British Airways

Problem

The upper mezzanine in British Airways’ Hangar 6 felt up to 20°F (11°C) warmer than the ground floor when heaters were running. Rising hot air made working conditions too hot on the mezzanine and too cold at ground level. Heaters also ran constantly, stacking hot air from top to bottom until the temperature at ground level was finally warm enough to trigger the thermostat’s automatic shut-off. British Airways teamed up with their facility management group, Emcor UK, through a
corporate initiative to save money and energy while improving working environments such as Hangar 6.

Solution

Hangar 6 installed five 24-ft (7.3-m) Powerfoil®X fans to help destratify the space, pushing hot air down and creating uniform temperature throughout the hangar. The result is a comfortable working environment all year long. Additionally, during the first four months of winter operation, Emcor UK/British Airways was able to cut energy consumption in Hangar 6 by more than 2 million kilowatt hours, significantly reducing the carbon footprint of the facility and saving over USD $114,000.

“Big Ass Fans is one of the hangar refurbishment program success stories. The heating system has actually throttled back as it senses the hangar is at a comfortable temperature – we didn’t even know that the heaters had that functionality.”

Mike Keely, Gatwick support manager

British Airways Engineering