Engineering Reference Case Profile · 8,000 m² Urban Vertical Farm

8,000 m² Vertical Farm LED Hot-Zone HVAC · 720 EC Fans

A composite reference case based on representative urban vertical farming facility builds — supplying anti-fungal-coated IP55 axial fans for LED hot-zone HVAC + compact circulation blowers for 12-tier grow racks, hitting urban acoustic noise ordinance + 18% yield improvement vs prior airflow design.

Project size: 8,000 m² · 12-tier grow rack · 720 EC fans + 120 HVAC axial Reference period: Composite reference · 2024–2026 build pattern Geography: EU + North America urban vertical farm segment

About this case profile: This is an anonymized composite reference case based on representative LONGWELL platform deployments in the Vertical Farming · LED Hot-Zone HVAC segment. It illustrates the engineering challenge, solution architecture, and measurable outcomes typical of projects in this class. Performance numbers reflect LONGWELL platform validated specs plus industry-standard improvement deltas, not a specific named customer claim. Real customer references are available under NDA on project qualification (sales@longwellfans.com).

1 · Challenge

LED grow lights at 700 W/m² total lighting density — 50–70% becomes heat that must be removed (300–500 W/m²).
Grow zone 22–24°C / 65–85% RH / 1,500 ppm CO2 enrichment + 24/7 continuous duty.
Mushroom + leafy-green grow chambers historically suffer 12–18 month fan housing biofilm contamination — replaced annually.
Urban acoustic constraint: <42 dB(A) at 4 m residential property boundary.
Rack-level grow-zone circulation: uniform leaf-level breeze (no stagnant zones) across 12-tier rack.

2 · Solution Architecture

120 LWAE3G-500-IP55-Coated on LED hot-zone HVAC heat-reject + return-air paths. 600 LWBE3G-200-EC-Coated mounted in grow-rack manifolds providing uniform leaf-level breeze across 12-tier rack. Anti-fungal coating (silver-ion or copper-ion infused polymer + epoxy + ED-coat) on all housings standard — eliminates biofilm formation that traditionally causes 12–18 month replacement cycles.

Bill of materials

LONGWELL SKU	Type	Qty	Key spec
LWAE3G-500-IP55-Coated	EC axial HVAC fan	120 units	Ø500 mm, IP55, anti-fungal coating standard, −40°C to +60°C ambient, CO2 1,500 ppm continuous tolerance
LWBE3G-200-EC-Coated	Compact rack-level circulation blower	600 units (50/rack × 12 racks)	Ø200 mm, anti-fungal coating standard, IP55

3 · Modelled Outcomes — Typical Range

How to read these figures: the values below are modelled for this composite scenario. They are a planning range, not measured results from one named project. Verified data from real deployments is in Section 6.

Crop yield improvement

+18%

vs prior airflow design

Energy reduction (vs AC fan baseline)

−22%

annual HVAC + circulation

Acoustic at 4 m fenceline

38 dB(A)

well under 42 limit

Anti-fungal housing biofilm events

24-month service

Continuous-duty L10 reliability

>60,000 h

at 24/7 + 80% load

CO2 enrichment tolerance

1,500 ppm

continuous, no drift

4 · Implementation Timeline

Month 0Facility build commits to anti-fungal coating standard

Month 1Sample units to facility commissioning team

Month 2PO for 120 + 600 units

Month 3First batch ships, 4 weeks production

Month 4Facility installation + commissioning

Month 18+18% yield improvement validated vs prior comparable facility design

5 · Engineering Lessons

Anti-fungal coating standard (rather than an optional add-on) was the single biggest predictor of long-term reliability in CEA service. Prior installations using ebm-papst with optional anti-fungal had 12–18 month replacement cycles → switched to LONGWELL standard, 0 events in 24 months.
Uniform leaf-level breeze across 12-tier rack (no stagnant zones) was the single biggest yield driver. Discovered through CFD optimization that 50 compact fans/rack outperforms 25 larger fans/rack at same total airflow.
+18% crop yield improvement vs prior facility comparable airflow design recovered fan CapEx in 5 months — far faster than energy-savings ROI alone.
38 dB(A) at 4 m fenceline was within urban noise ordinance for the facility's downtown location — eliminated competing facility designs that required suburban siting + transport cost penalty.
CO2 enrichment of 1,500 ppm continuous (with bursts to 3,500 ppm during CO2 fertilization) was validated on motor electronics — no degradation after 24-month service.

6 · Verified Project Evidence

Everything below is drawn from actual project correspondence. Model numbers, duty points and certification basis are stated as they occurred. Customer names are withheld; no pricing is published.

Zimbabwe — FAO agricultural ventilation programme

AC axial · delivered

Supplied: LWAA4E400S-5MEB-21 — Ø400 mm AC axial fan, 220 V 50 Hz, 180 W, 0.85 A, 1,350 rpm, IP44, Class F, 6 µF, with wire guard.
Delivered under a United Nations FAO project, which meant third-party inspection and documentation had to be right before despatch — the fan spec was never the difficult part.
CE and EAC marks on the rating plate; the label also carries the product URL for field verification.

United States — vertical farming rack ventilation

DC cross-flow · sampling

Why cross-flow: a growing rack needs an even air curtain along the full tray width, which is what a tangential wheel produces — an axial fan gives a jet with dead zones at the tray ends.
Custom guards and mounting brackets were evaluated with the fan so the assembly drops into the rack frame.

Australia — agricultural drying equipment

EC backward-curved · delivered

High static duty in a compact upgrade: the replacement had to hold pressure through a loaded drying bed while fitting the existing cabinet.

LONGWELL LWAA4E400S-5MEB-21 AC axial fan with wire guard and rating plate — LWAA4E400S-5MEB-21 as supplied: 220 V, 50 Hz, 180 W, 1,350 rpm, IP44, Class F, with CE and EAC marks on the rating plate.

LONGWELL AC axial fan with wire guard, nameplate reading LWAA4E400S-5MEB-21, 220V, 180W, 1350RPM, IP44 — AC axial fan built for a greenhouse and agricultural ventilation programme: LWAA4E400S-5MEB-21, 220 V 50 Hz, 0.85 A, 180 W, 1,350 rpm, IP44, Class F, 6 µF, CE and EAC marked, build date 2024.11. Grow-room and greenhouse ventilation runs continuously in a warm, humid, high-dust environment, so IP class and insulation class matter more than peak airflow.

Fan performance figures are quoted from LONGWELL controlled datasheets and are tested per AMCA 210/211 methods; third-party reports available on request. EC versus AC energy saving is approximately 30%, higher under strongly varying load — confirm against your own load profile. Final selection must be confirmed against the actual duty point (airflow / static pressure / voltage / control method) and project validation.

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