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U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

    New Fan System Training to Launch September 14

    September 8, 2004

    Many opportunities exist to improve energy efficiency of industrial fan systems. In fact, industrial plants could save 5% to 15% of fan system energy use through equipment upgrades, 20% to 50% through speed control in variable flow, and 5% to 25% through optimal system design.

    To help industrial plants identify and take advantage of these opportunities, DOE's Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) is launching a new Fan System training program, and will co-host the first workshop with the Air Movement and Control Association (AMCA International), on September 14, 2004, in Arlington Heights, IL. If you are a plant engineer or you are involved in the operation and maintenance of fan systems in your plant, plan to attend the 1-day workshop, which includes an overview of the latest in the DOE-developed suite of software tools, the Fan System Assessment Tool (FSAT). The new tool helps to determine the potential benefit of optimizing fan system configurations to improve industrial processes. Use FSAT to:

    • Calculate the energy used by a fan system
    • Determine a system's current efficiency
    • Quantify potential savings from system upgrades.

    Optimization of fan systems can take many forms; however, any fan optimization project must meet the needs of the process and ensure the safety of the plant staff.  Keeping these needs in mind the Fan System training will emphasize:

    • Understanding the benefits of fan system optimization
    • Calculating the cost of operating your fan system
    • Identifying the interaction between the fan curve and the system curve
    • Estimating the overall efficiency of a fan system
    • Analyzing the optimization potential of fan systems
    • Creating an action plan to improve fan system efficiency.

    Visit ITP's BestPractices training calendar to sign up for this session. Learn more about ITP's training opportunities and software tools on the BestPractices Web Site. You can also contact the EERE Information Center at 877-337-3463 (877-EERE-INF) or eereic@ee.doe.gov for more about BestPractices resources available to help you improve plant efficiency and the bottom line right now.