To go Brushless or Not? That is the Question. On Earth Day today, we wish our conscious fanz-family a future as bright as some of our LED designer fans. Energy consumption has been rising tremendously across urban cities in India in recent years. This is happening in Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and even upcoming smart cities like Raipur, Surat and Coimbatore. With around half of our 130+ luxury designer fans possessing BLDC Motors, Fanzart(since 2012) has constantly been at the forefront of technology innovation in beautiful artisanal fans, that deliver brilliant breeze experiences. Our BLDC designer fans use just 20-35 Watts of energy, saving you up to 70% energy as compared to normal fans. It’s time for us to come together for the greater good of our planet this Earth Month!
Perhaps you are a principal architect, interior designer, or a smart and suave user looking to understand the world of luxury designer fans better. If you haven’t read our previous blog on how India can save 3MW per hour if we all switched to BLDC Motor fans,it’s okay, we’ll break down the components of how this works, for your better understanding.
Now, time for a bit of mechanical science and elementary physics. What makes our designer fans efficient is the presence of Brushless Motors–a recent innovation when it comes to fans. These types of motors allow for high efficiency and controllability because of the way the permanent magnet present inside the Motor interacts with the magnetic fields generated by the surrounding stationary coils in the stator (the stationary copper coil part of a rotational system).
Before we compare this phenomenon with a Brushed Motor, let’s get in deeper with what exactly is going on inside the motor.
Permanent magnets are materials where the magnetic field is generated by the internal structure of the material itself. The stator of a BLDC fan has a coil arrangement whereby applying DC Power to the coil, it gets energized and becomes an electromagnet. The permanent magnet will then interact with the electromagnet, which is now energized in the opposite pole. This is to make the opposite poles attract–thus the rotor and the stator are attracted towards each other. As the rotor moves towards the stator, the polarity of the coils would be reversed so keep the rotor moving, and essentially, your fan moving in a constant state. At any instance, the coils are energized such that one is pulling the rotor with the other coil having the same polarity (Example: S & S, N & N) so that it pushes the rotor (like poles repel). The combined effect means more torque. Sheer genius!
In a Brushed DC Motor, its permanent magnets on the outside of its structure, with a spinning armature on the inside. The permanent magnets, which are stationary on the outside, are called the stator. The armature, which rotates and contains an electromagnet, is called the rotor. In a brushed DC motor, the rotor spins 180-degrees when an electric current is run to the armature. To go any further, the poles of the electromagnet must flip. The brushes, as the rotor spins, make contact with the stator, flipping the magnetic field and allowing the rotor to spin a full 360-degrees.
So, how long do BLDC Motors last?
The elimination of the sliding contact allows brushless motors to have less friction and longer life; their working life is only limited by the lifetime of their bearings. The brushes in conventional motors may wear out over time and cause sparking. Thus the brushless DC motors end up lasting longer too.
Some of the other advantages of using a BLDC Motor, other than them being super-efficient would be the following:
- Lesser Noise, which make our designer fans ‘Whisper-Quiet’ (No Brushes= No noise)
Electrical noise, in particular, is the result of the strong sparks that tend to occur in the areas where the brushes pass over the gaps in the commutator. This is why BLDC motors are often considered preferable in applications where it is important to avoid electrical noise.
- Controllability-using feedback mechanisms, BLDC Motors can deliver precisely the desired torque and rotation speed. Precision control, in turn, reduces energy consumption and heat generation.
- Durability-with brushed motors, the brushes and commutator wear down as a result of continuous moving contact, and also produce sparks where contact is made.
Now that that’s clear, the next thing to do is pick out the best designer fan suited for your designer space. With so many Fanzartistic options, we recommend scheduling a consultation call with our fan experts for greater clarity. Drop us a line to learn more about BLDC motors and any technical information which can help you gain the best out of our fancy fans that are all about great functionality.