A retrofit makes most people think of replacing an obso­lete or broken fan with a new one. As before, this is still the main way of bringing existing venti­lation, air condi­tioning and refrig­er­a­tion plants to a state-of-the-art level without having to invest in a completely new system. ebm-papst has been providing the right compo­nents for this for many years now and is also on hand with exten­sive exper­tise to help its part­ners with plan­ning and imple­menting the system.

Open to all types of control

But by founding ebm-papst neo GmbH & Co KG, the fan experts have opened the door to a world of entirely new digital solu­tions. A key part of this is the data-driven retrofit. In prin­ciple, almost any control system can be connected to the cloud later. The bene­fits of this upgrade should not be under­es­ti­mated: it means that the data obtained can be accessed, visu­al­ized and brought together. This soon brings added value, as the oper­a­tion can be opti­mized and anom­alies can be quickly detected and resolved. Using learning algo­rithms provides a smooth process that is contin­u­ally and auto­mat­i­cally opti­mized.

Networking fans and entire build­ings

The ebm-papst Building Connect plat­form is an effec­tive tool for this purpose. It collects data from existing systems – from fan to building control – and analyses them. Room plans are used to create a digital twin of the building on the plat­form. The algo­rithms working in the back­ground learn from user behavior, building char­ac­ter­is­tics and envi­ron­mental condi­tions to constantly improve the entire building ecosystem.

For example, if the ebm-papst Building Connect plat­form is linked to a simple building control system, you are giving it an Internet-capable brain. It spec­i­fies opti­mized times for a time-controlled venti­lation system, making a rigid system into an intel­li­gent real-time control system. Customers receive direct access to their data, so they can keep an eye on what is actu­ally happening – in real time! On request, the plat­form user inter­face can also be labeled for the customer. Third-party appli­ca­tions can also be linked.

Customers receive direct access to their data, so they can keep an eye on what is actu­ally happening – in real time!

Another major advan­tage of this data-driven upgrade: the ebm-papst Building Connect plat­form can be imple­mented quickly and easily. A good time to do so is when retro­fitting fans, for example the latest gener­a­tion of RadiPac centrifugal fans. After all, they are easy to link and provide intel­li­gent control systems that supply numerous valu­able data.

Achieve even more data and added value by installing a true plug-and-play solu­tion: the RESET-certi­fied fan from ebm-papst. This combined product consists of an energy-saving fan with RESET-certi­fied sensor and a gateway that enables direct connec­tion to the cloud. The RESET-certi­fied fan supplies tradi­tional fan data such as speed, vibra­tion, noise, air speed and power consump­tion, but also para­me­ters for air quality like temper­a­ture, humidity, carbon dioxide, fine dust and gases emitted by mate­rials inside. This makes it a corner­stone for having a building certi­fied to the world’s first sensor-based building stan­dard RESET.

More added value: docu­men­ta­tion, produc­tivity, health

Numerous studies have proven that good air quality increases employees’ produc­tivity at work. It is obvious that it is also good for health. And if the air quality is sustain­able, like the RESET stan­dard requires, this provides the building oper­ator with many convincing argu­ments.

But docu­men­ta­tion of perfor­mance data in build­ings is playing an increas­ingly impor­tant role even without air quality certi­fi­ca­tion, in order to provide the required effi­ciency certifi­cates, for example. Instead of having to gather labo­rious data that is often esti­mated, the ebm-papst Building Connect plat­form collates it at the click of a button.

Instead of having to gather labo­rious data that is often esti­mated, the ebm-papst Building Connect plat­form collates it at the click of a button.

Depending on the appli­ca­tion and situ­a­tion, it is possible to create very different, and some­times unex­pected, added value. One example is new busi­ness models: because of the link to its customers’ data, a manu­fac­turer of air puri­fiers can sell not just its devices but a “clean air” service. The experts at ebm-papst neo speak directly to the customer to develop the poten­tial concrete bene­fits of a data-driven retrofit. And, as before, this requires human problem solving skills.

Learn more about ebm-papst neo solu­tions and the RESET building stan­dard.