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Air Change Rates for typical Rooms and Buildings
Fresh air requirements - recommended air change rates - ACH - for some typical rooms and buildings - auditoriums, kitchens, churches and more
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The volume of fresh air (make up air) required for proper ventilation is determined of the size and use of the space.
The table below indicates recommended air change rates (air changes per hour) in some common types of rooms and buildings:
| Building / Room | Air Change Rates - n - (hr-1) |
| All spaces in general | min 4 |
| Attic spaces for cooling | 12 - 15 |
| Auditoriums | 8 - 15 |
| Bakeries | 20 |
| Banks | 4 - 10 |
| Barber Shops | 6 - 10 |
| Bars | 20 - 30 |
| Beauty Shops | 6 - 10 |
| Boiler rooms | 15 - 20 |
| Bowling Alleys | 10 - 15 |
| Cafeterias | 12 - 15 |
| Churches | 8 - 15 |
| Club rooms | 12 |
| Clubhouses | 20 - 30 |
| Cocktail Lounges | 20 - 30 |
| Computer Rooms | 15 - 20 |
| Court Houses | 4 - 10 |
| Dental Centers | 8 - 12 |
| Department Stores | 6 - 10 |
| Dining Halls | 12 -15 |
| Dining rooms (restaurants) | 12 |
| Dress Shops | 6 - 10 |
| Drug Shops | 6 - 10 |
| Engine rooms | 4 - 6 |
| Factory buildings, ordinary | 2 - 4 |
| Factory buildings, fumes and moisture | 10 - 15 |
| Fire Stations | 4 - 10 |
| Foundries | 15 - 20 |
| Galvanizing plants | 20 - 30 |
| Garages repair | 20 - 30 |
| Garages storage | 4 - 6 |
| Homes, night cooling | 10 - 18 |
| Jewelry shops | 6 - 10 |
| Kitchens | 15 - 60 |
| Laundries | 10 - 15 |
| Libraries, public | 4 |
| Lunch Rooms | 12 -15 |
| Luncheonettes | 12 -15 |
| Nightclubs | 20 - 30 |
| Malls | 6 - 10 |
| Medical Centers | 8 - 12 |
| Medical Clinics | 8 - 12 |
| Medical Offices | 8 - 12 |
| Mills, paper | 15 - 20 |
| Mills, textile general buildings | 4 |
| Mills, textile dye houses | 15 - 20 |
| Municipal Buildings | 4 - 10 |
| Museums | 12 -15 |
| Offices, public | 3 |
| Offices, private | 4 |
| Police Stations | 4 - 10 |
| Post Offices | 4 - 10 |
| Precision Manufacturing | 10 - 50 |
| Pump rooms | 5 |
| Restaurants | 8 - 12 |
| Retail | 6 - 10 |
| School Classrooms | 4 - 12 |
| Shoe Shops | 6 - 10 |
| Shopping Centers | 6 - 10 |
| Shops, machine | 5 |
| Shops, paint | 15 - 20 |
| Shops, woodworking | 5 |
| Substation, electric | 5 - 10 |
| Supermarkets | 4 - 10 |
| Town Halls | 4 - 10 |
| Taverns | 20 - 30 |
| Theaters | 8 - 15 |
| Turbine rooms, electric | 5 - 10 |
| Warehouses | 2 |
| Waiting rooms, public | 4 |
Note that in many cases local regulations and codes will govern the ventilation requirements.
The fresh air supply to a room can be calculated as
q = n V (1)
where
q = fresh air supply (ft3/h, m3/h)
n = air change rate (h-1)
V = volume of room (ft3, m3)
Example - Fresh Air Supply to a Public Library
The fresh air supply to a public library with volume 1000 m3 can be calculated as
Q = 4 (h-1) 1000 (m3)
= 4000 m3/h
Air Volume Calculator
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