Fan Selection

for Poultry Housing

Your fans are the engine of your mechanically ven-

tilated chicken house. The fans are the force behind the
exchange of air that is necessary to maintain a healthy
environment for the birds and the people who look after
them during every season of the year. Because of rising
electricity costs, selecting the right energy-efficient fan can
result in thousands of dollars a year in energy savings.
Fans impact energy usage in two different ways. First, they
use energy to operate (especially during the summer), but,
second, how the fans are managed impacts the efficiency of
the heating system within the building during cooler times
of the year.
Fan management is critical to keeping birds alive in
hot weather. However, it is also important in winter to
prevent over-ventilating, which exhausts heat needlessly
and increases the gas bill. Therefore, when building a new Figure 1. Hand-held Magnehelic static pressure gauge.
house or retrofitting an older one, selecting the proper fan
is one of the most important decisions a grower makes.
It is important to compare fans not only on initial cost but increases, a fan must work harder and the amount of air
also on performance and operating costs in the coming moved decreases.
years. Often, the cheapest fan is not the best option. Air flow ratio is an indicator of how well a fan will
hold up as static pressure increases because of dirty shut-
Principles of Fan Selection ters, clogged cool cell pads, baffle curtains, or a restriction
Static pressure is the difference in pressure that a in air flow (tunnel curtains or doors not fully open). The
ventilation fan creates between the inside and outside of air flow ratio is determined by dividing the amount of air
the chicken house. Static pressure can be measured with a fan moves at 0.20 inch pressure by the amount of air it
a Magnehelic static pressure gauge (Figure 1). When moves at 0.05 inch pressure. Air flow ratios usually vary
running, fans create a vacuum within a building by ex- from 0.50 to 0.85. A higher ratio indicates a better fan,
hausting air and creating a low-pressure area within the meaning the fan is less affected by high static pressures. An
building. The indoor environment, having a lower pres- air flow ratio of 0.50 means a fan will lose up to 50 percent
sure than outdoors, will pull air in through sidewall or of its air-moving capacity in a worst case scenario, while a
cool cell inlets in an attempt to equalize the pressure. fan with an air flow ratio of 0.85 will lose only 15 percent of
This is called a negative pressure system. Many poultry its air-moving capacity.
houses operate at a static pressure between 0.04 and 0.12
inch of water. However, some newer and tighter houses Selecting Tunnel Ventilation Fans
may operate at a static pressure of 0.15 in full tunnel with Any fan that you are considering should have been
all the fans running. rated by an independent lab to show air delivery and
Fan efficiency is the amount of air delivery that a fan efficiency as a function of static pressure. A certified
will provide per unit of electric power used, usually given laboratory runs fans through a series of standardized
in cubic feet per minute per watt (cfm/W). Generally, performance tests. The standardized tests help in ventila-
small fans are less efficient than larger fans. Efficiency rat- tion system design and comparison shopping. Most fan
ings range from about 5 cfm/W to 25 cfm/W. manufacturers send their fans to the Bioenvironmental and
Air delivery is the amount of air that a fan will move Structural Systems (BESS) laboratory at the University of
under different conditions. The term is expressed as vol- Illinois for performance testing. Fans are tested with ac-
ume of air movement per unit of time. The standard unit cessories such as shutters, guards, and discharge cones in
is cubic feet per minute (cfm). The greatest amount of air place to determine their air-moving capacity and energy
is moved at 0.00 inch static pressure. As static pressure efficiency ratings at static pressures ranging from 0.00 inch
to 0.20 inch.
 Test results for current tests as well as archived test of several 50-inch fans has demonstrated that the air de-
data are available from the BESS laboratory at www.bess. livery (at 0.10 inch of water) ranged from 18,000 to 28,600
uiuc.edu. You can look up data on a number of agricultural cfm, and the efficiency ranged from 14.3 to 24.5 cfm/W
fans at this site by clicking on Agricultural Ventilation (Harmon et al., 2010). Therefore, set your standards high
Fans, then Performance Tests, then Current (or Archive) when selecting for energy efficiency. If you consider a fan
Tests, then Fan Frequency (this will be 60 Hz in the U.S.), with an energy efficiency ratio of not less than 20 cfm/W
then Power Supply (usually 1 phase, 230 volts in the U.S.), at 0.10 inch static pressure and an air flow ratio of at least
your Manufacturer name (Acme, etc.), and Fan Diameter 0.73, you will be choosing one of the best fans tested by
(48”, 52”, etc.), then Submit. At the bottom of the report for BESS laboratory. This type fan may be more expensive ini-
any particular fan model, you will see something like this: tially, but it will be less expensive to operate over the life of
the fan.
Realize that a “cheap” fan is probably not the most effi-
TEST RESULTS
ACME BDR48J2-C cient choice you can make. While it is easy to be persuaded
by a low initial price, keep in mind that this could cost you
Static
Test: 00110 Pressure
Speed Airflow Efficiency more in operating expense and upkeep than if you chose
rpm cfm cfm/Watt a higher-quality fan in the beginning. Fans are like every-
in water
0.00 528 24,300 22.6
thing else: you get what you pay for. Efficient motors cost
more. They have more copper windings and are, therefore,
Fan description: 0.05 526 23,400 20.8
48” belt drive, 1 hp
more expensive to produce. It may take 2 to 3 years to see
0.10 525 22,300 19.0 the payback from reduced electrical consumption, but a
Magnetek C782 mo-
tor, galvanized steel 0.15 523 21,100 17.1 high-quality fan continues to save you money long after
slant housing alumi- that. High-efficiency motors are available to be used on
0.20 522 19,700 15.4
num shutter, guard,
and discharge cone
well-designed agricultural fans, but make sure you are not
0.25 520 17,200 13.0
sacrificing air flow for efficiency. Efficiency will be of little
0.30 519 16,100 11.8
value if you can’t move enough air to keep the chickens
alive. Some power companies provide rebate incentives
for ventilation fans that meet their high cfm/W standards.
Accessories are important and necessary for the fan Power providers can help you calculate the electricity sav-
to function properly. However, accessories often reduce ings when comparing new fans or the payback time in
air flow and efficiency. Shutters can be especially detri- electricity savings when replacing older fans. By taking
mental to air flow, depending on placement location. You advantage of these opportunities, growers can determine
should expect a 10 to 15 percent reduction in air flow using which efficiency upgrades are the most economical.
inlet-side shutters and a 15 to 25 percent reduction using Fan maintenance must be a part of your overall man-
discharge-side shutters. Choose shutters that will open to agement program. Dirty shutters are a common problem
a full horizontal position. Air flow will be decreased if the in many poultry houses, and dirty shutters and fan blades
shutters do not fully open. For the safety of people and can reduce air delivery by as much as 40 percent (Wheeler,
animals near the fans, guards are necessary and must be in 2002). Clean the shutters, blades, and guards after every
place. Round ring guards are less detrimental to air flow flock of chickens. Check pulleys, fan belts, and belt tension-
than wire mesh guards with square or rectangular open- ers because belt slippage can reduce air flow and increase
ings. Properly designed guards should disrupt air flow and belt wear. It’s a good idea to replace belts on tunnel fans
efficiency by less than 5 percent. A well-designed housing every spring before hot weather arrives. Be cautious when
and discharge cone can improve fan performance by de- relying on a visual fan inspection. It may be difficult to
creasing air turbulence. A discharge cone and proper hous- spot a problem that is costing you a 5 to 10 percent loss in
ing design can improve air flow at least 15 percent. fan power. However, if you have multiple fans that are los-
ing 5 to 10 percent of their air-moving capability, you will
soon have an overall reduction of 25 to 30 percent in wind
Set High Standards and Maintain Your Fans speed down the house. Instead of the 600 to 800 feet per
Do not choose a fan based strictly on its diameter. In minute you thought you were pulling, you may only have
addition, never assume that two fans of equal size will 420 to 560 feet per minute. This could be devastating on a
always perform the same. Different motors, the curvature hot afternoon in July or August with big birds on the farm.
of the blades, and other features will have a huge effect on It is wise to individually static pressure test each fan
a fan’s performance. Most agricultural fans are equipped between flocks. Most growers conduct static pressure tests
with propeller-type blades. Propeller fans are excellent at to determine the tightness of their house. The same princi-
moving large amounts of air at low static pressures seen in ple is used to monitor fan performance over time (Brothers
poultry houses. However, conditions inside most chicken et al., 2014). Close all sources of incoming air and ensure
houses are harsh, requiring heavy-gauge blades made of that curtains are up, vents are closed, inlets and doors are
corrosion-resistant materials. Blades may be constructed of closed tight, and fan shutters are working properly. Then,
many different materials including steel, aluminum, cast turn on one individual fan and record the static pressure of
aluminum, molded fiberglass, and various plastics. Testing that one fan. Now, turn that fan off and do the same to the
next fan until all the fans have been tested and the static of your house, and you end up slightly exceeding the mini-
pressure recorded for each fan. Any fan that is 0.02 points mum. Having a few extra cfm in reserve will be beneficial
less than the average of all the other fans should receive as fan wear begins to accumulate over time, dust and dirt
immediate attention. Keep in mind that the fans that also build up on shutters and blades, and fan belts begin to slip
do most of the minimum ventilation may be the fans that (Donald, n.d.). Also, air velocity is usually slightly lower
show a problem first because they are doing double duty at bird level than it is above their heads, so having a little
and will likely show power loss before the others. extra cushion of cfm will be useful when dealing with peri-
A full tunnel test can also be performed on the house ods of extreme heat and the increased heat load associated
to look for problems. To do this, put the house in full tun- with growing larger birds.
nel mode, turn on all the fans, and record the static pres- Static pressure increases are also a drain on air veloci-
sure. If the pressure goes down the next time you test or at ties. As the house is operated at a higher static pressure,
a later date, you may have maintenance issues or electrical the air velocity will drop because the fans are working
issues or both. In this case, you might do individual fan harder to move air against a higher pressure. For exam-
tests to see if individual fans may be causing the problem. ple, evaporative cooling pads usually increase the static
If the static pressure goes up since the last test, there may pressure slightly. The fans must work harder to pull air
be a restriction in air flow entering the house. Clogged cool through the holes in the pads (compared to pulling air
cell pads or a tunnel inlet not completely open could cause through a big hole in the wall if the pads were not there).
such a restriction. In addition, the fans work even harder to pull air through a
wet cool cell pad than a dry cool cell pad.
Factors to Consider We have mainly discussed fans, but the fans are not
How many fans will it take? Integrators will specify the only piece of the ventilation puzzle. The amount of cool
a certain number of fans for new house construction or for cell space on each side of your house, the condition of the
retrofitting older houses. How do they come up with this cool cell pads themselves, the tunnel curtains or doors, and
number of fans? There must be enough fans to exchange the number, size, and design of your minimum ventilation
the air in the house at least once per minute. With the trend inlets all play critical roles in the overall ventilation capa-
being to grow bigger birds, an air exchange of more than bilities of your house and all are equally important. Each
once per minute is becoming more popular. Air speeds of of these pieces will need attention and maintenance from
800 feet per minute or higher are common in many new time to time.
and retrofitted houses today.
How can I tell what my air velocity needs to be? If Summary
you have a 500-foot-long house, your air velocity needs to Fans make poultry production in environmentally
be 500 feet per minute to exchange the air in your house in controlled houses possible. Good-quality fans are essen-
1 minute. To calculate your actual air velocity, you divide tial for mechanically ventilated poultry houses to perform
the total fan capacity of your house by the cross-sectional efficiently. In most cases, the cheapest fan is not the best
area of the house (width of your house times the average option over the long run. Inefficient fans waste energy.
ceiling height). Let’s say your house is 50 feet wide by 500 In addition, inefficient or mismanaged fans may result in
feet long and you have 15 50-inch fans installed with a cfm poor air quality that can stress birds. Birds that are stressed
capacity of 27,000 cfm for each fan. Fifteen times 27,000 is are more susceptible to disease outbreaks and are less ef-
a total fan capacity of 405,000 cfm. If you have an average ficient in the areas of growth and feed efficiency.
ceiling height of 10 feet, and your house is 50 feet wide, the When choosing fans, select a model that has been
cross-sectional area of your house is 500 feet (10 ft x 50 ft). rated and tested by an independent laboratory. Most fan
If you divide 405,000 by 500, you will get 810 feet per min- manufacturers use the BESS testing lab at the University of
ute. This is how much air speed you will have down the Illinois. This laboratory has both current and archived data
house under the given conditions. What if you are operat- online for practically every agricultural fan on the market.
ing against a higher static pressure and your fans are only Verify how different fans perform against a static pressure
moving 25,000 cfm each? Fifteen times 25,000 is a total fan of at least 0.10 inch of water. Also check the efficiency, air
capacity of 375,000 cfm. If you divide 375,000 by 500, you delivery, and air flow ratio of the fan you are considering.
will get 750 feet per minute air speed down the house. Do not change or replace fans or any part of your
The cross-sectional area of your house will make a ventilation system without talking to your service techni-
huge difference in the air velocity you can achieve and cian first. The Extension Service has tools that can help you
the air exchange rate. If your house does not have a drop measure the wind speed, static pressure, and rpms on your
ceiling or at least baffles, the greater volume of air inside fans to determine if your house is operating efficiently. Let
your house that must be exchanged will slow the air speed us know if you would like for us to assist you or your ser-
down considerably. This may be a concern during periods vice technician in this endeavor.
of hot weather with big birds on the farm. However, you
likely have a few extra cfm above the minimum required,
and that will be a good thing in this case. In most cases, fan
capacity numbers do not exactly match the requirements
References
Brothers, D., J. Campbell, J. Donald, and G. Simpson. 2014.
A practical guide to on-farm fan testing. Poultry Engi-
neering, Economics, and Management Newsletter. Na-
tional Poultry Technology Center. Auburn University.
Issue No. 82. May.

Donald, J. No date. Poultry ventilation pointers. Choosing

fans for tunnel ventilation. Alabama Cooperative Ex-
tension System. Auburn University.

Harmon, J., M. Hanna, and D. Petersen. 2010. Energy ef-

ficient fans for poultry production. Iowa State Univer-
sity Extension. PM 2089h. August.

Wheeler, E. F. 2002. Selecting Tunnel Ventilation Fans.

G103. Agricultural and Biological Engineering. Penn-
sylvania State University Cooperative Extension. Feb-
ruary.

The information given here is for educational purposes only. References to commercial products, trade names, or suppliers are made with the under-
standing that no endorsement is implied and that no discrimination against other products or suppliers is intended.
Publication 2998 (POD-09-16)
By Tom Tabler, Extension Professor, and Jessica Wells, Extension Instructor, Poultry Science.

Copyright 2016 by Mississippi State University. All rights reserved. This publication may be copied and distributed without
alteration for nonprofit educational purposes provided that credit is given to the Mississippi State University Extension Service.
Produced by Agricultural Communications.
We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment
without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other
characteristic protected by law.
Extension Service of Mississippi State University, cooperating with U.S. Department of Agriculture. Published in
furtherance of Acts of Congress, May 8 and June 30, 1914. GARY B. JACKSON, Director