Fans circulate comfort in 40-foot warehouse

Family-owned Asmus Farm Supply specializes in farm chemicals and seeds, storing and distributing from two warehouses located in Rake, Iowa. After installing two high-volume, low-speed (HVLS) fans, the facility cut energy costs while improving worker comfort.

During cooler months, maintenance manager Troy Armstrong had begun to notice a radical temperature difference from the warehouse floor to the 40-foot ceiling. With trucks backing in and out of the warehouse all day, recovering heat in the space quickly and efficiently was an added challenge.

“We put thermometers on the ceiling and the floor,” Armstrong says. “The difference in temperature was more than 15 degrees. We knew we needed a solution to even the temperatures in the warehouses.”

Armstrong installed two fans (Big Ass Fans, bigassfans.com) that work to recirculate heated air back down to occupant level, creating and maintaining consistent temperatures throughout the warehouse. With the additional air movement created by the fans, the heater runs less often, reducing heating and cooling costs by up to 30%.

“The overall temperatures are much more consistent, in winter and summer,” Armstrong says. “Before the fans, we were using 5% to 6% of our 18,000-gallon liquid propane tank every week. Now we’re only using 2% a week.”