Information Center — The Workplace

As a site manager, the safety of your employees is paramount, which is why you should always have confined space blowers and confined ventilators on hand to maintain high-quality breathable air in the area your workers are. This becomes particularly important in confined spaces where gases and other chemicals can quickly build up and create a danger. Without proper ventilation, those working in tunnels or manholes simply won’t be able to breathe properly, affecting their health and productivity. Using a confined space ventilator in a confined space is fairly similar to using it in an open area, although it is...

If you’ve ever been in a manufacturing complex or an old school live music venue, you may have noticed large exhaust fans and no HVAC conduits. The reason why may surprise you. One of the common misunderstandings in today’s business environment is that you must install extremely expensive HVAC systems. In reality, that’s not the case. Ventilation fans are generally a better resource for fresh air flow at a fraction of the cost. Exhaust Fans Meet Building Codes Building codes do not force businesses to have HVAC. The codes require that you provide adequately circulated fresh air. The important aspect...

A chemical facility or industrial plant processes and manufactures dangerous chemicals. Often processed indoors, these flammable chemicals and compounds require ventilation, including spark proof and explosion proof wall fans, to keep workers and chemical storage systems protected. Generally, chemical plants look to create new materials, enhance current materials, or create chemical and biological reactions to separate substances into different components. Chemical facilities include Natural Gas plants, power plants, petroleum refineries, and wastewater and sewage treatment facilities. Why Explosion Proof Wall Fans Matter Industries that produce explosive materials require proper ventilation including explosion proof wall exhaust fans, as well as supply...

A vent fan plays a key role in air quality inside buildings, but if they’re overused, the venting fan can undermine the building’s energy efficiency and even safety. Even though most vent fans are small, they are powerful. Depending on their cubic feet per minute (CFM) capacity, they can pull a fair amount of heated or cooled air from the building through their vent stacks. Worse, venting fans can also introduce hazardous gases into the indoor air like carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxides and sewer gases. If flammable or combustible gases, fumes or dust is present, explosion proof exhaust fans may...

Whether you’re installing ventilation fans for building safety or comfort, it’s important to estimate the fan calculation as closely as possible. Fan size is based on its cubic feet per minute (CFM). It’s important to match the CFMs to the cubic feet (CF) inside the building. Industrial Fans Direct has a cubic feet per minute calculator that’s useful for fan sizing, along with a table that shows recommended air changes per minute based on the building’s use. The fan calculator makes calculating CFM’s fast and accurate. However, if your building has varied ceiling heights, you may need to calculate the...