Keeping Grandma Alive and Well

Overview

Installing a noisy and inefficient bathroom fan can lead to poor indoor air quality because no one wants to run a fan that disturbs their slumber. This is especially true in an assisted living community. The fans don't work and annoy the inhabitants.

The solution? Quiet, Effective, Energy-Efficient Fans from S&P USA Ventilation Products.

Approach

Sagelife Senior Living, a developer of Assisted Living and Mixed Use facilities, needed a cost effective way to meet the indoor air codes for multi-family structures in New England. These codes require fresh air to be continuously introduced into the residence. Dedicated outdoor air systems can be cost prohibitive and cheap fans will not do the job.

The solution: Soler & Palau's Premium Choice Fans with DC Motors. The PCD series offers up to 200CFM while featuring an energy efficient DC motor.

The Artisan at Hudson Project

The Artisan at Hudson, a 300 unit Assisted Living complex in Hudson, MA, is "retirement living reimagined thoroughly modern living defined". Focused on smart spaces for the resident, studio, one bedroom, and two bedrooms are available with modern touches that "defied the norms of senior living".

General Contractor, Western Builders of Granby, MA hired JSD Mechanical Contractors of Chicopee, MA. JSD has installed thousands of Premium Choice Fans over the last few years due to their high quality and low price. These fans have been purchased from Air Equipment in E. Hartford, CT where S&P is represented by RST Thermal, an independent Manufacturer's Representative in Norwood, MA. For this specific project, they chose PCD because of the energy efficiency of the DC Motor(s), the ultra-quiet operation, the six year warranty, and the low cost.

Multi-Function Ventilation Solution

Within this project, Premium Choice Fans serve several needs, not just bathroom ventilation. The fans run continuously at a low speed, helping meet the International Residential Code and ASHRAE 62.2 Standard for fresh air introduction throughout the dwelling.

The fans automatically boost to high speed when the humidity level rises in the bathrooms and stays on, even after the occupant has left, until the level drops. Lastly, the fan turns on automatically when the occupant enters the bathroom, a REAL plus for Assisted Living as the resident does not need to remember to turn it on. All the fans are ultra quiet (less than .3 sones), Energy Star rated, and are Home Ventilating Institute (HVI) certified.

Conclusion

By using Premium Choice DC Bathroom fans, Western Builders was able to provide a quiet, energy efficient fan that checked more boxes than just a bathroom fan. The fans provide fresh air, exhaust humidity, and provide light when the occupant needs it most.

Sources

• Senior Retirement Living - MA. (2020). Retrieved June 30, 2020.