Do the animals in your facility have issues contracting kennel cough? Does your kennel room smell of ammonia? Is it difficult to maintain a steady room temperature with constantly changing outside temperatures? If you have answered yes to any of these questions than Osborne engineers can help you design a kennel ventilation system to alleviate these problems.
Pressure for improved animal welfare is increasing every day. Providing every animal with adequate fresh air and a fresh environment helps deflect this pressure. A growing number of animal welfare laws require that your animals be kept in a healthy environment. This environment can only be achieved with a properly functioning kennel ventilation system.
What is a Ventilation System?
A ventilation system is an engineered means for exchange of foul air for fresh air between your kennel and the outside world. A ventilation system trades the toxic gasses, odors, and moisture in your kennel for fresh, clean outside air while thoroughly distributing the fresh air and avoiding uncomfortable drafts. Benefits of a properly functioning ventilation system include cutting odor, combating respiratory infections, removing toxic gasses, eliminating condensation, cutting drafts, improving animal and worker environment, and more!
The 3 Functions
Your kennel ventilation system should achieve the following functions:
Provide evenly distributed, draft-free, fresh air at all times
Fresh air is important to the success of your business. Low air quality can adversely affect both animal productivity and the health of those who care for the animals. Fresh air keeps animals healthy and raises the spirits of your employees. So good kennel ventilation just makes good business sense at every level. Bringing fresh, clean air into your kennel is very important, but if you do not mix the air properly, fresh air may not do you or your animals any good.
Maintain a steady room temperature
Controlling the temperature of your kennel room is on of the most obvious functions of your kennel ventilation system. If the temperature rises, your kennel ventilation system must be able to detect the change and automatically respond to the control the temperature rise in the room.
Remove toxic gasses, odor, and moisture
Water vapor is not usually considered to be toxic, but continuous high humidity can be exactly that to your puppies. In every season of the year, your puppies create moisture in their environment. In addition to evaporation from water supplies, feces, and urine, they also respire a surprising amount of moisture. If water vapor is not removed from the kennel, the humidity will be high. High humidity stresses your animals and your employees. Humidity level and its effects on animals, people, and facilities are important to consider before succumbing to the temptation to reduce or elimination kennel ventilation in the wintertime to conserve heat. Turning off your kennel ventilation system in the wintertime in order to increase the room temperature can cost far more than the immediate savings in your heating bill.
Although you may now have a better understanding of ventilation, the advice and assistance of a knowledgeable kennel ventilation systems engineer who has years of experience are often needed and your best route to keeping up with better kennel environments. You can get this help from an experienced Ventilation Systems Consultant by calling the number above or by filling out this form.
