Improving Indoor Air Quality in Locker Room
I have “volunteered” to be on the Board for my golf club and I know enough from reading and commenting here over the years to know I need to improve the basement / locker room “air quality system” from its original design from the 60’s – which consists of opening up large vents to the outside air every summer (you know, to get rid of the humidity…).
Setup: The building is in the Albany NY area (zone 5). The 8,000sf first floor is conditioned with rooftop HVAC units and the commercial kitchen has its own makeup air supply which can be cooled when needed. The 8,000 sf basement contains lightly used locker rooms, lightly used showers (maybe 10 showers / week), walk-in cooler for the bar and a tap line cooler. There are large-sounding motion-activated exhaust fans for the showers and bathrooms and the 4 large vents to the outside. No heating, cooling, or dehumidification. Temps are pretty comfortable, slight moisture /basement smell, but not too bad. It’s tough times for golf clubs so not much budget.
Ideas:
#1 Leave the vents closed all summer so we stop letting the humidity in. Stop there and see how it goes.
#2, Close the outside vents and run an exhaust fan or two 24×7 or 12×7 most of the year. Rely on stairwell and leakage to bring some conditioned air from the first floor to the basement. Or add jump ducts to supply first floor air.
#3. Close the outside vents and run stand alone dehumidifiers as needed.
Your thoughts?
Thanks as always to the great community at GBA!
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Replies
hey there! sounds like you've got quite the throwback situation with the '60s air system at your golf club's basement. 😅 alright, let's break it down. first off, leaving those vents open all summer is like inviting in all that sticky, muggy air – definitely not what you want. 😓 if you close them, you might notice a big difference as you're keeping that humid air out. but, remember, without fresh air coming in, you might end up with other issues like musty smells getting stronger. 🤔 idea #2 isn't bad. running an exhaust fan could help pull out the damp air from showers and stuff. doing it 24x7 might spike your energy bills though. 💸 maybe timing it for peak humidity times could work? and yeah, getting some of that conditioned air from upstairs could help keep things fresh without a big install. jump ducts are an interesting fix. they could balance the air between floors without too much fuss. but it’s all about that cost versus benefit, especially with your budget being tight. 💡and then there's the dehumidifier route for #3. stand-alone units might do the trick without too much upfront cost. just gotta keep an eye on them and make sure they're emptied and working properly. can be a bit of a hassle but could be worth a shot. just gotta weigh the options with what you can spend and what’s gonna really make a difference for those lockers and showers. 🏌️♂️ hope this helps a bit, and good luck with the board duties! cheers for reaching out to the community! 🍻