International. The company has won two RAC Cooling Industry Awards. The new ZAbluefin radial fan has convinced the jury in the categories "Air Conditioning Product of the Year" and "Air Conditioning Innovation of the Year". The judges liked the company's strategy of borrowing ideas from nature to achieve better environmental performance.
Nearly 500 professionals from the elite refrigeration and air conditioning industry gathered for an evening of recognition and celebration of the sector's achievements at the Hilton Hotel in London.
Air conditioning product of the year: components and peripherals.
In this category, the jury seeks to highlight those accessories, tools and components that play a vital role in the cooling process, but too often lose prominence to larger units and systems. The judges here were particularly pleased with the decision, as it allowed them to talk about the design philosophy behind Ziehl-Abegg's ZAbluefin fan.
ZAbluefin borrows its innovation not just from one natural phenomenon but from two. Stretch marks and nodules inspired by owls and whales help make the fan more efficient and quieter in its operation. But the judges also appreciated the evolutionary process that is necessary with workhorse components such as fans, saying, "We were impressed by the level of R&D development of many small incremental changes in an already innovative product."
Innovation in air conditioning: components and peripherals
The components and peripherals category is often one of the most diverse fields, and this year was no exception, as software platforms rubbed shoulders with additives and physical components. In the end, the laurels went to the manufacturer Ziehl-Abegg, which has imaginatively drawn inspiration from the natural world to solve its engineering challenges. In the ZAbluefin, which seeks to reduce air turbulence, the company has derived its impeller blade design on the fins of humpback whales. The blade incorporates stretch marks built around the beginnings of the "tubers" found on the leading edge of the whale's fins. This improves air movement through the five blades, the manufacturer says.
Combining this with the company's second-generation ECblue IE5 motor offers an energy-efficient combination in the fan. As if a nature-inspired design wasn't enough, the blades have back-edged stretch marks, which are based on the wings of owls. Here the goal is the noise reduction that owls achieve in flight. As a result, on the suction side, ZiehI-Abegg has achieved what it says is a "massive" reduction of 6.3 dB(a) while the discharge side sees a significant reduction of 4.7dB(a). This means that these fans can be used in noise-critical applications.
The judges liked the company's strategy of borrowing from nature to achieve better environmental performance. The fact that the molded impeller blade is also fully recyclable added to the appeal.
