Stay Cool - Comfortable Work, Rest and Play with EC Aura
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As winter’s grasp slowly releases its hold, the first signs of spring herald the coming of warmer, more temperate times. The awakening grass, budding leaves and spring blossoms tempt us into spending more time outdoors when recreational activities – gardening, sports, rambling – become pleasant pastimes. As spring moves into summer and temperature climb, it sometimes can be less pleasant to remain indoors. Overheating can induce feelings of lethargy, tiredness, lack of energy that can be relieved by a refreshing breeze.
According to several studies we can spend as much as 90% of our time indoors at work, rest or play. The combination of what we are doing and the ambient temperature around us will greatly affect our comfort at the time.
Evolution of the Desk fan into the EC Aura Personnel Cooler
Most of us will be familiar with the design of desk fans. Created primarily for personal use near the user, the desk fan will provide a breeze (forced convection), over the user which increases provision of cool air and heat exchange rate over the skin. Desk fans can be designed to be static – a fixed direction of airflow delivery – or oscillating – swivelling the impeller through an oscillating angle.
Designed mainly for a single individual’s comfort, the fans are usually supplied with a safety grille to prevent contact injury and are fitted with inexpensive shaded pole motors. The air path through the fan is not directed which causes the air to be blown in all directions. This means that the fans need to run faster to deliver the desired cooling effect which creates lots of noise. The use of a shaded pole motor keeps the purchase cost of the desk fan low but the low-efficiency motor consumes lots of energy. The low efficiency means the motor is both expensive to run and a high proportion of the energy consumed is being lost as heat. The heat loss increases the ambient temperature of the area it is working in which contributes to creating an uncomfortable environment.
In a work situation such as a production line, in a hospitality environment such as a marquee or event hall, in a leisure environment such as a sports hall, gym, dancehall etc…, or in any environment where the room is larger and there are more people to keep cool, the localised forced convection that is offered by a desk fan may not be appropriate – it’s time to call in the pro’s.
Originally conceived with a 500mm diameter 4-pole single phase motor that could plug into the mains supply, the “Mancooler” was seen as an inexpensive simple solution. Initial product offerings used existing duct mounted fans, attaching them to a framework and placing a guard on inlet and exhaust. Control was achieved using an electronic voltage regulator which varied the speed of the fan. The control method reduced motor efficiency and created a loud low frequency buzzing noise.
Old design “ManCooler” based on duct mounted fan
The new EC Aura Personnel Cooler
When ebm-papst UK decided to apply our knowledge and expertise to this type of product the “EC Aura – Personnel Cooler” was conceived. We set about optimising the design from several viewpoints.
- 115V Version (764-5811)
- 230V Version
(764-5818)
EC Aura Personnel Cooler – Features
- Impeller Design – the existing design fan impeller used basic straight impeller blades. ebm-papst changed this to the HyBlade impeller increasing the fan efficiency, lowering the power consumption and reducing the noise level.
- Fan guarding and mounting – The flow direction for the fan was changed to minimise the effect of turbulence and unwanted noise as the air is drawn through the contact protection guards in the inlet and exhaust sides of the fan.
- Housing design – A mounting ring for the fan assembly was devised to minimise tip clearance turbulence whilst providing directionality and greater air throw on the fan outlet increasing its effective range.
- Mounting frame – With the inclusion of wheels and ergonomic, balanced frame assembly the EC Aura personnel cooler can be placed in the position it is most needed quickly and simply.
- Motor efficiency – With a high efficiency electronically commutated motor driving the fan power consumption is minimised whilst performance is maximised.
- Motor control – on-board speed control allows the user to tailor fan performance noiselessly without undesirable low-frequency buzzing.
Maintaining a comfortable working environment when the ambient temperature rises provides benefits by increasing well-being and productiveness.
With Formula 1 racing pedigree, the EC Aura Personnel cooler is used by World Champion team Mercedes and Force India, helping the pit crew to concentrate on the race rather than being hampered by the environment.
Designed to be portable while providing powerful and variable airflow. The EC Aura fans provide an energy efficient, low noise option to traditional temporary cooling solutions and are ideal for both industrial, leisure and commercial environments.