Now more than ever, businesses are under increased pressure to reduce their energy emissions and carbon footprint. That’s why it’s so important to understand how to reduce a building’s energy consumption in not just the simplest way, but the most cost-effective way too.
With HVAC equipment responsible for more than 40% of a commercial building’s energy consumption, businesses need to assess their energy output and the equipment they use in order to recognise where savings can be made. Upgrading from a standard belt driven fan (or AC fan) to an EC fan could be a way to do this. This article will assess the efficiency of EC fans against standard belt driven fans, and if this change could be beneficial to the energy consumption of your corporation.
What are EC fans?
EC fans and AC fans are very different. AC fans are an older technology that uses alternating current. Although they are reliable, they can be very expensive to run and tend to be a lot more noisy than EC fans.
Electronically Commutated (EC) fans combine AC and DC voltages, therefore giving you the best of both worlds. These are digital fans where the motor incorporates a voltage transformation, running on DC voltage with a single-phase 230VAC or three-phase 400VAC supply. The stator, which is the non-rotating part of the motor, is also extended making room for an electronic PCBoard that includes a power transformation from AC to DC, plus the controls. As a much newer technology, EC fans will optimise your energy output by using their digital board in order to run in the most cost and energy-efficient way possible.
What are the benefits of installing EC fans throughout a commercial building?
Commercial buildings are busy places of activity, usually occupied by many people at once at various times of the day. Therefore, commercial spaces need to find environmentally friendly ways to control their energy consumption when it is required at a high volume, as well as reducing costs. Upgrading from AC fans to EC fans is one simple, but extremely effective way to reduce a commercial building’s carbon footprint.
Replacing AC fans with EC fans allows optimisation of cooling systems for ultimate energy efficiency, potentially reducing energy usage by up to 70%. More benefits of installing EC fans throughout a commercial building include:
- Reduced maintenance – AC fans and standard belt driven fans will require regular updating with the fittings of new belts and pulleys. As EC fans are digitally run, they do not need regular replacement parts.
- Speed control – EC fans are perfect for continuous and concise energy control as they will run at a controlled temperature for long periods of time, which means that you will not need to adjust your temperature at regular intervals.
- Noise reduction – EC fans are much quieter than AC fans. Not only does this reduce noise – which is especially important in a commercial space with lots of people – it also allows you to move more air around quietly too.
Upgrading to EC fans makes great business sense. Not only do they reduce noise and running costs, but EC fans are also much more environmentally friendly which is especially important when considering if your business is energy compliant. If you have any questions about how to ensure your business is running in the most energy-efficient way, please do not hesitate to contact us!
Image credit: Saud
