29/03/2020 Fans - Efficiency and Power Consumption

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Fans - Efficiency and Power Consumption

Power consumption and typical efficiencies of fans
Fan Power Consumption
The ideal power consumption for a fan (without losses) can be expressed as

Pi = dp q (1)

where

Pi = ideal power consumption (W)

dp = total pressure increase in the fan (Pa, N/m2)

q = air volume flow delivered by the fan (m3/s)

Power consumption at different air volumes and pressure increases are indicated below:

Note! For detailed engineering - use manufacturers specifications for actual fans.

Fan Efficiency
The fan efficiency is the ratio between power transferred to airflow and the power used by the fan.
The fan efficiency is in general independent of the air density and can be expressed as:

μf = dp q / P (2)

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where

μf = fan efficiency (values between 0 - 1)

dp = total pressure (Pa)

q = air volume delivered by the fan (m3/s)

P = power used by the fan (W, Nm/s)

The power used by the fan can be expressed as:

P = dp q / μf (3)

The power used by the fan can also be expressed as:

P = dp q / (μf μb μm) (4)

where

μb = belt efficiency

μm = motor efficiency

Typical motor and belt efficiencies:

Motor 1kW - 0.4

Motor 10 kW - 0.87
Motor 100 kW - 0.92
Belt 1 kW - 0.78
Belt 10 kW - 0.88
Belt 100 kW - 0.93

Power Consumption - Imperial Units

Fan energy use can also be expressed as

Pcfm = 0.1175 qcfm dpin / (μf μb μm) (4b)

where

Pcfm = power consumption (W)

qcfm = volume flow (cfm)

dpin = pressure increase (in. WG)

Fan and Installation Loss (System Loss)

The installation of a fan will influence on the overall system efficiency

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dpsy = xsy pd (5)

where

dpsy = installation loss (Pa)

xsy = installation loss coefficient

pd = dynamic pressure in the nominal intake and outlet of the fan (Pa)

Fan and Temperature Increase

Near all of the energy lost in a fan will heat up the air flow and the temperature increase can be
expressed like

dt = dp / 1000 (6)

where

dt = temperature increase (K)

dp = increased pressure head (Pa)

Standards for Fan Efficiency

ISO 12759 "Fans – Efficiency classification for fans"
AMCA 205 "Energy Efficiency Classification for fans"

Related Topics
Ventilation - Systems for ventilation and air handling - air change rates, ducts and
pressure drops, charts and diagrams and more

Related Documents
Efficiency - Efficiency is the ratio between the useful energy output and the energy input
Fan Capacity Diagrams - Pressure, head, air flow volume and fan capacity diagrams
Fan Classification - AMCA - Fan classification established by AMCA
Fan Motors - Starting Torques - A fan motor must be capable of accelerating the fan
wheel to operating speed
Fans - Air Temperature and Volume Flow, Pressure Head and Power Consumption -
The temperature and density of the air influences on the volume flow, pressure head and
power consumption in a fan
Fans - Calculate Air and Brake Horsepower - AHP - Air Horse Power and BHP - Brake
Horse Power
Fans - Noise Power Generated - Noise or sound generated by a fan depends on the
motor power, volume capacity, static pressure and discharged volume
Fans and Capacity Control - Modulating fans and their capacities
Power - Power is the rate at which work is done or energy converted
Pumps, Fans and Turbines - Horsepower - British Horse Power in pumps, fans and
turbines - and how to convert to other units

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Types of Fans - Axial and propeller fans, centrifugal (radial) fans, mixed flow fans and
cross flow fans

Tag Search
en: fan efficiency power consumption
es: ventilador de consumo de energía eficiencia
de: Lüftereffizienz Stromverbrauch

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