Fans are widely used in industrial and commercial applications. Fans are critical for process support and human health and are used in everything from shop ventilation to material handling to boiler use. Fans are also found in many wastewater treatment plants and are essential for the activated sludge treatment process. In the U.S. manufacturing sector, fans consume approximately 113 billion kilowatt-hours per year representing approximately 21% of the electricity used by motors [1].
In manufacturing, fan reliability is often critical to plant operations. As a result, system designers often oversize fans to mitigate uncertainties in production. However, this can increase system energy and maintenance costs.
Plant managers and operators must pay attention to the needs of both individual equipment and the entire system to optimize performance. A “systems approach” considers how the individual components interact, thereby shifting the focus from individual components to total system performance.
Top Five Energy Performance Measures for Fan Systems
- Shut down fans when not needed by manufacturing processes
- Use variable speed control on fan motors instead of modulating dampers or inlet guide vanes for airflow control
- Ensure uniform airflow before fan inlet and after fan outlet to avoid swirls and vortices in the ducts
- Replace standard V-belts with cogged belts
- Operate close to Best Efficiency Point
You can read related Tip Sheets and Publications for more strategies to improve performance and save energy.
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