Industrial Whirlybird & Commercial Exhaust Fans Chart
Factory Roof Ventilation and Commercial Ventilators
Click here for the updated Commercial Ventilation Chart 2017!
After multiple messages into the blog, we thought it would be fitting to make an update to our old industrial ventilation chart on the blog. We get inundated with messages for commercial exhaust fans and which ventilation option is the best.
In this update we have made one major improvement for factory ventilators and other commercial buildings seeking a solution for their failed whirlybird issues, and that is……we’ve now included the price too!
We saw a big trend with business owners looking for roof ventilation making decisions based on price, I’ve added the price as a row to our new commercial ventilation chart.
The most effective way to use this chart is to compare the airflow with the price (ultimately). These are the two most important metrics of any roof ventilation solution so you know you’re getting the best bang for your buck.
It took a lot of researching to find the prices for some of these units (as some of them were buried beneath mountains of brochures and more) so hopefully this makes it very easy for you!
Here’s a little run down of all the different rows that we analysed the products against, so you can find out what they mean and why.
PRICE
Pretty self explanatory. You want to make sure you’re getting the most value for money in each unit so we’ve ordered the roof ventilation chart in descending order by price. Keep in mind, all these prices are for the unit only. They exclude installation and freight costs.
AIR FLOW
This is by far the most important piece of information for a roof ventilator. This is telling you the amount of air that is being ventilated out of your roof space (or area of ventilation) in cubic metres per hour.
WIND SPEED
I added this row in too so that you can see the speed of the wind that needs to blow on the whirlybird units to generate that amount of airflow. Usually this is provided in documentation about the product, if it’s not and you’re looking to purchase a whirlybird, make sure that you ask!
NOISE LEVEL (DBA)
This section shows the amount of noise that a unit will make when it is running, this is measured in decibels. Mains powered or wind driven ventilators are generally noisier than solar powered roof ventilators.
DIAMETER
This is the throat diameter of the unit, so you can see how much air is being pulled through the roof ventilation unit. Usually a larger diameter is preferable BUT at the end of the day, it comes down to air flow which is the ultimate metric which will get you results.
WEIGHT ESTIMATION
This is a rough estimation of how heavy the unit is that you’re installing onto the roof. The reason I’ve included this on the chart is because installers (or DIYers) usually find it easier to work with a lighter unit.
ADJUSTABLE SOLAR PANEL
If a solar roof ventilation unit includes a solar panel that’s great, but if it can also be adjusted towards the sun, so that it can be set to the ideal position in order get the most sunlight to power the unit, that’s the best possible outcome. This only applies for solar ventilation units.
FLASHING TYPE
The flashing type of a unit is important information to know when making a purchasing decision as it impacts on the lifetime of a product. Seeing as a roof ventilation installation is facing different weather conditions everyday, you want to make sure that it’s going to withstand anything that gets thrown at it.
OPTIONAL THERMOSTAT
Having an adjustable thermostat work with your solar roof ventilator can be a great idea if you don’t want the ventilator to run until it hits a certain temperature, or you want it to stop once it gets below a particular temperature. This works great during some of the extreme weather days during the year and is highly recommended.
NIGHT OPERATION
A night operation kit is also a great idea and compliments the thermostat too. If you want your factory ventilation (for example) to continue through the night, a night operation kit will allow it to switch onto mains power and continue working at optimal performance.
POWER SOURCE
Usually the power source is quite obvious by looking at the unit’s image at the top of the commercial ventilation alternatives chart. However I’ve just clarified which source the power comes to from these units. While there’s no right or wrong power source, both solar and wind have their pros and cons.
WEBSITE
I’ve included the website to where each of the solar ventilation products are listed. This allows you to see the company directly involved in making the ventilators. NOTE: Below this post I’ve included references to where the prices came from directly.
PRICING REFERENCES:
(In Order of Most Expensive)
Edmonds EcoPower (P900) – $4,548.19 – Reference
Western Solar (SV 90) – $2,960.00 – Website Price Reference
Solar Whiz (SW10000) – $2,200.00 – (as of 6/10/20 Solar Whiz no longer has the unit price available on their website. But they do have a price-check form that you can fill out to quickly check the price of a unit)
Ampelair (SV950) – Est. $2,000.00 (Estimated)
Edmonds Hurricane (900mm) – $1,639.45
Solar Whiz (SW3000) – $795.00 – (see above)
If you have further questions about which roof ventilation alternative to choose don’t be afraid to reach out.
Happy Ventilating!
