It can’t be seen, smelt or heard, but when it accu­mu­lates indoors, it is a poten­tially signif­i­cant health hazard. We’re refer­ring to radon, a radioac­tive gas with health risks that many people are unaware of. Its impact on the body should not be under­es­ti­mated: High radon radi­a­tion levels of over 4.0 pico-curies per liter of air (pCi/L) corre­spond to approx­i­mately 200 X-rays per year—the maximum number recom­mended by the United States Envi­ron­mental Protec­tion Agency is five. In America, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer.

“Elevated levels are measured in about one in every 15 house­holds in the United States,” says Avery Festa, whose father founded Festa Radon Tech­nolo­gies in Penn­syl­vania, back in 1996, in response to this crit­ical issue. Festa Radon Tech­nolo­gies develops solu­tions to combat this radioac­tive gas. The market is still rela­tively young: “The problem is that many people don’t know how dangerous radon can be indoors. But aware­ness is steadily increasing.”

Preven­tion is key

In addi­tion to a catalog of radon-related acces­sories like measuring devices and system compo­nents, Festa Radon Tech­nolo­gies offers a lineup of radon miti­ga­tion fans. These systems consist of a network of pipes connected to a radon fan. The fan gener­ates air flow and pres­sure which prevents radon gas from infil­trating the struc­ture.

Festa relies on ebm-papst’s back­ward-curved radial fans. The fans are installed in a casing, to which capac­i­tors and other small compo­nents are added—making the fan fit for use in the extrac­tion system.

The part­ner­ship between the two compa­nies has been continued since the late 1990s: “ebm-papst has always impressed us with its inno­va­tions, high-tech solu­tions and, above all, the people that we collabo-rate with. Together, we work to create the best prod­ucts for our customers,” says Avery Festa. George Riker, Busi­ness Devel­op­ment Manager at ebm-papst, has posi­tive memo­ries of the early stages of the collab­o­ra­tion: “We’ve been working with Festa since the late 1990s, when radon miti­ga­tion was still a new market. In those early years, we provided them with valu­able engi­neering services. The back­ward-curved impeller is what drives these systems, and our envi­ron­men­tally robust motors ensure reli­a­bility in harsh envi­ron­ments.”

Their vari­able and precise speed control makes the EC fans ideal for radon manage­ment: “They offer consis­tent and reli­able perfor­mance and are char­ac­ter­ized by their long service life, low main­te­nance require­ments and high effi­ciency,” says Riker. They also reduce energy costs: “The EC fans have a much lower power consump­tion and higher perfor­mance than our AC fan coun­ter­parts, reducing power consump­tion by up to 45 percent in some models,” says Festa. In addi­tion, EC motors are pleas­antly quiet—an advan­tage that is partic­u­larly appre­ci­ated by resi­dents. Although ebm-papst still currently supplies fans with AC motors, “our goal is to grad­u­ally convert the industry to EC tech­nology,” says Festa.

The goal: Combat radon before it becomes dangerous

Radon emanates from the ground and enters build­ings through small cracks in the foun­da­tion slab. Various factors, including HVAC systems and the chimney or stack effect, create nega­tive pres­sure within the struc­ture that pulls radon into the building. When radon accu­mu­lates indoors, HVAC or venti­lation systems distribute the harmful gas throughout the building.

Preven­tion is bene­fi­cial, and in the US, a radon test is stan­dard prac­tice before buying a house. If radon levels in the building exceed permitted limits, the seller needs to install a miti­ga­tion system. “There are special­ists for radon miti­ga­tion, and they are our most impor­tant customers,” explains Avery Festa. “But home­owners are also inter­ested in our solu­tions.”

“The fan is the heart of the radon system.”

Avery Festa, Festa Radon Tech­nolo­gies

Indoor air made safe through fan tech­nology

Active soil depres­sur­iza­tion (ASD) is the most common and effec­tive method for reducing radon levels. The Festa radon removal system has two func­tions: It actively extracts radon from the soil to the beneath the slab outside and, at the same time, creates nega­tive pres­sure so that the gas cannot enter the house in the first place. For the removal system to work, all cracks and gaps in the floor slab must first be sealed. The installers then drill a hole through the floor slab and dig a so-called “suction pit.” A pipe is connected to this sealed hole, which leads from the floor to the outer wall of the house. This is where the fan is located. It gener­ates air flow and nega­tive pres­sure, ensuring that the radon present is safely discharged above the roofline and cannot infil­trate the struc­ture.

The impor­tance of dura­bility

Radon extrac­tion fans are often exposed to harsh envi­ron­mental condi­tions. Because they are vented through the roof, they must contin­u­ously with­stand mois­ture, rain and conden­sa­tion. “The fan must also be able to cope with other chal­lenges like sedi­ments, debris and temper­a­ture changes,” says Festa. The fans are in constant operation—24 /7, 365 days a year—and must main­tain a consis­tent suction pres­sure. Festa Radon Tech­nolo­gies is able to offer its customers a seven- year warranty. “We are very proud to be able to offer the most reli­able prod­ucts on the market, and we owe this not least to the fans from ebm-papst,” says Festa.