[Equest-users] The Air Pear Fan

Nick Caton ncaton at smithboucher.com
Fri Dec 13 13:51:55 PST 2013


Hi Tom,

I haven't tried this under LEED review, but I reckon it's approachable.

On a basic level, assuming you could acquire/assemble facts to present a solid case that such a product is XX% more efficient in operation than a more typical de-stratification approach (see: http://www.bigassfans.com/), procedurally you could simply apply a flat derating of the same percentage to either the kW input or the associated operation schedule for an internal load.

If you mean to take this further and make the case for heating/cooling conditioning savings due to opting for de-stratification in design (considering it's not a prescriptive requirement for the baseline) - that may be a more tenuous argument.  Consider procedurally for you modelling that eQuest/DOE2 assumes all spaces are "perfectly mixed" hour by hour, so effects of stratification are something you'll need to push into the model via zoning.

I expect stratification is for many cases, generally, an energy saver in the cooling months, allowing for a smaller-volume conditioned zone at the occupied floor level, whereas de-stratification would save energy in the heating months for the opposite reasons.  If the de-stratification is to be run seasonally, you might consider run two models representative of a larger and smaller conditioned volume (perhaps informed with some separate CFD analysis) to marry the results together.

I think in a lot of cases however, air circulation is the primary goal (for comfort) and not de-stratification to gain efficiencies in AC operation... in which case the building owner is likely to operate such equipment year-round irrespective of seasonal realities.  Be cognizant of this possibility and the degree of controls readily afforded to the occupants before putting too much time into making a false case of operation.

In any case, I would include the manufacturer in my initial assessment.  They are likely to have collected case studies and research to make the case for their product.  Review any such literature with a critical eye and you may well stumble into a pre-established modeling procedure to follow.
Hope that helps!

~Nick

[cid:489575314 at 22072009-0ABB]

NICK CATON, P.E.
SENIOR ENGINEER

Smith & Boucher Engineers
25501 west valley parkway, suite 200
olathe, ks 66061
direct 913.344.0036
fax 913.345.0617
www.smithboucher.com

From: equest-users-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org [mailto:equest-users-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org] On Behalf Of Tom Mickley
Sent: Friday, December 13, 2013 10:51 AM
To: equest-users at lists.onebuilding.org
Subject: [Equest-users] The Air Pear Fan

Everyone,

Has anyone tried to model 'The Air Pear' fan?  This is a new company that specializes in thermal equilibrium and destratification for high bay facilities.  From what I've read about the fan thus far, it seems to be extremely more efficient compared to paddle fans and others of that nature.  My question being, how could you quantify the savings and model the building accordingly?  Also, if used for LEED, how could you prove to them the significance of the fans in credits such as EAp2?

Thanks in advance.

Thanks,

Tom Mickley
Mechanical Engineer CEM
The K Company
Cell 330 760 3994

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