Cermak AMCA Web Fan
Cermak AMCA Web Fan
Cermak AMCA Web Fan
July 2011
The magazine of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc.
A
L
S
O
Less Pumping Means Cooler Ground Loops Selecting Fans to Save Energy
High Risk Walls Equinox House Performance Sustainable Products Capabilities
AJcover.indd 2
6/21/2011 4:43:32 PM
TECHNICAL FEATURE
This article was published in ASHRAE Journal, July 2011. Copyright 2011 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. Reprinted
here by permission from ASHRAE at www.amca.org. This article may not be copied nor distributed in either paper or digital form by other parties without ASHRAEs
permission. For more information about ASHRAE, visit www.ashrae.org.
The requirements for attaining a minimum level of fan energy efficiency and
keeping the fan selection with an operating point close to the fan peak energy efficiency are being addressed in a recommendation for continuous maintenance
proposal for ASHRAE/IES Standard
90.1. The proposal for this recommendation was made by ASHRAE Technical
Committee 5.1, Fan Design and Application, and AMCA International.
1
ASHRAE Journal
a s h r a e . o r g
July 2011
Pressure
Pressure
SP1
FSP
Fan Static Pressure
component will have a total
tal pressure losses. It is true
TP
,TP
Total
Pressure
in
SP
Fan Inlet (1) and Outlet (2)
FSP
pressure loss associated with
that, for any fitting or compoVP1
SP ,SP Static Pressure in
Fan Inlet (1) and Outlet (2)
it. Special attention must be
nent that does not include a
VP
Velocity Pressure
paid to those components
change in flow area, the static
in which a large or abrupt Figure 1: Pressure profiles in the inlet and outlet of a fan.
pressure loss and the total
change in cross-section ocpressure loss are equal. This
curs, since the total pressure losses can be quite large. The is not true of fittings or components, which involve an area
long-standing practice of using static pressure leads to the use change, such as diffusers and wye fittings.
of misleading terms such as static regain or static pressure
As we shall see in the next section, if the system resistance
recovery to describe what is actually conversion of velocity is (correctly) stated as total pressure vs. flow, it is critically
pressure to static pressure.
important that this requirement is matched to the fan perforAchieving the design parameters of air-handling systems mance stated as total pressure vs. flow.
is becoming more and more important to the owners of the
properties equipped with these systems. Monitoring of system Fans and Pressures
A fan is a device designed to primarily deliver flow, usually
performance is required to confirm proper operation. Using
measurement of static pressure on the duct wall upstream and of air, at relatively low pressure. The fan has an inlet opening
downstream of the fan for this purpose is useless and only cre- for air to enter the fan and an outlet opening for air to leave the
July 2011
ASHRAE Journal
4.0
1,035 rpm
6.22
FTP, FSP (in. w.g.)
3.0
6.05
Power
2.5
2.0
4
3
1.5
1.0
FTP
System Curve
FSP
0.5
3.5
2
1
13,625
0
0.0
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Flow (cfm in thousands)
Figure 2: Fan selection made by matching the pressure drop across the
system with fan static pressure.
8
4.0
989 rpm
3.5
3.0
6
5.29
2.5
5
Power
4
2.0
1.5
1.0
FTP
System Curve
2
1
0.5
ASHRAE Journal
a s h r a e . o r g
July 2011
ing a collection of coils, filters and sound attenuators. The plenum is 7 ft high by 14 ft wide (2 m high by 4 m wide) and at the
desired flow of 150,000 cfm (70 792 L/s) the sum of the total
pressure losses from the inlet of the plenum to the system discharge is 8 in. w.g. (1992 Pa) with density of 0.075 lbs/ft2 (0.03
kg/m2). (In many cases the total pressure losses and the static
pressure losses will be equal, and in that case it is permissible
to simply sum the static pressure losses.) A 48 in. (1 m) diameter fan operating at 4 pole speed (1,780 rpm) is a reasonable
selection using an expansion cone between the outlet and the
plenum. The total pressure the fan must develop at 75,000 cfm
(35 396 L/s) to produce a fan static pressure of 8 in. (1992 Pa)
is 10.6 in. w.g. (2639 Pa). If, however, it is assumed that the fan
plus cone is a unit, the total pressure required to produce a fan
static pressure is 9.04 in. w.g. (2250 Pa). This difference represents a 3.1 degree change in blade angle.
Conclusion
The need to address the energy issues means that we must
abandon the incorrect practice of using fan static pressure.
ASHRAE is leading the drive for energy reductions in air-handling systems and has included requirements for fans in their
considerations.
To facilitate the use of high-efficiency fans AMCA has developed Standard 205-10, Energy Efficiency Classification for Fans,
July 2011
References
1. Agricola, G. 1556. De Re Metallica. Translated from Latin by
H.C. Hoover and L.H. Hoover.
2. Eck, B. 1937. Ventilatoren. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Bibliography
Graham, J.B. 1994. The importance of fan total pressure. Heating/
Piping/Air Conditioning (9).
London, A. 2006. The myth about fan static pressure. Engineered
Systems (4).
ASHRAE Journal