A club that looks as good as it performs. That marriage of form and function is the goal of every health club owner and manager. Manufacturers have raised the bar when it comes to creating functional equipment that also impacts the look of fitness facilities. The proverbial “functional design” bar has been raised all the way to the ceiling by manufacturers of big fans – huge industrial-grade ceiling fans ranging in size from six feet to 24 feet. The giant fans are literally big design statements, and energy-efficient air movers that keep clubs comfortable by reducing effective temperatures and preventing condensation problems.
Fan Form
As fitness club managers and owners search for ways to make their clubs stand out, many are turning to technologies that are new to the industry. Big fans are one major example of this openness to new ideas in facility design and comfort. The fans have sleek styling with air movement in mind. The fans’ 10 foils, or blades, turn slowly, relying on their size and shape to move air rather than speed. This makes them quiet, striking additions to any facility. At the Aggieland Fitness Dome in College Station, Texas, owner Steve Lumpee opted for a big fan in his small, but special, new facility.”I’ve owned two of the biggest gyms in the area,” says Lumpee, “but I wanted my new facility to be smaller. And, if we weren’t going to be the biggest, we at least wanted to be the most unique.”
To that end, Lumpee had to find a way to keep his clients comfortable throughout the monolithic dome, and still keep the unique looks that his space-age club demanded. “After reading the technical information about the way the fans work, we knew it was a great piece of equipment – a unique piece of equipment – especially for the type of building we have,” explains Lumpee.
At another facility, The Fit Club in Shelbyville, Tennessee, owner Mike Rister also had a 16-foot big fan in mind when envisioning a look for his facility. “We designed our club from the ground up to bring the big, high-end club feel to a smaller market. The design look of the fan, the aluminum construction, the color, totally complemented our goal. It tiesin perfectly,” says Rister.
The decision to include a big fan in his design turned out to be a good one. That fan not only adds to the look and comfort of the facility, but is an advertising tool for The Fit Club. Rister explained, “We’ve actually had people come in and ask if we are the ones with the big fan. The fan alone has actually helped make us the talk of the town.”
Steve Lumpee and his Aggieland Fitness Dome have experienced a similar phenomenon. The ever-present gentle breeze at the facility has definitely created a stir. “We run it all the time,” says Steve Lumpee of his Aggieland fan. “It creates no noise and no shadows. It’s also become a big attraction. People actually drop by just to see it.”
Does the idea of a six, eight, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 or even 24-foot fan spinning slowly overhead sound like a design statement you would like to make in your club…but you want to refine the look even more? Big fan manufacturers understand the need for customization. Big fans are available with color-matched, powder-coat finishes, decorative hub covers, clean-lined motor assembly covers and much more to make your big fan uniquely yours.
Fan Function
Technically speaking the science behind big fans is as impressive as their size. The physics of air movement is simple. Fans don’t cool the room temperature, but they do make it feel cooler. The illusion of coolness occurs when sweat evaporates off skin. Fans help speed up the evaporation process. Good air circulation can make a person feel as though the ambient temperature is as much as eight to 12 degrees cooler. According to Dan Meus of Graham/Meus Architects, designers of fitness facilities nationwide, having ceiling fans makes people feel more comfortable. “Once you start moving air across people, then they will feel cooler. The more sweat and water you have on you, the cooler you are going to feel with air going across you,” says Meus.
Good air circulation also improves humidity. High moisture content in the air keeps sweat from evaporating off the body as quickly. Keeping humidity down is good for clients, but it’s also good for fitness equipment. High humidity and poor air circulation wreak havoc on the sensitive mechanisms of treadmills. Taking care of humidity problems adds to the lifespan of equipment and contributes to the bottom line. Fans keep the air moving, thereby distributing moisture more evenly across the entire facility, and reducing the adverse effects of humidity.
Stylish Savings
By now you know big fans can make a big impact on the style and comfort of your fitness facility. What many owners didn’t expect when looking for a functional design statement was the fact that big fans actually save club owners on their year-round energy costs. A single 24-foot big fan used in conjunction with a facility’s air conditioning or heating system allows club owners and managers to raise or lower the thermostat as much as three to five degrees with no loss of comfort. The fans themselves are energy efficient, (using the same amount of energy as a 60-watt light bulb) running on one to two horsepower motors, made possible by their lightweight hollow-core aluminum construction. With such low operating costs and less stress on heating and cooling systems, fitness facilities stand to save 3% to 5% on energy costs for every degree the thermostat is raised or lowered, (depending on the time of year). That translates into a 25% or more savings on energy costs annually. “The volume of air moved by this 16-foot fan is the same as a 20-ton HVAC unit. Using the fan in conjunction with our normal HVAC systems we expect to have a 50% savings on our summer cooling and winter heating bills. That’s incredible,” says Rister.
Big Style – Big Fans
The best way to get an elegant, functional design statement in your facility is to think BIG. Big fans, with custom finish options, and energy-saving air movement let you have all of the form of high-end design, and all of the function that a working health club needs.
Heather Henley is a Technical Researcher for the Big Ass Fans Company. She can be contacted at 877.BIGFANS, or by email at heather@bigassfans.com, or visit www.bigassfans.com.