ASHRAE Journal Supplement - AMCA InMotion - November 2022 - 38

A fl ow sensor installed in a fan duct helps to monitor,
control, and diagnose potential problems with
airfl ow. Photograph courtesy of The New York Blower Co.
monitoring helps to reduce power consumption. For
example, with remote airfl ow- and pressure-monitoring
technologies, maintenance personnel can visualize a fan's
effi ciency metrics in real time and quickly identify when
the fan is using more power than normal or necessary.
With energy a major operating expense, optimizing fan
power consumption can result in considerable long-term
savings and signifi cantly improve margins.
Enabling more proactive maintenance. Traditional
preventive-maintenance plans depend on interventions
performed at predetermined intervals. This is a time-tested
approach that can be extremely effective for some types
of equipment. For equipment operating in harsh industrial
environments, however, a lot can happen between
maintenance visits. As a result, many plant owners are
turning to proactive-maintenance capabilities enabled
by remote-monitoring technology.
Remote-monitoring technologies essentially make four
types of analytics possible:
■
Descriptive-Descriptive analytics tells what happened.
It describes past events/occurrences, provides insight
regarding how to handle future situations, and allows
one to draw comparisons. Condition-monitoring technologies
automatically mine and aggregate machine-health
and performance data to fi nd patterns and meanings.
■
Diagnostic-Diagnostic analytics tells why something
happened. It helps one understand root causes of events
38
2022 AMCA inmot ion
A smart-sensor monitoring system collects data on
collar temperature and pressure. Photograph courtesy of
The New York Blower Co.
and behaviors, identify correlations between variables,
defi ne anomalies, outline factors, and determine how
variables are related.
■
Predictive-Predictive analytics tells what will happen
and why. With predictive analytics, machine-learning
algorithms are used to foretell possible failures.
■
Prescriptive-Prescriptive analytics tells the optimal
course of action in real time. This automates critical
decision-making and speeds response.
Conclusion
Remote-monitoring capabilities empower maintenance
teams to be proactive, rather than reactive, in managing
and maintaining axial and centrifugal fans. This allows
maintenance teams to improve the effi ciency and extend
the life of the equipment and reduce the risk of unplanned
downtime and lost productivity, realizing signifi cant cost
savings in the process.
Reference
1) Allied Market Research. (2017, June). Embedded analytics
market expected to reach $60,281 million by 2023. Retrieved from
https://bit.ly/Embed_Analytics
About the Author
Michael Schlemmer is heavy-industrial (HI) sales manager,
aftermarket, for The New York Blower Co.
www.amca.org
https://www.bit.ly/Embed_Analytics http://www.amca.org
ASHRAE Journal Supplement - AMCA InMotion - November 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal Supplement - AMCA InMotion - November 2022
