What is the difference between ventilation fans and exhaust fans?

Oftentimes many of us believe that ventilation fans and exhaust fans in Sri Lanka are considered to be the same. However, it way beyond reality and each fan is designed to serve a specific purpose in both commercial and residential spaces that require high volume of air throughout an area.

Ventilation fans are designed to ventilate a residential or commercial space and it supports to bring fresh air from the outside and into the closed space. This helps to circulate air inside the building preventing residents/ occupants from breathing difficulties due to less oxygenated air.

Exhaust fans, such as window exhaust fan are designed to remove pollutants and contaminants that enter the air and support them in order to provide clean air. Some of the common and widely known pollutants are smoke, moisture, dust, and odors. The smoke and moisture as a result of cooking for example can be efficiently removed from the air by these types of exhaust fans.

Ventilation fans and exhaust fans work to create the fresh and clean air in the space it is being installed. The main difference between these two types of fans is in their application. While a ventilation fan is designed to bring clean air into an enclosed space from an outside the exhaust fans remove pollutants from indoors to outdoors.

Each type of fan has its own characteristics that will allow performing its intended actions efficiently. The most distinguished difference is in the intake of airflow. Hence, the best way to figure out which type of fan suits the most is to really understand your requirement.