Award for Special Design

Bild 1: Stellvertretend für das Entwicklungsteam präsentiert Hartmut Messerschmidt die Urkunde. (Bild: ebm-papst) / Fig. 1: On behalf of the Development team, Hartmut Messerschmidt accepted the award certificate. (Picture: ebm-papst)

Bild 2: Der RadiPac überzeugt durch eine spürbare Verbesserung hinsichtlich Effizienz, Geräusch und Gewicht. (Bild: ebm-papst) / Fig. 2: Our RadiPac impressed the jury with its improvements in efficiency, noise emission and weight. (Picture: ebm-papst)

The RadiPac centrifugal fans from ebm-papst have received a “Special Mention” in the “Energy” category at the 2017 German Design Awards. The jury uses this award to honor products whose design contains especially successful aspects or solutions. In the case of RadiPac, it is the significant improvement of efficiency, power and weight.

Faithful to the founding principle

On behalf of the Development team, Hartmut Messerschmidt, Head of the Applications Development Department at ebm-papst, accepted the award certificate. “We are particularly pleased about this award since we received it for a product that we developed further based on our GreenTech philosophy – in complete alignment with the principle of our company founder, Gerhard Sturm. He said that each of our new developments must exceed its predecessor in the areas of ecology and cost efficiency.” The independent jury of experts composed of representatives from industry, academia and design confirmed this assessment. The jury’s decision stated: “As a result of revising key components and details, the product achieved palpable improvements related to efficiency, performance and weight.”

Optimization in many areas

ebm-papst extensively revised the centrifugal fans in the RadiPac product range designed especially for use in air conditioning and ambient air devices. The frame for the motor and impeller now has a tubular construction with only two brackets. This reduced its weight, increased stability and improved the design. And the fans’ aerodynamics were also optimized. For example, at the air intake in the impeller, the location of the external rotor motor in the impeller was adjusted and the impeller blade profile improved. The new aluminum airfoil blades ensure higher efficiency and at the same time, reduce the weight. The optimization results are extremely gratifying: In total, revising and optimizing the RadiPac fans led to an increase in efficiency of over eight percentage points. At the same time, noise emission was reduced by over 3 dB(A). The new centrifugal fans operate very quietly.

About the German Design Award

The German Design Council, the center of expertise for German design and branding, bestows the German Design Award. Its mission is to represent design activity in Germany. Founded in 1953 as a foundation upon the initiative of the German Bundestag, it supports commerce in the endeavor to achieve consistent brand value through design. This makes the German Design Council one of the world’s leading centers of excellence for communication and brand management in the design field. The exclusive network of foundation members includes industry associations and institutions, as well as the owners and brand managers of many renowned companies.