Welding produces a large quantity of impurities into the air, and therefore the ventilation in welding shops is demanding for the well-being of both the employees and the environment. In an hour, 2,5-3,5 times the room volume of air has to be circulated. When mechanical ventilation is used at the workplace, it has to be kept operational and cleaned sufficiently frequently, since the health of the employees must not be endangered due to, for instance, ventilation machinery malfunctions.
At Lehtosen Konepaja, cleaning the air of the welding shop is taken care of with automatised Mastervent Ltd KRS-THR ventilation machines which were deployed in the early fall. In staff interviews, the feedback has been positive; the effect of clean air in the working spaces has been immediately noticeable. The air temperature, moisture, and movement are also controlled through the ventilation. This happens by processing the intake and exhaust air. The premise is a displacing air distribution, where the exhaust with its impurities are sucked out from above the welding area and fresh air is brought in. The ventilation machinery, equipped with exhaust heat capturing and an automatic cleaning system, is also an environment-friendly solution that brings the company significant savings while ensuring the cleanest air in Finland at the welding shop.
The KRS-THR has been designed especially for welding and paint shop needs, and use experiences going back for years are very successful. The ventilation machines have no filters at all to change and clean periodically. The ventilation solution used at Lehtosen Konepaja has an efficient special rotor, which is kept clean using an automatic high pressure washing system. The exhaust is not filtered, but the impurities in the air get caught in the rotor’s disc, from which they are cleaned automatically. The washing water is conducted via special pools into the sewer. The revolving disc transfers the thermal energy in the exhaust directly into the intake air at up to 85% efficiency.
