NATURAL VENTILATION CONTROLS
Natural ventilation control systems for automated windows and facades.
Natural ventilation depends on more than opening a window. The control system determines when openings operate, how they are grouped, what environmental or weather conditions influence them, how occupants interact with the system and how the facade coordinates with the wider building.
EBSA develops that operating strategy around the building requirement first, then selects the D+H control architecture, sensors, user controls, interfaces and commissioning approach needed to deliver it.
The result can range from simple local window control through to multi-zone automated ventilation integrated with weather sensing, building management and mechanical services.
Start with the ventilation strategy. Select the control architecture from there.
NORTHERN BEACHES CHRISTIAN SCHOOL / NATURAL VENTILATION
OPERABLE FACADE / CONTROLLED VENTILATION
LOCAL + AUTOMATIC CONTROL
User operation and automatic ventilation within one coordinated strategy
WEATHER RESPONSE
Rain and wind inputs incorporated where required by the selected architecture
GROUPS + ZONES
Openings organised around spaces, facade conditions and operating requirements
BUILDING COORDINATION
BMS and mechanical interfaces developed around the required sequence of operation
SEQUENCE OF OPERATION
Define how the building should ventilate before selecting the controller.
A natural-ventilation control system needs a clear sequence of operation. That sequence defines which openings can operate together, which conditions initiate movement, which commands take priority and how the facade should respond when weather, occupants or other building systems change state.
The same automated windows may need to support normal comfort ventilation, purge operation, local user adjustment, scheduled operation or coordinated mechanical-system modes. A weather input may need to override normal ventilation, while the BMS may need to enable, inhibit or coordinate the facade with another building mode.
EBSA develops these relationships before the controller family is selected so the hardware, field devices and interfaces support the intended operation rather than constrain it.
01
VENTILATION REQUIREMENT
02
OPENINGS + ACTUATOR LOADS
03
GROUPS + ZONES
04
USER + AUTOMATIC INPUTS
05
WEATHER PRIORITIES
06
CONTROL PLATFORM
07
BMS / MECHANICAL INTERFACES
08
CONFIGURATION
09
COMMISSIONING
NORMAL VENTILATION
Define how the openings operate during normal occupied building conditions.
PURGE OPERATION
Establish when a larger or more direct ventilation response is required and which openings participate.
LOCAL USER CONTROL
Define what occupants can command locally and how local operation interacts with automatic functions.
WEATHER RESPONSE
Determine the rain and wind response appropriate to the facade, selected field devices and control architecture.
BUILDING MODES
Coordinate enables, inhibits, schedules and other commands from the BMS or mechanical systems where required.
PRIORITIES
Establish which commands take precedence when automatic ventilation, weather protection, user control and wider building functions interact.
Natural ventilation control is an operating strategy first and a controller selection second.
OPERATING INPUTS
The facade responds to conditions, commands and priorities.
Automatic natural ventilation can be influenced by several types of input. The appropriate combination depends on the building strategy, the spaces being ventilated, the facade exposure and the level of automation required.
LOCAL SWITCHES + USER CONTROLS
Provide direct occupant or facilities control where the operating strategy allows local adjustment.
TEMPERATURE + AIR QUALITY
Environmental sensing can be incorporated where the selected control architecture and project strategy require automatic response to indoor conditions.
RAIN + WIND
Weather devices can protect automated openings by initiating the defined weather response. The exact behaviour, priorities and reset sequence depend on the selected controller and project configuration.
TIME + SCHEDULES
Scheduled operation can support defined ventilation periods, purge cycles or building operating modes where required.
BMS COMMANDS
The BMS can provide enables, inhibits, mode commands or other control signals through the interface architecture selected for the project.
MECHANICAL SYSTEM STATUS
Facade ventilation can be coordinated with HVAC or other mechanical modes so natural and mechanical strategies do not operate as unrelated systems.
The value is not in adding more inputs. It is in defining how the inputs work together.
D+H VRS10 / WEATHER INPUT DETAIL
SCALABLE CONTROL ARCHITECTURE
From local window control to coordinated multi-zone ventilation.
EBSA works across the D+H Mechatronic natural-ventilation control range. The appropriate pathway depends on actuator voltage and load, the number of openings, groups and zones, the required user and automatic functions, weather response, interfaces and the level of monitoring or communication the project needs.
The platforms below represent typical control pathways. They are not interchangeable products and they are not preselected answers to a ventilation brief.
01
LOCAL / SINGLE-OPENING CONTROL — PS-VFM1
A compact local pathway for applicable 24 V window-drive applications where an individual opening or local group needs straightforward user control and optional rain-sensor coordination.
02
COMPACT SINGLE-GROUP CONTROL — VCM
A compact D+H controlled-natural-ventilation platform for applicable 24 V drive applications requiring a dedicated ventilation group with local control and optional weather inputs.
03
COMPACT + MULTI-GROUP CONTROL — GVL
GVL controllers provide a progression from compact single-group control through to more capable modular natural-ventilation architectures for projects requiring additional drive capacity, groups or ventilation functions.
04
230 V VENTILATION + CENTRAL WEATHER — WRZ
WRZ provides a pathway for applicable 230 V AC ventilation-drive systems requiring central ventilation control and coordinated weather response.
05
COMPLEX MULTI-ZONE / INTEGRATED SYSTEMS — CPS-M
CPS-M provides the higher-capability pathway where natural ventilation requires multiple zones, project-specific logic, extensive inputs and interfaces, networked architecture, detailed monitoring or coordinated smoke-control functions.
The controller family follows the number of openings, the operating strategy and the required system architecture.
LOCAL CONTROL
Simple applications still need a defined operating strategy.
Not every natural-ventilation project requires a central networked control system. A room, individual facade opening or small group of windows may only require local user operation with a defined automatic or weather response.
Compact D+H pathways allow EBSA to keep the control architecture proportionate to the application. The selection still needs to consider actuator load and voltage, how the user controls the opening, whether weather sensing is required, the relationship between multiple local devices and how the installation will be accessed and maintained.
Where several local controllers or openings need to share a weather function or broader command, that relationship must be coordinated as part of the electrical and control design rather than assumed after installation.
Use the simplest architecture that correctly delivers the required operation.
LOCAL / ROOM-BASED CONTROL ARCHITECTURE
01
USER CONTROL
02
LOCAL CONTROLLER
03
WINDOW DRIVE
04
OPTIONAL WEATHER INPUT
AUTOMATIC VENTILATION
Use environmental inputs without losing control of the operating priorities.
Automatic ventilation can respond to indoor environmental conditions while weather sensing protects the facade from conditions in which openings should not remain available for normal ventilation.
Depending on the project, temperature, air-quality or other environmental signals may initiate or influence ventilation. Rain and wind inputs can then sit at a higher priority where the selected control architecture is configured to respond to those conditions.
The important design task is to define what happens before, during and after each condition. EBSA coordinates the sensors, control platform, groups, priorities and user functions so the final behaviour can be configured and tested as one sequence.
AUTOMATIC DEMAND
Define what environmental condition calls for ventilation and which zone or group responds.
WEATHER PRIORITY
Define how rain or wind changes the availability or position of the affected openings.
USER INTERACTION
Define whether local commands remain available, are limited or are temporarily overridden in each operating state.
RECOVERY / RESET
Define how the system returns to normal operation after the initiating condition has cleared.
A sensor is only useful when its role in the operating sequence is clear.
ZONED VENTILATION
Organise the openings around how the building actually operates.
Commercial buildings rarely behave as one ventilation zone. Orientation, occupancy, room use, facade exposure, internal loads and mechanical-system strategy can all require different groups of openings to respond differently.
EBSA develops groups and zones around the building operation, then coordinates the actuator load, control-panel capacity, field wiring, sensors, local controls and interfaces required for each part of the facade.
As system complexity increases, the control architecture may need to support multiple independent ventilation groups, shared weather functions, central commands, project-specific logic, status information and communication with the wider building.
ZONE DEFINITION
Group openings around spaces, facade conditions and operating requirements rather than arbitrary hardware quantities.
SHARED INPUTS
Identify which weather, environmental or central commands apply across multiple zones and which remain local.
CENTRAL OVERRIDES
Define the functions that need to act across multiple groups or the complete ventilation system.
STATUS + MONITORING
Determine what information facilities teams or the BMS need from the natural-ventilation system.
Zoning should describe the building operation, not simply the wiring layout.
BUILDING INTERFACES
Coordinate natural ventilation with the wider building strategy.
Natural ventilation is often one operating mode within a larger environmental-control strategy. The BMS or mechanical services may need to enable or inhibit facade ventilation, change operating modes, receive status information or coordinate natural ventilation with HVAC operation.
The interface can be simple or more developed depending on what the project needs to exchange. EBSA defines the required commands, priorities and status points first, then develops the low-level or higher-level interface architecture around the selected control platform.
This page establishes the natural-ventilation operating requirement. The dedicated BMS Integration page explains the wider building-interface architecture in more detail.
01
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION / USER COMMAND
02
NATURAL VENTILATION CONTROL
03
OPERABLE FACADE
04
BMS / MECHANICAL STRATEGY
PROJECT PROOF
Different buildings require different natural-ventilation control strategies.
Project scale, facade type and building-services strategy all change the way natural ventilation needs to be controlled. EBSA project experience ranges from local and zoned automated windows through to integrated facade systems combining multiple opening types, sensors, weather response, mechanical coordination and project-engineered controls.
FEATURED PROJECT
NORTHERN BEACHES CHRISTIAN SCHOOL — SYDNEY
Natural ventilation coordinated across a multi-stage campus.
Across multiple stages at Northern Beaches Christian School, EBSA delivered automated facade systems using different window and louvre technologies together with controls, weather sensing and mechanical-system integration. The project demonstrates how natural ventilation can be developed as a coordinated building strategy rather than a collection of independently motorised openings.
SECONDARY PROJECT
MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL — SYDNEY
Operable facade controls supporting natural ventilation and smoke-relief operation.
At Macquarie University Law School, the operable facade combines automated louvre systems with project controls to support the building’s natural-ventilation and smoke-relief requirements. The project provides a useful example of one facade architecture serving different operating modes through the control system.
SECONDARY PROJECT
AIKENHEAD CENTRE FOR MEDICAL DISCOVERY — BRISBANE
Multiple operable facade zones coordinated within a major atrium environment.
The Aikenhead Centre includes multiple banks of operable facade and louvre elements within a large atrium and external facade. EBSA’s scope included the operable facade systems and associated controls, illustrating the coordination required where natural ventilation operates across different facade conditions and building zones.
TECHNICAL RESOURCES
Natural-ventilation control guidance for project teams and specifiers.
The control architecture is easier to define when the project team has clear information about the openings, actuator loads, electrical requirements, environmental inputs, zoning and building interfaces. EBSA’s technical resources are being developed around those decisions.
01
WINDOW CONTROL SYSTEM SELECTION GUIDE
Understand the engineering questions that determine the appropriate level of control architecture before a controller family is selected.
02
NATURAL VENTILATION DESIGN GUIDE
Coordinate openings, ventilation strategy, environmental inputs, controls and building-services interfaces from early design.
03
WINDOW AUTOMATION ELECTRICAL REQUIREMENTS
Coordinate power supplies, field cabling, voltage drop and control requirements around the selected drives and ventilation architecture.
04
BMS WINDOW CONTROL GUIDE
Understand how natural-ventilation controls can exchange commands and status with the building management system.
05
SENSORS + WEATHER INPUTS
Understand the role of rain, wind and environmental sensing within an automated ventilation sequence.
PROJECT DELIVERY
Carry the ventilation strategy through to the operating building.
A natural-ventilation sequence only becomes useful when the openings, controls, field devices and building interfaces are configured and tested together. EBSA carries the control intent through shop drawings, control-system design, field coordination, installation, configuration and commissioning.
Commissioning verifies more than whether the windows move. It establishes that local controls, automatic inputs, weather response, groups and zones, interface commands and operating priorities behave as the agreed sequence requires.
01
VENTILATION BRIEF
02
SEQUENCE OF OPERATION
03
OPENINGS + ACTUATOR LOADS
04
GROUPS + ZONES
05
CONTROLS + FIELD DEVICES
06
SHOP DRAWINGS
07
FIELD CABLING + INTERFACES
08
CONFIGURATION
09
FUNCTIONAL TESTING
10
COMMISSIONING
11
SERVICE + OPTIMISATION
The finished system should demonstrate the agreed operating sequence — not just individual component operation.
NATURAL VENTILATION STRATEGY
Start with how the building needs to ventilate.
Whether the project needs simple local window control, weather-responsive ventilation, multiple zones or a fully integrated building-control strategy, EBSA can help define the operating sequence and select the control architecture around it.