4 Common Problems With Restaurant Exhaust Systems

commercial fansIf you’re a restaurant owner, you already have plenty to worry about. For the most part, commercial fans are probably not at the top of your priority list. It’s important that you at least pay attention to your exhaust systems and commercial fans around your building, however, because if you ignore the repair needs to these appliances, you could soon have some serious problems with your restaurant.

Here are a few common problems that can occur with your restaurant’s commercial fans.

Cleanliness

Every inch of your restaurant should be thoroughly cleaned every once in a while, especially your exhaust systems. These exhaust systems repeatedly filter strong kitchen odors and can end up being damaged and smelling horrible if left ignored for too long. On average, your restaurant exhaust systems should be cleaned at least once every three months, but you can always clean them on a more frequent basis.

Motor Issues

If your restaurant’s kitchen fan begins to make strange and overly loud noises, it could be a sign that there is a problem with the fan’s motor. If the motor is not properly keeping the fan operating, unusual noise is often the result and the fan’s motor can completely burn out after a while. You might have to fully replace the motor if severe damage has occurred, but check with a maintenance worker beforehand.

Complete Power Failure

Obviously a power issue regarding your exhaust system is a big problem for your restaurant’s operation. A power failure should be addressed immediately. You can inspect the issue yourself by making sure the fan hasn’t tripped the circuit breaker. If that’s all that happened, simply switch the circuit breaker back into place and you should be all set. If a fuse has completely blown, however, you will have to replace it before the issue is resolved.

Moisture Buildup

Specifically in the kitchen of any restaurant, there is a significant amount of condensation that stems from exhaust systems. After a while, that condensation will build up and result in moisture dripping from your exhaust system. Simply checking to see whether or not there is an excess of moisture by removing the fan’s cover after shutting off the power can solve this common problem.

Contact Brooklyn Fan and Blower today to learn more about commercial exhaust fans.

Proper Ventilation: The 4 Benefits of Installing Duct Fans

duct fansThere are plenty of benefits, both financial and energy related, of installing commercial fans in any size building. But duct fans in particular offer a number of additional benefits. Here are a few specific reasons why you should be using duct fans in your commercial building.

Save Some Money

Rather than spending a significant amount of money on air conditioning expenses each month, installing a few duct fans can produce a great cooling effect at a much more cost friendly rate. Installing electronically commutated motors (ECM) on small walk-in freezers can even save roughly $200 a year per fan.

Control Humidity

Another major benefit of duct fans and exhaust systems is the ability to control the humidity levels inside buildings, hallways, and rooms. If humidity levels are too high in your building, that could lead to serious and expensive damage down the line, including mildew buildup and mold. These unwanted moldy spots are caused by constant steam and high humidity levels, and they can be a nightmare for property owners.

Fortunately, even small exhaust systems can release moist steam and humid air out of the room, which will subsequently dry the air, making it virtually impossible for mold spores and mildew to grow. Because bathrooms often have the highest levels of humidity within commercial buildings, it’s essential that these rooms are properly ventilated at all times.

Maintain the Health of the Building’s Structure

Especially in areas of the property where employees or passersby might be smoking, smokey tar residue can latch onto the walls and windows of building and cause damage over time. Using fans to extract this smoke is a great way to stop this unwanted buildup of tar and keep your building healthy and strong.

Limit Unwanted Odors and Fumes

In large industrial buildings, all that machinery will often produce strong smells and fumes. Not only can these smells be distracting to workers, but they can be a sign of dangerous indoor air pollution levels. Properly utilizing fans and exhaust systems will help remove these fumes and nasty odors so you and the rest of the people in the building can breathe in peace. If your building doesn’t have a proper ventilation system, however, and these unwanted odors continue to build up, they can eventually cause physical damage to the walls — and your lungs. With the right combination of duct fans, ventilation, and exhaust fans, you can help control your indoor air quality at all times.

If you want to learn more about proper ventilation and commercial exhaust systems, contact Brooklyn Fan today.

3 Essential Cooling Tips to Help Lower Your Commercial Building Energy Bills

 

fans

It costs a lot to keep a large building or warehouse cool during the year, especially if there are large machines using up a lot of energy. If you’re not careful with how you’re handling your energy output and expenses, it can end up costing much more than necessary. To keep your energy costs low, here are some tips you can use to cut down on your commercial air conditioning costs.

Installing Fans

The most important factor when it comes to keeping large buildings cool is the circulation of air. You can turn back your central cooling by only three degrees Fahrenheit and cut AC costs by up to 12% to 15%. Installing multiple fans throughout your commercial property will work great to improve circulation and reduce the need for cooling. For extremely large commercial buildings, using industrial exhaust fans will keep the cool air circulating throughout the property.

Cover Building’s Windows

Commercial buildings typically have large windows that can let in plenty of extra heat during the day, which subsequently jacks up your energy expenses. If you install mesh-like covering or solar screens on your windows, however, you’ll be ale to keep them open during the summer, enjoy the cool breeze, all while blocking out the unwanted heat. These types of screens can actually absorb wholly 70% of solar energy before it enters your building. Another added benefit of properly screening your building’s windows is preventing insects from easily getting in.

Keep Up With Appliance Maintenance

Whether it’s your exhaust fans or your air conditioning unit, if you aren’t staying on top of regular maintenance and repairs, these systems could end up overworking themselves, resulting in a spike in energy costs and a decrease in efficiency. Simply performing routine checks to ensure that all your building’s appliances are fully functioning can end up saving you plenty of cash in the long run. If you wait too long after finding an issue or ignore your appliances completely, you’re going to be seeing higher energy costs and your building will not be kept as cool.

Don’t overpay for your building’s energy needs. If you want to learn more about commercial centrifugal and exhaust systems, contact Brooklyn Fan and Blower today.

3 Types of Commercial Centrifugal Fans

commercial centrifugal fansCommercial centrifugal fans are necessary to properly draw out contaminated air in an industrial setting and replace it with fresh air. Commercial centrifugal fans utilize belt driven blowers to push unwanted odors and fumes away from the center of an area by using a high velocity fan.

A popular industrial centrifugal fan is the laminar unit, which is commonly used in large areas such as hospitals because it keeps clean air circulated up to 300 times per hour. In businesses that work in greenhouses, use caustic chemicals, or just need to be properly ventilated at all hours, these industrial fans are essential. Air blowers can keep temperatures and humidity levels at a consistent level, effectively dilute air contaminants in a workspace, and make the air much safer to breathe as a result.

There are various classes of centrifugal blowers, which are determined by the position of the wheel blade in respect to the rotational direction.

Forward Curve Blower

For this type of fan, the bladed tips are at an incline in the direction of the rotation. Forward curve is the most common type of centrifugal system and is normally used in residential HVAC systems and lighter exhaust systems. When maximum air delivery and low noise levels are desired, forward curve fans are a popular choice.

Inline Square Centrifugal Fan

Inline fans generate airflow in a similar way to centrifugal blowers, but after leaving the impeller, the air is then contained in a square housing. The air is held using turning vanes that discharge the air in an axial direction. This style of fan also requires single-inlet centrifugal wheels that usually have backward inclined blades. Square inline fans can also be horizontally or vertically mounted, which provides a much simpler installation and usually requires minimal duct turns and transitions.

Backward Incline Blower

Backward incline blades are pointed away from the rotational direction and are primarily used in industrial and heavy-duty HVAC systems. These blowers operate at a much higher efficiency than other forms of blowers. Although they are louder than forward curved blowers, because they operate at higher speeds, they can be used in systems with up to three inches of static pressure.

If you want to learn more about commercial centrifugal fans, contact Brooklyn Fan today.

Inline Bathroom Fans: What You Need to Know

inline duct fansInline duct fans are great for proper ventilation. Whether you’re trying to ventilate a large warehouse area or a small bathroom, inline duct fans and other exhaust fans are essential to maintaining the air quality of a room.

An improperly sized or incorrectly installed exhaust system can lead to a buildup of humidity, which can eventually lead to mold and rotting. Although proper ventilation’s major benefit is clean and fresh airflow, there are also financial and energy benefits as well. Demand ventilation controls can lower the cost to operate an exhaust system by 30-50% and can be installed on both new or existing hoods.

When it comes to the bathroom, perhaps even more than any other area in a building, ventilation is the most import aspect. Because bathrooms are such damp places, the humidity levels can reach significantly high levels and can create unhealthy environments once toxic bacteria and mold begins to form.

To ensure that the air in your bathroom is healthy and properly maintained, make sure your bathroom ventilation system is the right size, was installed properly, and is functioning at the level it’s supposed to.

Keep in mind that you’re going to need a few components for your inline duct fans to ensure proper ventilation.

  • Fan — Obviously, the most important part is the fan itself. The fan you’ll need will depend on the bathroom’s dimensions. Since all fans must exhaust to the outside, you need to be aware of the diameter of the ductwork in your home that filters to the roof cap, wall cap, or other vents. It’s much easier to just get a different size fan than to completely resize your entire ductwork.

  • Interior Grille — The grille can include an integrated backdraft damper to make sure no unwanted outside air enter into your bathroom. Take the time to clean the grille every once in a while; over time, particles can accumulate that will cause the entire ventilation system to not function properly.

  • Timer Switch — Just in case you forget to turn off your bathroom fan, it’s wise to install a timer switch. Because inline fan systems are so quiet, it’ll be difficult for you to hear it and know when to turn it off. A timer will solve that issue for you.

Contact Brooklyn Fan and Blower Sales Company today if you want to learn more about exhaust systems and ventilation.

Improve Your Building’s Ventilation System With Pennbarry Fans

PennBarry FansPennBarry fans are great for just about any industry in any building. Not only can they improve the air quality of places like industrial warehouses and hospitals, high-quality PennBarry fans can actually improve energy costs if used correctly.

Here are a few buildings that can benefit from high-quality exhaust fans:

Restaurants

Of course, restaurants will need a high-quality fanning system that can circulate cool air throughout the dining area, but the kitchen and freezers will need an exhaust system of their own. Obviously, a lot of smells are filtering through the kitchen and if a proper exhaust system isn’t installed in a restaurant, those smells might be too strong for people to enjoy themselves as they eat. The kitchen, although not as odor heavy, still needs to be properly ventilated and can save the restaurant owner money. Installing efficient electronically commutated fan motors on a walk-in freezer can actually save about $200 a year per fan.

Warehouses

Although these industrial warehouses are some of the largest buildings to work in, they can get extremely hot due to all the machinery present and manual labor taking place. Industrial fans and exhaust systems can properly circulate air and ensure that all warehouse workers are staying cool and breathing in fresh air.

Hospitals

It’s essential that hospitals have effective fans 24 hours a day. There are so many health concerns and other things that could go wrong should an entire centrifugal system shutdown in a hospital, but it’s important to have second, third, and even fourth systems ready as backups. The laminar fan is a popular fan for hospitals since it can keep fresh air circulating up to 300 times an hour.

Schools

Like hospitals, schools are large buildings with a lot of hallways and hundreds of people inside. These buildings can be difficult to properly ventilate and cool because there are so many rooms, corners, and corridors inside. That’s why the building supervisor should consult with professionals who know the ins and outs of proper ventilation to ensure the school remains cool and circulated.

If you’re looking for PennBarry fans to help ventilate your business, building, or structure, contact Brooklyn Fan today!

4 Benefits of Fresh Air Flow Inside Your Building

chimney fanVentilation is important for any structure. Whether it’s filtering fresh air through the building or ridding your kitchen of unwanted odors, ventilation is essential. Here are some of the benefits of proper ventilation.

Limit Condensation

Because condensation can lead to rotten structures and mold, you should do everything you can to stop condensation from occurring. Damp and moldy surfaces can actually lead to serious health problems and respiratory issues, so it’s not just a matter of comfort or aesthetics. Ventilation can limit condensation and your health will subsequently benefit.

Cut Down on Headaches and Other Health-Related Problems

Proper ventilation will ensure that air pollutants are not present in your home, office, or building. These pollutants lingering around a structure can lead to headaches, allergy issues, rashes, asthma, and problems with sinuses. Good ventilation can help prevent these medical issues from happening.

Properly Regulate Airflow

Airflow is extremely important in any building. Having a significant amount of fresh air is nice, but it will also likely jack up energy prices. Ventilation and fan placement can ensure a good amount of fresh air gets in and is also circulated through the structure. Chimney fans are also great for airflow within various structures. Chimney fans and utility fans are mounted on the chimney and roof with the inlet and outlet approximately 90 degrees from one another. The chimney fans will keep air circulating; the roof-mounted utility fans will do the same and should also be placed where high-static pressure losses occur in the building.

Improves Quality of Kitchen

A kitchen without proper ventilation can be a nightmare for the property owner. Without quality ventilation, bacteria buildup will accumulate on cooking surfaces and countertops, chemical outgas and cooking heat will be present, and horrible odors will linger in the air as well. Use proper ventilation to prevent these issues from happening.

If the building that you are working in is much larger than the average home, you can still properly ventilate and have successful airflow throughout. You might need a larger ventilation system or a few industrial fans placed around the building, but they will be well worth it once you have a building that is odor-free and filled with fresh air.

Get Rid of Those Unwanted Odors With Exhaust Fans

commercial fanIf you love cooking, then you already know how foggy, smelly, and sticky your kitchen feels after you prepare a meal. And the more delicious the meal, the longer those post-dinner cooking fumes tend to linger.

Unfortunately, many kitchens don’t come with their own ventilation system or a range hood to rid the area of those unwanted smells. It can make justifying cooking difficult if it’s going to stink up the entire house or apartment for a few days afterward. This is just one of the many, many reasons every restaurant has sophisticated commercial roof exhaust fans installed in the kitchen.

Whether you’re cooking in a small kitchen at home or in a large restaurant, you’re going to need to get rid of all the smells, particulates, and water vapor that cooking creates. Fortunately, there are a few tricks to cook whatever you want in your kitchen and not have those smells lingering around for days.

Commercial Fans
This is an extremely underrated item when it comes to cooking. Fans can be placed in kitchen windows or ceilings and can send all that unwanted air outside. For those who like to cook at home, install the fan in your window and put it on the “exhaust” setting every time you plan on cooking. Doing this will certainly rid your kitchen of those unwanted odors, and there are many affordable commercial fans on the market today.

Place Fans in Other Rooms
If you’re unfortunate enough to not have a fan inside your kitchen, installing commercial fans in another room can be almost as effective. Placing any fan in close proximity to where the cooking is being done will battle those nasty fish and other food odors. Even in a bathroom that’s down the hallway from the kitchen, turning on the exhaust fan will decrease the amount of lingering odors throughout the house or building. In short, the more ventilation there is inside your building, the better the air quality will be in your kitchen.

Regularly Clean Fan Filters
It’s important to not just leave your fans unattended for weeks and months at a time. Even if they don’t look that dirty, there is still a pretty good chance they are. If you aren’t cleaning them every once in a while, after a few weeks those smells you’re trying to get rid of will come right back — even if you aren’t cooking. If the fan is doing its job, then it’s probably clogged with the particulates causing the smells you don’t want.

Make sure to thoroughly wash and clean your fans every couple of weeks and replace filters as needed. In larger areas, bigger commercial fans and exhaust systems should be thoroughly cleaned at least once every three months, but it’s recommended to wash them more regularly if possible.

If you want to take a look at some exhaust fans, don’t hesitate to contact Brooklyn Fan today!

4 Great Ways to Save On Your Energy Bill for Your Building

exhaust fansOwning commercial buildings comes with a lot of responsibility. Not only do you have to make sure the business is profitable, working conditions are up to par, and your employees are safe, you also have to be conscious of how much you’re spending on energy costs.

Here are a few ways you can save some money on energy when it comes to your commercial building.

Decrease Central Cooling

Rather than jacking up the amount of energy your air conditioner is dishing out, ease back on central cooling a bit with exhaust fans. Even lowering central cooling by three degrees could decrease AC costs by 12-15%. Exhaust fans are a great way to do that. If the building you’re cooling is extremely large, there are plenty of industrial exhaust fans that you can install within the building.

Efficient Lighting

Installing efficient lighting is extremely important for saving on energy expenses. Replacing incandescent bulbs with highly efficient compact fluorescents, which last up to nine times longer, can be a great option to improve efficiency for only a low amount of cost. Getting rid of incandescent lights and installing LED fixtures can actually lower costs by 95%.

Be Aware of Objects in Building

Depending on the size of the building and how many electronics are inside, if everything is kept turned on, it can feel much warmer in there. You should encourage your employees to turn off all computers, copiers, monitors, and other electronic devices. All this equipment should be turned off or at least set to “power down” mode at the end of the day, to conserve as much energy as possible.

Building Landscape

If you’re not aware of how the design of your building actually affects the energy being used it could be a real problem. There could be a few easy fixes to provide more shade that can end up saving you money on your energy bill. Reducing exposure to the sun in areas around your building, both inside and outside, can actually lower the temperature inside the building by up to eight degrees, not to mention decreasing the heat build-up in cars in the parking lot.

3 Business Ideas to Keep Your Employees Happy and Working Hard

air blowerRunning a business, no matter what industry you’re in, is a lot of responsibility. Not only are you responsible for the overall success of your business, you’re in charge of the wellbeing of your employees. If your employees are happy, safe, healthy, and comfortable, your business should thrive as a result.

Here are a few steps you can take to ensure your employees are in good spirits while they work, which will lead to more productivity and higher revenue.

Keep Them Cool

Making sure your entire building is properly ventilated and cool will provide your employees with a great work environment. No one wants to work in a building that feels like an oven, so place air blowers, industrial fans, and a proper centrifugal system around your building to keep the entire area, no matter how big it is, fresh and cool.

One popular fan in large environments is the laminar fan, which keeps air circulating up to 300 times an hour. These fans are often used in hospitals and warehouses, so they should do fine in your business even if your building is on the larger side. Having a few extra air blowers around the property won’t hurt, either.

Better Parking

The quickest way to kill company morale is to have a horrible parking layout. If your employees have to park a mile away from work and then hike uphill to the building, they’re probably going to be upset when they walk through the door.

That’s why planning the parking layout is extremely important. If you have large and convenient parking lots for your employees, they’ll be happier as a result and work better. No more two mile-long hikes uphill (both ways) to get to work.

Relaxing Environment

One of the best ways to keep your employees smiling, well rested, and working hard is to designate a specific relaxation area within the confines of your building. If you have a break room or rest area that your employees actually go to, they’ll be able to bond with each other, get away from work from time to time, and relax for a little bit until they get back to work. It might seem counterproductive, but taking small breaks every day can actually make a person more productive.

If you want your employees to perform to the best of their abilities, keep them cool and comfortable, allow them to parknear the building, and give them a place to relax. If you want to learn more about air blowers or industrial exhaust systems, contact Brooklyn Fan and Blower today!