or aspiration systems in the elevator shaft, which release the opening if necessary.
3. Some experts accept calculations showing that the total size of all door gaps together meets the required 0.1 m² (1.1 sq ft).
My advice: Contact an expert through the elevator company in advance to clarify this matter and avoid surprises later.
Topic: Apartment door in front of the elevator door
This can be required for two reasons:
1. Security reasons, as demanded by the insurance company
2. Fire protection, especially in buildings with multiple fire compartments where smoke and fire spread must be prevented. This applies, for example, to penthouse apartments. The lower floors are usually located in an open and necessary stairwell within the same air space. Only the top landing leads directly into an apartment, so an additional fire and smoke protection door is required there.
If I can help with further questions, feel free to ask.
Regards
Main question: Wind noise
The regional building codes require ventilation openings in elevator shafts (requirements vary by state or region). This ventilation is usually permanently open, especially in older buildings, and has a minimum size of 0.1 m² (1.1 sq ft). Therefore, you will hear noise from the elevator at your workplace. You won’t notice any air draft when the elevator passes by at speeds typical for residential and office buildings with fewer than 10 stops.
A brief overview:
0.15 m/s (0.5 ft/s) for so-called home lifts, which sometimes only have dead-man controls
Approximately 0.5 to 0.6 m/s (1.6 to 2.0 ft/s) for hydraulically driven elevators with up to about 6 stops
1 m/s (3.3 ft/s) for standard traction elevators
There are two possible solutions:
1. Cost-effective and usually not problematic in private homes:
Omitting the shaft ventilation to the outside. This avoids issues with energy-saving regulations and blower door tests. The necessary ventilation can be redirected into the stairwell through a grille located at the top of the shaft.
2. A solution commonly used in various modern buildings:
An insulated louvered damper is installed in front of the external ventilation opening. It only opens for a few minutes a day to ventilate and is monitored by smoke detectors or aspiration systems in the elevator shaft, which release the opening if necessary.
3. Some experts accept calculations showing that the total size of all door gaps together meets the required 0.1 m² (1.1 sq ft).
My advice: Contact an expert through the elevator company in advance to clarify this matter and avoid surprises later.
Topic: Apartment door in front of the elevator door
This can be required for two reasons:
1. Security reasons, as demanded by the insurance company
2. Fire protection, especially in buildings with multiple fire compartments where smoke and fire spread must be prevented. This applies, for example, to penthouse apartments. The lower floors are usually located in an open and necessary stairwell within the same air space. Only the top landing leads directly into an apartment, so an additional fire and smoke protection door is required there.
If I can help with further questions, feel free to ask.
Regards
Sven223 schrieb:
Until now, I was only an occasional reader on this forum, but on the subject of elevators, I decided to register. After all, this is my professional field.I'm glad to hear that; expert knowledge is always welcome. Sven223 schrieb:
The state building code requires ventilation in elevator shafts (there are variations depending on the state).You didn’t mention which Austrian state this is about ;-)https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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