Backup Power for Exhaust Fan

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cosmicelectric

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Oceanside, CA
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Contractor
Hello all,

I am working on a project in a commercial building for my client who is in the sanitation chemicals industry.

The city, (Oceanside CA) requires that a ventilation exhaust fan be installed in the area chemicals will be stored.

The exhaust fan will be roof mounted, and is required to run 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The city also requires the fan have its own independent backup power system which must provide 2 hours backup power minimum in the event of an energy system shut down/power loss.

Specs of this exhaust fan are as follows:
Manufacturer: Loren Cook
Model: 120C15D
1/4 HP
Phases: 1
Volts: 115 @ 60hz
I plan to wire this on a dedicated 15A circuit.

I have worked with Generac backup power systems before, but have never been asked to provide a solution for something as small as this. I have installed backup power for server & technology systems as well, but those are fairly turn key.

Would anyone have any product / system recommendations that would provide a solution like this without being forced to install overly complicated /expensive equipment? Also, would an electrical device such as this require an emergency shutoff/disconnect switch?

Thanks in advance!
 
A ups is one option, that is a small fan, but a long run time. I would start by calling a ups supplier, Eaton, APC, let them Run some calcs to get size of ups, and extra battery packs
 
hillbilly1 said:
Something similar to this.

Buy Emergency Inverter 400W Output 120/277V | 1000Bulbs | 1000Bulbs.com

Power up a fluorescent or LED fixture during a power outage by adding the Bodine ELI-S-100 inverter. See the emergency backup inverters at 1000Bulbs.com!
www.1000bulbs.com www.1000bulbs.com
Click to expand...
Small load indeed, I was thinking something similar to that, but 90 mins at 100W is a bit low So I may have to go to their next option, which is about 4x the price but pushes 375W for 90 mins
 
tom baker said:
A ups is one option, that is a small fan, but a long run time. I would start by calling a ups supplier, Eaton, APC, let them Run some calcs to get size of ups, and extra battery packs
Click to expand...
Yes, fan is pretty small. I calculated about 186W at 1/4 HP running on 115V. I found something similar to what @hillbilly1 recommended. Just larger. Pretty similar to what fire alarm systems run on, small server systems etc. I would also imagine a fan of this size would not require any means of emergency disconnect?

Here's what I am looking at: https://www.1000bulbs.com/fil/products/114033
I still feel like even that one is a bit unnecessary. But you know how it goes, you get what you pay for!
It runs @ 90 minutes ( I need 2 hours) but that's 90 mins at 375W. This fan runs at 186W. I would also assume that is starting current? Or possibly an averaged based on starting and running?
 
I had a 1/6 HP sample water pump, the UPS for it was the largest I could get at 120V input, maybe it was 1500 VA, that was based on starting the pump. Its the starting you need to look at. The advantage of the UPS is it has alarm contacts so you will know if it has overloaded. I would put a relay on the output of your fan power supply and tie that to your fire alarm as a power on input.
 
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I went on Loren Cook web site for fan & motor details. No motor data found. I did confirm it is a direct drive on distributors site.

I used the NEC chart for FLA (full load amps) for a direct drive 1/4HP fan with a standard motor.

I recommend our Myers EM with a rating of 2.8kva. Need this rating to restart motor after extended outage.
If you add a VFD or Softstart Device or the motor is an EC type they offer, the rating can be reduced to an EM1.6kva.

Either will provide a 2+ hour run time.

If they require an emergency shut off device or disconnect switch, they can offer a shunt trip breaker with contact to trip remotely. A normally open push button switch would be required. When activated the breaker would trip & disconnect the inverter output to the fan but the inverter would keep running (no load).
 
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