High-efficiency motors reduce electrical consumption of fan-coil units

20 September, 2005

The electrical power consumption of Ability fan-coil units can be more than halved using electronically commutated motors from ebm-papst — with considerable benefits on installed chiller capacity.

A range of fan-coil units using electronically commutated fan motors has been introduced by Ability Projects. Available as 2- and 4- pipe versions, they use ebm-papst’s high-efficiency DC motor technology, which offers infinitely variable speed. Using these motors considerably reduces the electrical power consumption of these fan-coil units. At a typical duty point, the electrical consumption is said to be reduced by 50 to 75% — representing a reduction from, say, 210 W using an AC motor to 60 W for a unit using two fans. These new motors also run cooler than AC motors, so that less chiller capacity is required. Ability allows 80 W of chilled water per fan to handle heat from motors, and managing director Peter Lowther tells us, ‘On a project of a hundred fan-coil units, the number of fans used would normally be around 250, so that 20 kW of chiller output is required to offset motor heat in the fan-coil units. For a project of 500 fan coils, the chiller output could potentially be oversized by 100 kW.’ Evolution technology, as it is called, can be incorporated into nearly all Ability’s FCUs — horizontal and vertical, waterside and airside. It can be retrofitted into many FCUs previously supplied with AC motors.

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