Medical facilities are sensitive, thus, need specialized devices. Air conditioning and ventilation are one of the most important requirements in medical facilities. This is because specific thermal conditions need to be maintained throughout the hospital. Therefore, the HVAC management for facility managers becomes a tough task. Additionally, taking care of sensitive health conditions of patients and a reduction in power consumption on the cooling and ventilation system together become a hectic task. This is why the selection of the HVAC system and integrated products like industrial blower fans becomes a tedious process for them. It takes consideration of several factors to make appropriate HVAC selection. Are you aware of medical HVAC selection factors? If not, then this post is for you. This post discusses the significance of cooling systems in a medical facility, its applications, and the selection criteria.
Significance of Selecting Correct Cooling Systems for Medical Facilities
In medical facilities, the performance of medical devices is of utmost importance. Sudden malfunction or performance failure of medical equipment can have a fatal impact on the patient’s health. The malfunction can be brought by several factors such as non-functional parts, or the operating environment of the device, or sudden temperature rise in the environment. Most electro-medical devices have temperature limitations. Beyond a limit, a rise in temperature can cause electronic damage inside a medical device, which can have a severe impact on healthcare procedures. Also, some medical facilities demand a specific temperature range in the surrounding for error-free function. For example, the temperature at MRI rooms must be maintained at 17°C to 21°C. In certain device maintenance and surrounding temperature control conditions, the medical HVAC system becomes highly significant.
Also, the implementation of HVAC products like industrial blower fans, DC blowers, AC blower Fans, etc makes the cooling system more meaningful. As the number of applications increases and the complexity of sensitive medical applications add up to the HVAC system, it becomes even more important to select appropriate cooling systems. HVAC products offer different functions at different conditions, therefore, one product may not be suitable for all applications. For example, DC axial fans are used for respiratory care applications but AC axial fans may not fit the same application. Therefore, the cooling fan selection for medical equipment becomes difficult.
Applications of HVAC-products in Medical Facilities
Let us discuss the applications of industrial fans for specific applications based on the type of industrial blower fan.
- Applications of AC Blowers/Fans in Medical Facility: The AC blowers are used for temperature maintenance in enclosed medical devices. MRI rooms, radiography machines, computed tomography (CT) setups, etc are sensitive to high temperatures. Therefore, these medical facilities are integrated with heat exchanger/exhaust units. AC blower fans are used as heat exchanging devices in medical facilities for device temperature management.
- Applications of DC Blowers/Fans in Medical Facility: DC axial fans or DC blowers find several applications in medical facilities. The applications are listed below.
- Ventilation and Respiratory Care: Due to minimized-noise operation and consistent airflow or pressure abilities, DC blowers are used in medical ventilation and respiratory care units.
- Endo-surgery and Electrosurgical Generators: These devices require compact fans with speed variation/regulation properties. Therefore, DC fans or DC blowers are integrated with tachometer or pulse width modulation (PWM) devices.
Now that the significant applications of the medical HVAC system are discussed, let us move ahead to the selection criteria of the appropriate medical HVAC system.
Consideration Factors for Selecting Medical Industry Cooling System
The following factors are important to consider in order to select an appropriate cooling system for a medical facility.
- Application Requirements: As the various applications of various types of industrial axial fans and blowers are discussed, this becomes a primary consideration of HVAC product selection. In a medical facility, the desired output can be heat exhaust, temperature maintenance, dust-free air conditioning, air humidity control, device-damage prevention due to heat, etc. The industrial fan must be chosen according to the application and the desired output.
- Operational Parameters: Operational parameters like power consumption, maintenance, operating staff requirement, etc must be considered while selecting a medical HVAC system. Medical facility managers often go for HVAC systems that demand less input power, require operational staff, and require minimum or easy maintenance.
- Operational Constraints: Once the HVAC system is set, it may face several constraints like building orientation, design complexity, controllability, installation complexity, etc. These constraints can potentially make the system malfunction. Therefore, these factors must be considered prior to selection.
- HVAC System Lifespan: Durability and performance reliability are two important factors of HVAC systems. The medical facility managers look for HVAC products with higher reliability and longer life expectancy.
- Overall Cost: HVAC system for a medical facility requires large capital investments. On top of it, the cost of operation and maintenance adds up. Therefore, the cost-consideration of an HVAC system for a medical facility is highly important.
As of now, the significance and selection criteria of the cooling system are discussed. The quality of medical HVAC products definitely impacts the performance and life expectancy of the system. Therefore, you must buy HVAC products like industrial blower fans from a trusted manufacturer like Sofasco. The company is a manufacturer and international supplier of AC blower fans, DC axial fans, axial flow fans, and more. They also offer expert advice and industry-specific HVAC solutions to their clients.
