Managers at Asmus Farm Supply, in Rake, Iowa, had a problem. The heating and cooling bills for their 40-foot-high warehouse were unbearable. But just as unbearable were the oppressive heat and cold that their employees had to endure.
The solution? Asmus installed two high-volume, low-speed fans that recirculated heated air back down the floor level, creating and maintaining consistent temperature levels throughout the warehouse.
Keeping temperatures at a constant, comfortable level was a challenge with trucks backing into and out of the facility all day. But it also was critical to maintaining quality for the hundreds of different seed types that are handled at the facility, said Troy Armstrong, Asmus’ maintenance manager. The fans — which were purchased from Big Ass Fans, which is based in Lexington, Kentucky — made all the difference in the world.
“The overall temperatures are much more consistent in winter and summer,” Armstrong told Modern Materials Handling. “Before the fans, we were using 5% to 6% of our 18,000 gallon liquid propane tank every week. Now we’re only using 2% a week.”