EXHAUSTO Inc.
1200 Northmeadow Pkwy., Suite 180
Roswell, GA 30076
770-587-3238
http://us.exhausto.com
Circle 61
Soon after Park Potomac Place, a luxury high-rise condominium in Potomac, Md., opened, residents started to complain about noise from the kitchen hoods and ducts. During troubleshooting, the traditional constant-speed exhaust systems were found to be exhausting large volumes of conditioned air to the outdoors.
The technical team found that the installation of an EXHAUSTO MBES demand-controlled exhaust system could be a viable solution and would be easy to retrofit. Initial savings calculations indicated substantial savings could be achieved. A test system consisting of an EXHAUSTO BESB insulated box ventilator, along with a PID-based controller that monitored and maintained proper pressure and airflow at all times, depending on the demand for kitchen-hood use, was installed. The test system confirmed that the exhaust rate could be reduced dramatically and that energy savings were possible.
The installation of the EXHAUSTO MBES systems added comfort for the owners and resolved all of the noise problems that were experienced. The kitchen exhaust systems operate at full speed for less than 60 min a day — the original system was operating at full speed 24 hr a day. The energy savings from using variable-speed fans amounted to almost $10,000 per year, but even bigger savings were generated through the reduction of exhausted conditioned air. The EXHAUSTO MBES demand-controlled exhaust system saves almost $75,000 on heating and air conditioning annually. That has resulted in a payback of less than 14 months and a five-year return on investment of more than 500 percent.