How HVLS Fans Help Control Moisture
Using Fans to Prevent Discomfort, Spoilage & Safety Issues
Humidity. UGH! That high level of moisture in the air makes people sweaty and uncomfortable, especially combined with high temperatures. But humidity can cause more serious problems, too. It can create serious safety issues and wreak havoc on your products, especially perishable items that can spoil or get moldy. Fortunately, EPIC HVLS fans can provide consistent airflow over your products, reducing the risk of spoilage and helping with quality control.
Feeling & Breathing Comfortably
Humidity plays a major role in the perception of heat, so keeping humidity down is a key factor in keeping your employees and customers comfortable. Thankfully, HVLS fans create cool breezes that make people feel 4-7 degrees cooler. However, high humidity can also promote the growth of bacteria, mold, mildew and viruses, particularly when the air is stagnant. Some of these can affect people with allergies or even make people sick. HVLS fans reduce humidity by continually redistributing air, which prevents air from becoming saturated with moisture – and keeps it from becoming stagnant.
Preventing Food Spoilage
Unfortunately, high humidity can also spur mold and bacteria to grow on food in warehouses and distribution centers. Microorganisms can grow in many places, but humidity makes it easier for them to grow and spread rapidly. Food contaminated by mold or bacteria becomes costly waste for a business. And it’s not just meat and produce that can be impacted – your dry goods and canned goods can be affected as well. See, moisture can break down food packaging. Paper can break down, while metal can corrode, thus spoiling the food it’s meant to protect.
Our friends at Dulcich & Sons, a grape growing and packing company, rely on HVLS fans to help with airflow and moisture control in their packaging facilities to help keep their grapes fresh. Cool temperatures also help slow down the production of the natural ripening agent ethylene in some fruits and vegetables. HVLS fans can help keep the cool air circulating in cold storage, preventing warm spots from developing and ensuring ALL the produce is evenly cooled.
Improving Operating Conditions
Some facilities create high moisture levels in the operational process. Breweries create pretty steamy environments and benefit well from using HVLS fans to reduce humidity. Most warehouses and distribution facilities have plenty of metal storage, tools and equipment, which can be prone to rusting when condensation develops. Condensation can also create safety hazards. For example, water on floors create slippery conditions for workers. HVLS fans are a fantastic way to reduce condensation.
Many facilities use water in the process of cleaning equipment. Unfortunately, then you’ve got to wait for that equipment to dry out before using it again. When you use HVLS fans to help control humidity, you also shorten the drying process, leading to higher productivity. We recently installed HVLS fans at a custom countertop cutting facility, where high-pressure water jets mean there’s water getting everywhere. However, they’ve been thrilled to find that their 2 Colossus fans are able to quickly dry the water off.
No matter what facility you’re running, humidity is just as important to control as temperature. Maintaining the right humidity levels can prevent food spoilage and preserve food packaging, reduce the growth of sickening agents, improve productivity and keep people comfortable. EPIC HVLS fans can be an integral part of your humidity solution. Call us today for more information.
