How to Choose an HVLS Fan with the Lowest Maintenance and Repair Costs

High volume, low speed (HVLS) fans are typically designed to minimize maintenance and repair costs in the facilities they are installed in. However, this doesn’t mean that owners and operators of HVLS fans are completely free from maintenance and repair costs.

In fact, if you do not choose HVLS fans properly, you run the risk of facing maintenance costs that are much higher than you initially expected. Here are a few of the things that you should keep in mind if you are looking to pick HVLS fans that will cost you as little as possible in maintenance and repair costs:

1. Consider the Warranty

One of the first things that you should think about when choosing a fan is the type of warranty provided by the manufacturer. A short warranty is a bad sign during your HVLS fan selection because it means that the fan’s manufacturer does not have as much confidence in its products. A long warranty can save you a significant amount of money over the life of the fan if repairs are needed, which is why a long warranty is a huge benefit when it comes to finding fans with low maintenance and repair costs.

2. Don’t Focus Solely on Upfront Cost

Too many people in the market for HVLS fans are focused only on the upfront cost of the fans that they buy. What these buyers fail to realize is that a higher upfront cost often means that a fan was designed with better quality materials. This means that paying more money for this type of fan is an investment instead of a sunken cost.

As an example, imagine that two HVLS fans are specified exactly the same, but one uses anodized aluminum blades and the other uses normal aluminum. The fan with anodized aluminum costs $500 more than the fan with normal aluminum. You might feel that you can save your company some money by going with the fan with regular aluminum, but imagine that a few years after purchasing this type of fan, it comes down with corrosion issues and costs your company $1000 to repair.

You have just effectively paid $500 less for a fan with the inferior build quality. To avoid this situation, make sure that you think about the cost in relation to the quality of the fan, instead of just analyzing cost in a vacuum.

3. Think About Energy Usage

Not every building manager or facilities engineer thinks about it, but if selected and installed correctly, the monthly energy costs of your HVLS fan might represent one of the most expensive maintenance costs that you will face. An HVLS fan with minimal electricity usage will cost you much less to maintain on a monthly basis. Additionally, fans that use a lot of electricity are usually more likely to cause a circuit malfunction that impacts the rest of your area. One easy way to ensure that you choose a fan with minimal maintenance costs is to look for an HVLS fan that has the lowest possible energy costs.

Summary

There is a lot of consideration that goes into choosing an HVLS fan, but almost every type of fan buyer shares one desire: trying to find a fan with minimal maintenance and repair costs. By taking into account these three concerns, you stand a much better chance of choosing a fan that will not break the bank when it comes to maintenance and repair costs.