When evaluating your next HVAC retrofit, assess your current inefficiencies, the potential for return on investment and future-proof solutions available on the market. Swiss Rotors Fan Array AHU can improve indoor air quality, reduce energy consumption, lower maintenance costs, make installation easier, and ensure a longer lifespan for your investment.
There’s one critical HVAC retrofit you can make to genuinely make a difference in your energy consumption—the fan air handling unit. In order to improve IAQ and keep occupants safer during the COVID-19 pandemic, building owners increased HVAC fan operations during 2020.
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recommends pushing more fresh air through the building as the top priority for operation in the current health crisis. However, these guidelines don’t offer any advice on how to do that, or what specifically to invest in without substantial economic consequences. As a property owner, it’s not easy to know which technology will keep tenants safe, while also lowering costs associated with increased energy usage.
Investing in fan array AHUs
No matter what building type or HVAC system you have, most of your energy consumption comes from the fan system. Retrofitting the AHU alone can improve the energy efficiency of your HVAC equipment, without having to replace any other unit. A fan array AHU is composed of smaller EC fans. Replacing your traditional belt-driven unit with a fan array can lead to energy cost savings in total payback periods of only 1-2 years, saving between 30 to 60% on annual electricity costs. The Swiss Rotors Fan Array AHU runs at up to 92% efficiency. It operates quietly – nearly 10dB less than competitors – and can continuously work without interruptions.
The easiest retrofit experience
Every retrofit project should look at the ease of installation as a metric for cost-optimisation. Fan array AHUs are powered by small EC rotor fans that require no specialised machinery to install. In fact, every single component in the Swiss Rotors Fan Array AHU can be hand-carried by one person. The system is lightweight, highly modular, and extremely easy to handle.
Customised spatial footprint
You’re not limited to standard configurations with fan array AHUs. This means a smaller footprint than single-unit fans which often take up large amounts of space. A fan array uses smaller units which can stack on top of each other, solving any space or access constraints so common in retrofit projects. Swiss Rotors provides custom solutions for even the most challenging dimensions that standard fans can’t match. You can free up floor space because fan array configurations often stack vertically with units that are no larger than 1 meter in either direction.
Built-in redundancy and easy maintenance
If a fan fails within the array, it’s simple to block it off and have the other fans speed up to compensate. Since EC rotors are electric, digital sensors can provide forewarning for any slowdowns or predicted fan failures well ahead of time. On top of this, these processes can use automation controls to trigger at certain thresholds, optimising for efficiency even in uncertain events. Maintenance costs significantly drop when compared to traditional belt-driven fans. Since fan array AHUs are electric, they don’t require greasing, there are no belts to replace or bearings to lubricate.
Opt for a fan array AHU in your next retrofit project
Enhancing indoor air quality requires more fan usage, which means bringing down fan energy costs is one of the best investments out there. While there are many solutions available to optimise IAQ, retrofitting an EC-powered fan array AHU puts building owners in a stronger position to keep occupants safe, all while lowering overall operational costs. Swiss Rotors offers industry-leading fan array AHUs which meet both UL and AMCA certification specs.
Get in touch if you’d like to learn more about how to achieve higher energy efficiency of your HVAC systems – our team will be happy to help out.