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EC Fan Arrays for AHUs

By July 14, 2020May 18th, 2022No Comments

Does a fan array make more sense than a single fan? Is there any reason to upgrade to EC fans?

These may be questions you or your customers face when it comes time to retrofit an air handling unit with a new fan system. As technology develops, how can you be sure you will be installing the best equipment? What are the best for efficiency, dependability, and operational simplicity?

Fan arrays are nearly always the better option–for many reasons:

Redundancy and Reliability

Having a fan array means the failure of a single fan will not mean a complete loss of airflow for your facility. In fact, a well-designed system could mean zero loss with N+1 redundancy.

Backdraft dampers are generally included. This ensures that the air handling unit can continue operating without human intervention. Additionally, with EC fans, the remaining fans can ramp up to compensate for any lost capacity (click here to learn more about EC fans).

Ease of Installation

By engineering an array of fans instead of a single fan, the size of each fan and motor is greatly reduced. At Mainstream, we’ve replaced fan arrays over 100 HP with individual motors less than 10 HP each. Why? The smaller fans are easier to handle, making installation faster, easier, safer, and cheaper. We supply the fans mounted in cubes that can be stacked and bolted together extremely quickly–learn more.

Quiet Operation

EC fans’ innovative and well-engineered design makes them quieter than most AC fans. This is especially true when the fans and motors are reduced to fit into an array. If sound is an issue, sound can be further reduced by lining the cube interiors with acoustic insulation or reducing the fan speed.

And much more…

As discussed in the “What are EC Fans?” article, EC fans have additional benefits, including ease of control and efficiency. The benefits of EC fan arrays strongly outweigh any potential negatives. This technology is undoubtedly the future of the industry. If you are interested in learning more about the fan systems Mainstream offers, head over to Fan Arrays, or give us a call!