Aircraft hangar halves heating costs with destratification

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Gama AviationGama Aviation has slashed running costs for heating in its Farnborough hangar by over 48%, simply by recirculating heat, says Airius in this sponsored post.

The 6,000 square foot engineering hangar, which is used primarily for aircraft maintenance, is serviced by two large heating units which would run continuously 24/7 but never reach thermostat set points. In order to combat this issue Gama Aviation turned to the recently advanced technology – destratification – as a solution.

Now, by continuously recycling that has risen to the top of the building back down to the  floor, the firm has cut heating energy costs by 48.22%.

Destratification is the balancing of vertical temperature variances within a building or space by continuously circulating the internal air, thus preventing warm air from rising where it can either accumulate and pool at the ceiling, or be lost through the roof as a result of little or no insulation.

Although destratification systems have been around for some time, Airius says that simple blade or ‘punkah’ fan solutions have never been able to harness airflow efficiently for maximum savings, or cater for buildings with high ceilings such as aircraft hangars, sports halls, atriums, etc. The company claims that other ‘box’ fan systems, which are adaptations based upon an aging fan technology are also large, heavy, loud, draughty and expensive to run.

Now with the advances in axial turbine and fan motor technology, the third generation of destratification fan systems are beginning to show the full and true potential. According to Airius, they save on average between 30% – 50% on HVAC costs.

Prior to installation the Gama Aviation Farnborough hangar had been operating two large heating units fuelled by natural gas. After installation of the Airius destratification system only one heating unit was required to maintain conditions, reducing their natural gas consumption by 1,136m in only two months compared to the previous year.

“Gama Aviation are always looking for new initiatives and technologies to help reduce energy consumption.” Says Sean Hull, Gama Aviation’s Engineering Operations Manager for the Farnborough site. “Not only to reduce costs but also to adhere to new legislation and contribute towards creating a sustainable future for all. The Airius system has been an effective solution towards helping Gama Aviation achieve those goals.”

Gama Aviation is not alone in benefitting from modern destratification solutions in the aviation industry. Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska installed Airius destratification to steady temperatures, reduce energy bills and improve employee comfort in environments where temperatures can plummet to as low as -45°C.

Following installation in its main aircraft maintenance hangar, Scott Lammers, who oversees facilities management engineering for the State of Alaska and Air Guard, commented: “The next morning I noticed when I got up on the catwalk how much cooler that area was. It was like the whole chamber was one temperature. We also noticed how much hotter the hangar floor slab was.”

See more Airius case studies here.

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