A cellar is a place to store supplies such as agricultural products. Usually for this they equip a basement in the house or dig a hole and close it from above. The cellar is provided with a suitable temperature and humidity, allowing the products to maintain their properties and freshness. The temperature inside the house is very high to store the harvest, and outside in winter it is very low. Unprocessed foods are stored at 1-4 degrees. To maintain the freshness of the crop for a long time, it is necessary to monitor the moisture content.
For optimal cellar operation, it is important to maintain the following conditions:
- blackout;
- fresh, clean air;
- low temperature (approximately + 2-5 degrees);
- humidity about 85-95%.
The last three conditions are provided precisely by the ventilation system for the cellar. In order for your vegetables, fruits, pickles, preserves, wines to retain their properties, you need proper ventilation in the cellar.
How it works?
Before you start building a ventilation system with your own hands, you need to understand the principle of its operation.
Ventilation operation in winter
In winter, the ventilation system is most efficient. In winter, the house is about 25 degrees. In the basement - about 4. On the street in winter, it is conventionally 10 degrees. Warm air is lighter than cold air, so it tends to rise. He rises to the ceiling of the cellar and goes into the chimney. The cold air outside will not interfere with this movement. In the cellar, a vacuum occurs, with the help of which the effect of drawing in a new portion of warm air from the house occurs. It is full of moisture that remains on the floor, but not on food.
Soon enough, an equilibrium of the processes of evaporation and condensation is formed, so the air humidity does not increase, but remains stable. Air movement demonstrates Bernoulli's law: the air masses above are always in motion.
Another reason why it is necessary to make ventilation in the cellar is the danger of mold on the food. Mold fungi multiply when the relative humidity in the room is more than 75%. Low temperatures interfere with this process, but cannot stop it. The moisture in the air is due to the vapors from the top.
A device is required to remove these pairs. Of course, it is best to make the ceiling in the form of a dome, and equip a pipe at the top, into which the vapors will escape, but this is not always convenient and possible.
Usually it is enough that air ducts for ventilation are installed in different corners of the room. Air begins to circulate if you install the inlet duct near the floor, and the inlet duct near the ceiling in the other corner of the cellar, 50 cm from the floor. Thanks to this, the maximum effect can be ensured. The supply air duct brings fresh air into the cellar. Contaminated air is removed naturally through another duct. Such a simple device can be easily made by hand.
Ventilation operation in summer
In summer, this "natural" ventilation is less effective. What can be done to improve efficiency? The ventilation system in the cellar is equipped with an electric fan. It must be installed with your own hands in the lumen of the accessory duct. This will help speed up the air exchange process.The fan blows in air, due to which the room dries quickly even in summer when the air humidity is high. Fans can be installed in both ducts. This is done if the cellar has a large area. Such ventilation for the cellar requires a lot of energy resources.
Installing ventilation for the cellar with your own hands
Understanding the ventilation processes makes the installation of the ventilation device easier.
So, you need to perform the following manipulations:
- Install two pipes for ventilation: exhaust and supply. It is important that the air exchange takes place more efficiently, the pipes should be located at different levels and in different places. This will prevent fresh air from being sucked in.
- The exhaust pipe should be located on top, near the ceiling of the cellar, above the food. Its upper part must be brought out through all the ceilings to the roof of the house.
- The supply pipe must be installed at the bottom, at a distance of 0.2-0.3 m above the floor level. The ventilation pipe must be above the roof ridge or roof. Only then will the air be efficiently removed.
- The air duct outlets must be equipped with visors or deflectors for protection.
- If you install an air duct near the flue duct, then the draft in the chimney will increase due to heating. Take this opportunity if you have one.
- It is advisable to equip both air ducts with dampers to prevent possible freezing of the cellar during severe frosts.
- Install a metal grate at the inlet of the flow tube. This will prevent insects and rodents from entering the cellar.
What pipes are suitable for the ventilation device?
Exhaust pipes are made from the following materials:
- made of low pressure polyethylene;
- from asbestos cement.
Both of these materials are reliable, strong and durable. Their difference is that polyethylene pipes can be easily assembled by hand. However, in order for the pipe to fit the ventilation device, most likely the pipes will need to be welded. It's hard to do it the first time.
In order to choose the right material for ventilation pipes, you need to take into account the properties of your particular area. In this case, it is better to consult a specialist.
In addition, the choice of pipe material is not so important. If you have pipes of a suitable size, even those that have been used before, they can be installed in your cellar.
How to make a calculation?
In order to make the correct calculation of the pipe diameter, you need to know the total area of the cellar. If we take its value as X, then the area of the duct should be equal to the product of X by 25 square meters. cm. From the area of the circle (round ventilation pipe) we calculate the radius of the pipe S = ПR ^ 2. Therefore, the diameter is equal to two radii. It is easy to calculate with a calculator.
There is another calculation formula L = V * K... It is determined by the value of the air flow L. V is the volume of the cellar, and K is the number of times of air exchange per hour. Next, apply the formula S = L / (W * 3600)... S - cross-sectional area, W = 1 m / s. Next, using the circle formula, we calculate the radius.
Of course, this calculation is arbitrary, since it does not take into account the rate of air exchange in the cellar. In addition, the number of air changes was also taken to be minimal. In some cases, the number of times when the air change has to take place is more. But it is important to understand that "more" does not equal "better" in this case. Large amounts of clean air can dry out your food. If you are in doubt about your calculations, then consult with a specialist.
The chimney should be 1.5-1.8 m above the floor, and a flow tube should be installed on the other side. It should be 0.2-0.3 meters above the floor. The ventilation scheme of the cellar necessarily includes this calculation, even if it is done by hand.
Forced ventilation
Natural ventilation for the cellar is not always convenient. Its efficiency depends on the weather. It is not effective in summer because of the slight temperature difference. For the summer period, forced ventilation is better, that is, ventilation using a fan. It is installed in the exhaust duct. It is undesirable to install a ventilation device in the supply duct, because if the exhaust duct is not efficient enough to pass contaminated air, it will be blown out through the slots.
There are axial and duct fans. They differ in principle of action and location. Duct fans can be independently installed in the center of the exhaust duct. Axial fans are usually installed near the "outlet". Duct fans should not have too high performance. This will allow it to be powered from the unit. Amplitude fans have a higher Efficiency, so they are the most beneficial.
Automated ventilation
Constancy of temperature and humidity is especially important for wine cellars. Ventilation for the cellar in a natural way, in any case, will not be able to perform this function, because the draft in it depends on weather conditions. Stability of temperature and humidity can only be ensured by high quality climatic technical means.
In this case, the calculation and development of technical requirements for the preparation of the premises is especially important. An irresponsible attitude to this issue can turn into a violation of the conditions inside the cellar later. Therefore, the miscalculations of the load on the places of power supply, the correlation of the cellar area with the equipment power required for operation and other details of the preparatory work should be kept in mind.
A stable climate can only be ensured by professional installation. You can do the installation yourself, but subject to preparation for this and careful study of the issue.
Important! If you need to install a split system (to maintain constant climate parameters), it is better to contact a specialist on this issue for help.
