Nothing is as critical as the air we breathe, but managing IAQ can be challenging. High-volume, low-speed (HVLS) fans can mobilize and destratify large volumes of air in any facility.
If you’re the owner of just such a space (industrial, commercial or agricultural) and you want to know more about HVLS fans, read on below to learn about how they can benefit your business.
What is HVLS Fan?
A high-volume low-speed (HVLS) fan is a type of mechanical fan greater than 7 feet (2.1 m) in diameter. HVLS fans are generally ceiling fans although some are pole mounted. HVLS fans move slowly and distribute large amounts of air at low rotational speed– hence the name "high volume, low speed."
Typical applications for HVLS fans fall into two classifications—industrial and commercial. In industrial applications, HVACR is often cost prohibitive or impractical and is usually only used for refrigerated warehouses or the manufacture of refrigerated or frozen foods. Fans installed in spaces like warehouses, barns, hangars and distribution centers can prevent heat stress, increase worker comfort and the productivity of both workers and livestock. HVLS fans are also used in commercial spaces, where air conditioning is more common, but increased air movement from ceiling fans can cost-effectively augment occupant comfort or prevent stratification. Typical commercial applications include shopping malls, churches, office buildings, airport terminal buildings, fitness centers and schools.
Because of their size, HVLS fans are effective and efficient. Using ¾- to 2-hp motors, they consume power at a fraction of the cost of multiple small ceiling fans. With HVLS fans from 16 to 24 feet in diameter, Xingtai Fans offers sizes to suit all applications.
Advantage of HVLS Fans
Advantage 1: Save Money on Heating
HVLS fans are great at creating energy savings during the winter, but not simply because they are so good at circulating large volumes of indoor air. HVLS fans help because they are excellent ways of DESTRATIFYING the air.
Using an HVLS fan draws an INCREDIBLE amount of warm air down from the ceiling, helping to recirculate it all over the building, normalizing the temperature, and taking the onus off of your HVAC system and your pocketbook. Just one HVLS fan can contribute to significant energy cost savings during the winter months, or in naturally colder climates.
Advantage 2: Save Money on Cooling
The large columns of air generated by industrial fans travel much further than the more turbulent, fast-moving air generated by smaller fans because of processes related to air friction and fluid dynamics. The reason high-velocity air dissipates so quickly is due to the friction between the stationary air at the edge of the moving air column created by the fan. That is the key to the HVLS fan: the low speed.
From this perspective, it is obvious that any business with a large enough indoor space can experience an economic benefit during the summer by using HVLS fans. That said, it is worth noting that the energy savings won’t necessarily manifest themselves in rooms below a certain size. For that reason, it’s always best to consult with an expert to verify that an HVLS fan is right for your business PRIOR to installation.
Advantage 3: Help the Environment
We’ve shown above that there are significant savings available during both the summer and winter through the use of HVLS fans. However, particularly in the context of climate change, businesses are no longer judged by their bottom line alone. They are also judged by their ability to act as environmental stewards.
Being a successful business also means being a responsible business. Ownership means you are not only responsible to your customers, your shareholders, your employees or your suppliers, but to the planet as well. By reducing the amount of energy you use, you limit the number of fossil fuels burnt to generate that energy.
Advantage 4: Increase Productivity
A happy employee is a productive employee, so it pays to keep your facility at an ideal temperature. According to a 2004 study from Cornell University that measured the relationship between temperature and productivity, there is a sweet spot that exists. It showed that output and efficiency drop when employees are either too hot or too cold.
However, industrial ceiling fans don’t just keep warehouse workers or barnyard animals cool and energized, they also ensure that clients visiting your facility, customers browsing your aisles, and the equipment and goods you store on your shelves remain at an ideal temperature.
Industrial fans can help contribute to customers browsing longer, goods staying fresher, and machinery lasting longer and performing better. In some cases, business owners have felt that there is little use of the HVAC system at all during certain parts of the year, as the power of an HVLS ceiling fan is enough to keep everyone comfortable and focused on their tasks.
How Do HVLS Fans Work?
HVLS fans work on the principle that cool moving air breaks up the moisture-saturated boundary layer surrounding the body and accelerates evaporation to produce a cooling effect. Ceiling fans produce a column of air as they turn. This column of air moves down and out along the floor. Called a horizontal floor jet, this deep wall of horizontal moving air is relative to the diameter of a fan, and to a lesser degree, the speed of a fan. Once the floor jet reaches its potential, it migrates outward until it meets a side wall or other vertical surface.
Under ideal conditions, an 8 feet (2.4 m) diameter fan produces a floor jet of air approximately 36 inches (910 mm) deep. A 24 feet (7.3 m) diameter fan produces a floor jet 108 inches (2,700 mm) deep, tall enough to engulf a human standing on the floor or a cow, its initial development purpose.
Commercial HVLS fans differ from residential ceiling fans with regard to diameter, rotational speed, and performance. While some fans use contemporary blades to move air, other methods are being used to make it more efficient such as using airfoils.
Take the Next Step
If you own or lease a large, indoor commercial, industrial or agricultural space, you should absolutely be thinking about purchasing and installing an HVLS fan. And if you’ve decided that you want one, then it’s always best to comparison fan companies in order to find the highest quality industrial fans at the best price.
At Xintai Fans, our team will help you choose and install the right fan for your environment, lowering your overall costs, increasing the overall comfort levels of the people in your building, up to your business’ productivity and helping protect the environment.
Want to learn more about what might be the best choice for your building? Contact us anytime, or drop us a line at +86 574 8735 3105. At Xintai Fans, we’ll help you solve your problems with simple and effective solutions. Call us today!
