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Make-Up Air units are becoming requirements in all commercial kitchen spaces for their exhaust hood system. The exhaust hood system works by removing dirty air from inside the kitchen space, and expelling it outdoors. A make-up air unit then comes into play by taking air from outside the building and inserting it into the kitchen space, essentially replacing the dirty air with clean air from outside. By incorporating a direct-drive motor in your make-up air unit you can increase performance, overall energy consumption, and reduce maintenance.

What is a direct-drive fan? There are two basic types of exhaust fans - belt-driven and direct drive. Belt-driven is pretty self explanatory - it utilizes a belt to turn the fan blades. Direct-drive exhaust fans removes the belt from the equation and instead connects the motor and the fan assembly. By removing the belt you increase the overall efficiency of the make-up air fan while also making the fan easier to maintain and clean overall. Not only are you saving money in terms of energy consumption by moving to a direct-drive exhaust fan, but by making it easier to maintain and clean the exhaust fan you will save money in the long run with repairs and maintenance costs.

Direct-drive fans also allow you to incorporate an Electronically Commutated Motor (ECM), allowing flexibility in terms of fan speed and other variables to allow for your exhaust hood system to run as efficiently as possible. ECMs can be set up to automatically adjus...