Plasti-Line, Inc., a manufacturer of signage products based in Columbia, SC, needed to find a cost-effective way to keep employees cool during the summer throughout its 82,500 sq. ft. facility.
When summer arrived, temperatures inside the new plant hit 110ºF. Not only were these working conditions uncomfortable and dangerous, they also cost the company money. The 100 employees at the plant were given an additional 10-minute break each day to cool off, amounting to nearly 17 hours of lost production each day.
Plasti-Line first considered air-conditioning but quickly dismissed this idea for two reasons. First, it was expensive. The cost of installing and then operating the units was simply out of budget. Second, it was impractical because several bay doors were kept open all the time.
The ventilation system already in place consisted of 8 supply fans and a ridge-mounted vent measuring the length of the building. Turning the air over during the day did not seem to help cool the above 100-degree temperatures.
Small, column-mounted fans were an option, but again expense was an issue when considering 100 workstations. And, this would only keep employees cool while working directly in front of the fans.
The manufacturer eventually determined the best way to improve the unbearable conditions was to increase air circulation within the facility, mimicking a gentle outdoor breeze. This needed to be done throughout the facility so all employees could be equally cooled, and with the least amount of fans possible to cut costs.
That's when Plasti-Line turned to HVLS Fan Co., in Lexington, KY, to create and install nine HVLS 20-ft. high-volume, low-speed ceiling fans. An HVLS fan moves a very large column of air very slowly, at about 3 mph. One 8-ft. diameter fan is capable of moving 15,000 cfm, a 24-ft. diameter fan can move up to 122,000 cfm of air and will cover an unobstructed area of up to 20,000 sq. ft.
The cost to operate each fan per day is about 50 cents. The cost of the fans themselves was less than the company's estimate for air conditioning 20% of the manufacturing area and just twice the cost of production time lost by the additional daily 10-minute break. In the end, the installation of the fans was not only cost-effective, but it measurably improved the thermal conditions of the employees within the entire plant.

Source: Large-Diameter Fans Meet Manufacturer's Cooling Needs
Field Report
Industrial Maintenance & Plant Operation, April 2002
http://www.impomag.com/scripts/default.asp