Commercial in-line fans are available that sit above the ceiling, often some distance from the room they are actually extracting the air from. They are connected to vents in the ceiling by ducting, which then connects to the inline fan, and then expels the air through more ducting to a grill in an outside wall Roof repairs.
Fans have helped to create safer and more pleasant internal environments for hundreds of years. The invention of mechanical fans is found in the industrial revolution and the first commercially viable electric fans were made available to the US public early in the 1930’s.
Today the technology behind fan manufacturing and ventilation solutions have sky-rocketed to create fans for virtually every use from cooling devices in a server room; to ventilation in a manufacturing plant; to keeping a bathroom clear of damp air.
Generally speaking, fans and their accessories can be divided into 3 main usage categories: domestic use, industrial use and commercial use.
Industrial Fans will often have a very robust requirement and it is essential to involve experienced engineers with the installation of such ventilation. Other than just determining whether the fans will be required for air supply or for exhaust functions (i.e.: as an extractor fan) the engineer or installation technician will need to be keenly aware of both the working temperatures of the units as well as any thermal protection qualities of its associated housing or frame.
Some industrial fans will come with controllable speeds which can be very handy in a changeable internal environment, especially with regards to saving on ventilation costs at times when the air regulation needs of an area are reduced. Special features such as built in monitoring and systems integration come in handy when working in a potentially hazardous environment for example when chemicals or volatile substances are involved. Generally speaking, fire resistance and corrosion resistance are both ‘plus’ features for any industrial ventilation setup. Above the ‘plus’ one will need to consider the health and safety requirements of your region such as vibration or noise control and air quality regulations related to worker health.
Commercial Fans would not have as robust a requirement but the overall integration of fans into the building structure and management system is key to efficiency. Automatic ventilation in refrigeration units or in rooms that will typically contain many people at the same time will keep areas safe and comfortable. Operational areas such as server rooms (also known as data rooms) and elevators will need to provide adequate ventilation, usually in the form of extractor fans, to remove excess heat generated by the operating machinery which often runs continuously. Commercial ventilation also acts as a barrier to unwanted external influences such as insects, pollution and natural allergens.
Lastly domestic fans find their main purpose in providing less costly air quality solutions. There are two ways to cut costs with a domestic ventilation solution. You can invest in a ‘cheap and cheerful’ unit from the beginning resulting in a smaller initial cost or you can install a slightly more costly fan and ducting system with operational features that help you save on heating and ventilation costs in the long run. There are a wide variety of low energy extractor fans and ventilation units are now available for kitchens, washrooms and living rooms. In addition heat recovery units now help you to use the heat from stale air that is being extracted to warm-up fresh air that is being pulled in by your system.