What are fanwalls?
Fanwalls, also referred to as multi-motor fan arrays, are block modules that are stacked to form a large fan unit. They are used to replace conventional single fan installations that are much larger in size and weight.
Why are fanwalls gaining momentum in the industry?
Fanwalls and multi-motor installations have been gaining momentum over the past decade throughout the industry due to ease of installation, limited noise and vibration, reduced downtime in event of failure and increased overall efficiency compared to conventional single fan installations.
• Ease of installation - Fanwalls can be installed in sections compared to one large single fan
• Limited noise and vibration - Many fanwalls are designed to produce significantly lower vibration and sound
• Reduced downtime - In the event of failure, remainder of operating fans can compensate to maintain airflow
• Increased efficiency - Fanwalls often utilize ECMs and eliminate the redundancy of requiring a standby unit
How to efficiently monitor status on fanwall applications:
Monitoring status of multiple motors in close proximity can become burdensome due to space constraints in the panel and time required to install individual current sensors for each motor. To monitor each individual motor for status, consider using the Senva C-1500-6 Multi-point Current Switch which allows for monitoring up to 6 points with one sensor.
If the fanwall consists of greater than 6 motors or is controlled by a VFD, Senva also offers a microprocessor based sensor that is able to detect the loss of any one or more equally sized motor from the fan array. The C-1550 works to monitor status on up to 18 equally sized motors by calibrating to a learned ratio of current A to current B and continuously monitoring for a change in the ratio of 10% or more. The C-1550 works on the load side of VFDs and can operate in a frequency range of 15-60Hz. The sensor will also work with non-VFD motor loads.
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Monitoring Status on Fanwall and Multi-Motor Applications
