How much pressure is required by an exhaust fan when it exhausts straight up?
How much pressure is required by an exhaust fan when it exhausts straight up?
(OP)
I'm sure this is simple and I'm not sure why I'm having such a hard time figuring it out. I have an exhaust fan I'm trying to size and it pretty much exhausts into vertical duct 30 ft straight up. I'm pretty sure it's negligible but I can't figure out the calculation for how much extra pressure needs to be exerted due to the vertical column of air. At first I calculated it using the weight of the column of air which is .0807 lbs per cubic foot. My duct is 12x12 so I would just multiply that by 30 ft to get 2.421 lbs. Then the outlet of my fan is 4" Ø so I get 0.193 psi which equates to over 5 inches of water column which can't be correct. Please help this confused man.
RE: How much pressure is required by an exhaust fan when it exhausts straight up?
And if I do 70 °F intake and 0 ° outdoor, it comes out to 8 in w.c. so I'm back to being confused.
RE: How much pressure is required by an exhaust fan when it exhausts straight up?
Consider:
RE: How much pressure is required by an exhaust fan when it exhausts straight up?
RE: How much pressure is required by an exhaust fan when it exhausts straight up?
You do your normal calculation and fitting loss lookups based on your exhaust airflow, and the duct size and velocity the air is traveling through.
You also may have to account for velocity pressure if you are narrowing/squeezing the duct after the fan exit you need to account for that exit velocity increase. The fan itself should be coming with enough pressure for it’s specific velocity pressure associated with its outlet size but not more.
30’ of height in a building with typical operating pressure wouldn’t even factor in very much. If you want to get into the details, this link will probably help.
https://www.aldes-na.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/0...
And finally see if the fan selection performance has factored in a ducted discharge, sometimes fan manufacturers can account for that and it re-rates the performance you’ll get.
RE: How much pressure is required by an exhaust fan when it exhausts straight up?