- air-circulating fan
means a fan that is unconnected to any ducting, without a stator or with a stator that cannot be connected to ducting, used for moving air within a space, such as a room or open-air area.
- axial fan
means a fan with a fan flow angle < 20°, as set out in point 4 of Annex III;
- backward curved fan
means a centrifugal fan with a fan blade angle β2 where 0°< β2 ≤ 50°, as set out in point 5 of Annex III;
- backward inclined fan
means a centrifugal fan with a fan blade angle β2 where 50° < β2 ≤ 90°, as set out in point 5 of Annex III;
- best efficiency point
(BEP) means the best energy efficiency point for fan operation, determined at inherent speed;
- centrifugal blade angle
means the blade angle β2 of a centrifugal fan, expressed in degrees, as set out in point 5 of Annex III;
- centrifugal fan
means a fan with a flow angle ≥ 70°, as set out in point 4 of Annex III;
- cross-flow fan
means a fan in which the gas path through the impeller is in a direction essentially at right angles to its axis both entering and leaving the impeller at its periphery;
- custom fan
means a fan having a custom design for a specific customer and/or contract with respect to one or more of the significant elements, and an operating point or range specified by the customer/contract.
- declared values
means the values provided by the manufacturer, importer or authorised representative for the stated, calculated or measured technical parameters in accordance with Article 4, for the verification of compliance by the Member State authorities;
- diffuser
means a device that influences the fan performance through static recovery;
- direct drive
means a driving arrangement for a fan where the impeller is fixed to the motor shaft, either directly or with a coaxial coupling, and where the impeller speed is identical to the motor’s rotational speed;
- drive system
means electric motor, transmission or direct drive and a variable speed drive if supplied;
- dual use fan
means a fan designed for both ventilation under normal conditions and emergency use as set out in Article 1(3), point (b);
- efficiency category
means the fan gas output energy form used to determine the fan energy efficiency, with a distinction for all fans except jet fans between ‘static’ or ‘total’ efficiency depending on whether the fan gas power has been determined with respectively the fan static pressure or fan pressure;
- efficiency grade
means a parameter in the calculation of the minimum energy efficiency of a fan of specific electric input power at its BEP or at Tm (expressed as parameter ‘N’ in the calculation of the fan energy efficiency);
- equivalent model
means a model that has the same technical characteristics relevant for the technical information to be provided, but which is placed on the market or put into service by the same manufacturer, importer or authorised representative as another model with a different model identifier;
- fan
means a rotary-bladed machine that receives energy and utilises it by means of one or more impellers to maintain a continuous flow of air or other gas passing through it and, with a specific ratio lower than 1,1 and an output air velocity lower than 65 m/s, which can be of the following categories: axial, centrifugal, cross-flow, mixed-flow or jet, and made of at least an impeller, a motor and a stator, and includes any other significant elements that are supplied with the fan;
- fan efficiency
(η) means the ratio of the fan gas power output Pu and the electric input power Pe, both expressed in W and determined at BEP, multiplied with correction factors for power conversion Cp, part load compensation Cc and guard compensation Cguard, with a distinction between ‘static’ or ‘total’ efficiency depending on whether the fan gas power Pu has been determined with respectively the fan static pressure or fan pressure, in accordance with point 6.1 of Annex III;
- fan flow angle
means the angle between incoming and outgoing gas flow direction of the fan impeller, expressed in degrees, as set out in Annex III;
- forward curved fan
means a centrifugal fan with a fan blade angle β2 > 90°, as set out in point 5 of Annex III;
- guarantee
means any undertaking by the manufacturer, importer or authorised representative to the consumer, to: (a) reimburse the price paid;
- guard compensation
(Cguard) means a correction factor, as determined according to point 6 of Annex III, that may be applied when calculating fan efficiency where the fan is equipped with permanently fitted protective guards that cannot be removed without making the fan inoperable;
- impeller
means the rotating part of the fan that is imparting energy into the gas flow and is also known as the fan wheel;
- inherent speed
means the rotation speed of the fan, when the fan is operated at nominal or rated supply conditions of the motor;
- inlet guide vanes
means vanes positioned before the impeller to guide the gas stream towards the impeller and which may or may not be adjustable;
- jet fan
means an axial, centrifugal or radial fan that produces a high velocity jet of air in a space (thrust), unconnected to any ducting, where the jet of air induces movement of the surrounding air, creating an overall air flow through the space, and that is designed for operation with open inlets and outlets rather than operating against pressure, including radial and centrifugal jet fans with an angle entrance of ≤ 90° to the outlet;
- low noise fan
means an axial fan with an electric input power of 10 kW or more with a maximum characteristic noise emission value L ≤ 32 dB(A) at BEP;
- manufacturer-authorised professional repairer
means a professional repairer authorised by the manufacturer, importer or authorised representative to repair safety critical fans they place on the market;
- measurement category
means a test, measurement or usage arrangement that defines the inlet and outlet conditions of the fan being tested;
- measurement category A
means an arrangement where the fan is measured with free inlet and outlet conditions, and a partition between inlet and outlet zone;
- measurement category B
means an arrangement where the fan is measured with free inlet and with a duct fitted to its outlet, and a partition between inlet and outlet zone;
- measurement category C
means an arrangement where the fan is measured with a duct fitted to its inlet and free outlet conditions, and a partition between inlet and outlet zone;
- measurement category D
means an arrangement where the fan is measured with a duct fitted to its inlet and outlet, and a partition between inlet and outlet zone;
- measurement category E
means an arrangement where the fan is measured with free inlet and outlet conditions, and without a partition between inlet and outlet zone;
- minimum fan efficiency
(ηmin) means the fan efficiency to be achieved in order to meet the requirements, calculated as the outcome of the appropriate equation in Annex II, using the applicable integer N of the efficiency grade and the electric input power Pe of the fan expressed in kW at its BEP;
- minimum jet fan efficiency (ηr,min)
means fan efficiency to be achieved in order to meet the requirements, calculated as the outcome of the appropriate equation in Annex II, using the applicable integer N of the efficiency grade and the electric input power Pe of the fan expressed in kW at its measured thrust;
- mixed flow fan
means a fan with a flow angle ≥ 20° and < 70°, as set out in point 4 of Annex III;
- model identifier
means the code, usually alphanumeric, which distinguishes a specific product model from other models with the same trademark or the same manufacturer’s, importer’s or authorised representative’s name;
- motor
means a device that converts electrical input power into mechanical output power in the form of a rotation with a rotational speed and torque that depends on factors including the frequency of the supply voltage and the number of poles of the motor as applicable;
- multiple speed motor
means a motor of which the rotating speed can be varied by energising different motor windings;
- outlet guide vanes
means vanes positioned after the impeller to guide the gas stream from the impeller and which may or may not be adjustable;
- part load compensation
(Cc) means a correction factor for part load, as determined according to point 6 of Annex III;
- professional repairer
means an operator or undertaking which provides services of repair and professional maintenance of fans;
- proprietary tool
means a tool that is not commonly available and is specifically designed for a function that cannot be safely and/or reliably achieved by a commonly available tool;
- protective guard
means a grid placed at fan inlet or outlet designed to prevent relatively large foreign bodies or human body elements from reaching the moving parts;
- reversible fan
means a fan capable of reaching at least 80 % of the nominal forward volume flow rate in the reverse direction;
- safety critical fan
means a fan that has been designed, verified, certified and manufactured under the scope of either the Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 or Directive 2014/34/EU relating to equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres;
- significant elements
means the elements of a fan that contribute to the continuous conversion of electric power into air volume flow rate and pressure, or that influence the efficiency of that conversion, namely:
- spare part
means a separate part that can replace a part with the same or similar function in a fan;
- spare part fan
means a fan intended to replace a corresponding existing fan that is integrated into a product;
- specific ratio
means the stagnation pressure measured at the fan outlet divided by the stagnation pressure at the fan inlet at BEP;
- specific speed
(σΒΕΡ) means the ratio between volume flow rate and fan pressure as dimensionless characteristic number determined at BEP, in accordance with point 8 of Annex III;
- stator
means the stationary part of the fan that interacts with the air stream passing through the impeller and, within the geometrical air-stream envelope between defined fan inlet and outlet sections, includes any element that may increase, and excludes any non-fan element that may decrease, the fan efficiency;
- transmission
means a driving arrangement for a fan that is not direct drive, including using a belt drive, gearbox or slipping coupling;
- variable speed drive
(VSD) means an electronic power converter, integrated or functioning as a separate unit, that continuously adapts the electric power supplied to a single motor, or multiple motors in order to control the motor’s mechanical power output according to the torque-speed characteristic of the load driven by the motor, by adjusting the power supply to a variable frequency and voltage supplied to the motor, including EC (electronically commutated) motors’ internal controllers, excluding variable voltage controllers where only the supply voltage for the motor is varied, including all integrated protection devices and auxiliaries;
- wearing parts (sacrificial elements)
means parts that are intentionally designed to wear, for the fan to meet the requirements of its intended use.