How important is ventilation?
Getting just the right amount of ventilation in a float tank is very important. The right airflow at the right temperature is crucial. After all, the reason a float tank has the effect it has is solely down to a precise environment. The more the sensory input is reduced the quicker one goes into the experience and the deeper one goes. Keeping that perfect environment constant is also important. If the environment changes whilst floating and the senses detect a change then that sensory input and it will alter the experience.
Concerns of United States Authorities
One of the concerns with authorities in some USA states is the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) building up in the float tank during the float. The air that is being breathed out by the person floating has a high concentration of CO2 so if it is not being adequately replaced by fresh air it’s the reason why people find some float tanks a bit stuffy and close. As we have said getting ventilation just right in a float tank is so important not just for the authorities and the health of the client but also for the comfort of the client and the experience of the float. This issue can be tackled in various ways.
How many vents should there be? How large should the vents be? Where should the vents be situated? Should they be fan assisted? Will there be a fan noise issue disturbing the experience?
Where there is a single air vent, this may be an issue. Not so with the Ocean Float Room which has two air vents.
The answer
Because the float room has height, there is an upper and lower air vent. Warm air inside the float room, heated by the water, slowly rises up and leaves via the top vent, gently drawing the slightly less warm air in from the suite (the room in which the float room, shower etc is situated) via the lower vent. The principle is similar to a chimney. And it is the same principle as our planet. Air over the earth only moves and circulates because of small (and large) temperature differences…
The ideal temperature of the float suite for this silent air exchange and the suite temperature required for the naked customer to be comfortable when he steps out wet from a float are exactly the same.
It should also be mentioned that the float suite itself should also have good ventilation to extract the humidity from showers etc. Because extractor fans are usually quite noisy they should not continue to operate during the float so as not to disturb the person floating. Choosing the right extractor fan with a timer is also very important when planning your float center.
The Ocean float room air vents thus quietly provide limitless fresh air without the float customer ever being aware of it. And the benefit of this twin venting is a feeling of more freshness in the float room, whereas some tanks can feel too “close”
It is eloquently simple.