Ecopower

The comfort and safety levels of building occupants are a growing concern in modern-well sealed business. The traditional means of exhausting heat or fumes from a building was either; mechanical ventilation, which has high and ongoing cost associated with it. Or turbine ventilation – though it has low ongoing cost, its performance is dependent on natural conditions such as wind.

An ISO 9001:2008 certified manufacturer and the world leader in turbine ventilator technology; Edmonds designed, engineered and manufactured the EcoPower® range of ventilators in Australia. It is the world’s first true-hybrid™ventilator that will work to ensure a constant supply of fresh air. EcoPower incorporates the leading design of Hurricane® vertical vane turbine ventilator with a high efficiency electronically commutated (EC) motor for reliability and on-demand peak performance, when required.

Features & Benefits

• High efficiency ventilation when required
• Low energy consumption
• Significantly lower noise levels, up to 14.5dB(A), than traditional fan assisted vents
• Advanced EC motor technology for long lasting performance and durability
• Edmonds vertical vane vent technology for higher performance. Based on Flow coefficient tests performed under AS4740:2000 by CSR Edmonds)
• Lightweight design means additional structural strengthening of roof may not be required
• Single-phase power input for easy electrical installation
• Variable pitch throat design can adapt to most roof angles
• Options for highly corrosive environments also available
• Mill finish or powder coated options to match most COLORBOND® colours
• Simple on/off operation
• Compatible with most 3rd Party controls and BMS systems
• Group control option available
• Automated on/off control through temperature, time, humidity sensors

How the Eco Power Works

EcoPower® is capable of operating unhindered in natural mode, or in both natural and energy efficient mechanical modes simultaneously. In the powered mechanical mode flow rates are boosted 3 – 5 times higher than what is achieved via natural ventilation only mode under normal ambient conditions. Operational costs are up to 80% lower than directly equivalent traditional fan assisted ventilators.

Ventilation can be achieved using either natural energy sources such as wind and/or solar (natural ventilation) or mechanical means (mechanical ventilation).

Natural ventilation functions through two processes occurring simultaneously. The first allows hot air to rise as a result of ‘stack effect’ buoyancy pressure. Warm, lower density air in the building rises and is released through an opening to be replaced by cooler ambient air at lower levels. The second process results from the ambient wind driving the turbine, creating flow through centrifugal suction.

Natural ventilation is dependent on favourable environmental conditions. Natural ventilation also has other performance limitations; e.g. it cannot increase ventilation rates to meet peak or specific needs.

Mechanical ventilation is not subject to the same limitations as natural ventilation, as the ventilation process is driven by a mechanical fan, traditionally axial, thus there is no dependence on environmental factors, and ventilation levels can be adjusted to suit varying needs.

However, mechanical ventilators have their own drawbacks. They consume significant amount of electricity and sometimes required 3 phase power, which is expensive to provide. They often noisy and require regular maintenance.

Systems of hybrid ventilation (combinations of natural and mechanical ventilation) were developed in Europe using thermal chimneys with axial fan boost to address some of the limitations of natural wind driven vents, and avoid the rising operating costs of mechanical vents,. However, the installation of axial fans in the throats of these large stacks effectively reduced ‘stack effect’ flow rates, due to blockage of the throats by both the motor and the fan blade.

To overcome these limitations, the EcoPower can switch to efficient power mode, which allows natural flow rates to be boosted by powering the Electronic Commutating (EC) motor to drive the impeller. The bearing system of the motor functions as the bearing system of the ventilator. This means that the vent can be free spinning under wind load, or power activated as required.

The design of the EP900, allow for intelligent input capacity and is capable of programmable variable speed control using a temperature sensor, 0-10V or incorporate into building management systems. Other systems of digital control, such as gas concentration, can be used to activate mechanical mode. The motor can be activated on by a simple manual switch or operation can be controlled by sensors, such as thermostat and humidistat. Factory pre-programming required for input capacities, please specify at time of purchase.

Applications

• Schools
• Warehouses
• Factories – light manufacturing: food and beverage, assembly plant
• Power stations and substations
• Public, sporting and social buildings: mixed used buildings, sports centers, town halls, ambulance and fire stations, community centers
• Multi-story buildings: ventilation shafts

Specification

The roof ventilators shall be CSR Edmonds EcoPower 100mm (150mm, 400mm,600mm or 900mm) with no fan blade to impede airflow, and which can be driven by ambient wind/stack action and/or motor. The hybrid ventilator must have an e.c.motor directly connected between the stator and turbine such that the airflow under wind power is not impeded. The dBA @3m must be less than 54 and energy efficient 40m³/hr/watt or better.

Warranty

• EP400, 600 and 900: 10 years for turbine body/2 years for the motor and Accessories
• EP100 and EP150: 5 years for turbine body/ 2 years for Accessories/1 year for the motor

Please refer to attached brochures for full warranty conditions