What char­ac­ter­izes the EC centrifugal blower?

The EC centrifugal blower combines energy effi­ciency and high power density with fast start-up. Its control elec­tronics are opti­mized so that it gets up to speed in a very short time. It’s up to speed in only three to four seconds, reaching air flow of up to 3,000 m3/h. Its power consump­tion is up to 30 percent lower than that of compa­rable AC fans.

The EC centrifugal blower combines energy effi­ciency and high power density with fast start-up. (Photo: Gernot Walter)

Where are such fans in demand?

Anywhere where fans with a fast start-up are needed, espe­cially in air locks outside clean rooms in elec­tronics produc­tion and in air curtains such as those in truck loading ramps. But they can also be used for cooling power elec­tronics. Usually AC fans are used in these appli­ca­tions, but in many cases they no longer satisfy the require­ments of the ErP Direc­tive.

What advan­tages does the EC centrifugal blower have?

Thanks to the many forward-curved blades in the impeller, it’s quiet. Its noise is more pleasant than that of compa­rable fans, espe­cially in the low-frequency range. And it’s very rugged and durable, thanks to its housing made of sendz­imir galva­nized sheet steel. The control elec­tronics installed on the scroll housing are protected against mois­ture and dust. The elec­tronics housing is made of die-cast aluminum and partly extends into the fan’s air-conducting scroll housing. That cools the elec­tronics very well, which signif­i­cantly increases the power density and service life.

Fans for air locks and air curtains are often oper­ated in parallel connec­tion. Isn’t that a problem for EC fans?

Uwe Sigloch, Head of Venti­lation and Air Condi­tioning Market Manage­ment at ebm-papst (Photo: ebm-papst)

Until recently, that could be diffi­cult due to disturbing harmonics. It was only possible to operate EC fans in parallel with addi­tional measures such as inter­fer­ence suppres­sion filters. Now we’ve devel­oped a solu­tion with inte­grated power factor correc­tion. Active PFC reduces the harmonics and ensures that the require­ments can be complied with without addi­tional measures.

What about moni­toring?

Our bus connec­tion offers major advan­tages, espe­cially when multiple fans are in use in air curtains. The fans can be controlled and moni­tored through the bus. For example, the oper­ator has access to the fans from a central PC and can monitor their oper­ating status, detect and diag­nose faults, and initiate any neces­sary main­te­nance work. There is also smart­phone-capable moni­toring soft­ware avail­able for wire­less moni­toring of the networked fans.