Evaluation Indicator for Greenhouse Air Circulator Performances

Although air circulators are commonly used in agricultural buildings, it is difficult to evaluate the practical performance of many such air circulators currently available in Japan. This study compares the air circulation performances of six commercial air circulators and demonstrates that the distribution of air velocity generation varied among them. Although the power consumption significantly correlated with the range of air circulation observed, the airflow rate listed in the specifications did not. Therefore, power consumption is a better evaluation indicator for the performance of air circulators under the limitation that exceedingly inefficient products are hardly distinguishable. In addition, the energy efficiency in the usage of air circulators is discussed.