A customer came to Eldridge needing a total overhaul of their ventilation system. They were consolidating the operations of another plant into their Houston facility and wanted to make sure that their employees would be cool and comfortable after adding more heat generating equipment. What we were able to do for the customer was to design and install a new ventilation system that solved all of their problems and create another successful environment.
Ventilation System Assessment
The customer’s existing ventilation system had not been maintained. Some of the fans were not working and others were not moving their rated volume of air. When the main building was enlarged two times in the past, additional supply and exhaust fans were installed. However, the location of the new ventilation equipment was not ideal, leaving many dead spots with no air movement.
In the middle of one of the addon sections to the customer’s facility was a galvanizing operation. The existing ventilation system was not adequate to remove the heat and fumes generated by this operation. As a result, the heat and fumes would extend out and away from the galvanizing operation at the floor level making it a difficult place to work.
New Ventilation System Design
In addition to fixing the problems with the existing system, we had to take into consideration the location of additional heat generating equipment. Our first step in the design process was to determine the air change rate required to remove the heat from the galvanizing operation and the additional heat generating equipment. Next, we chose to locate exhaust fans over the heat generating equipment and the galvanizing operation to draw the heat and fumes up and away from the floor level. The heat and fumes from the galvanizing operation also lead us to determine that the facility needed to have a negative pressure to better facilitate the vertical movement of air to exhaust them.
For the remainder of the exhaust and supply air flow, we chose to utilize wall fans. Where possible, supply fans were located at floor level to create air movement across work areas. Exhaust fans were located at the top of the wall opposite to the supply fans to enhance the flow of air in work areas.
Equipment Selection
For the roof exhaust fans, we selected four 48” Eldridge Direct Drive Upblast Roof Ventilators. These rugged industrial grade fans are ideal for exhausting an air stream containing heat and fumes. 
For the wall exhaust and supply fans, we selected eighteen 42” Eldridge Direct Drive Panel Fans. These fans will provide many years of maintenance free operation.
Conclusion
I recently visited the customer’s facility on a warm day. The customer was very happy with the performance of the ventilation system. With the fans running, the inside of the customer’s facility was the same as the outside temperature. Even better, the area around the galvanizing operation was fume free. The cooler and fume free work environment that we created will definitely have a payback to the customer through higher productivity and lower employee turnover. At Eldridge, we call that another successful environment.