View Single Post
Old 01-27-2010, 04:05 PM   #11
Mark C
Feeling at Home
 
Mark C's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: SE PA
Posts: 674
Trading: (4)
Mark C is on a distinguished road
Default Re: smoking room ventilation

Quote:
Originally Posted by BigCat View Post
I assume the answer is that I have to seal up the room or the smoke will go everywhere. I'm not opposed to that - I just expect it is going to take more money to do that than it will to have a couple fans put in.
You definitely want to create a pressure differential, lower pressure in the smoking room than the rest of the house. To do that, you'll need an exhaust fan like you said. The size of the fan will depend entirely on how well the room is sealed. You could try guessing, or you could call an HVAC shop and ask them to help you out. They can run a few easy tests to figure out how much flow will be required to maintain a reasonable pressure differential, and size your exhaust fan accordingly. The hole might be a problem for you. Maybe put a sheet of glass (or plexiglass) one the den side of the hole? That way it's still functional, yet sealed. You may need to seal any HVAC ducts in that room, otherwise your fan could pull air through the duct instead of through the doorways.

Quote:
Originally Posted by BigCat View Post
Do you notice much by way of increased energy costs? I hadn't thought about that until Volt brought it up.
The fan itself will only cost you pennies per hour. For a 2,000 sqft house, figure a total volume ~16,000 ft3... 800 cfm will turnover all the air in your house in 20 min. Depending on where you live, I'd guess you may see an impact. This is where appropriate fan sizing comes into play. Choose a fan too small, smoke will migrate through your house. Choose too large, your HVAC may have a hard time keeping up in the rest of the house.
Mark C is offline   Reply With Quote