468 MegaFans across 54 Amazon sites
Amazon wanted to cut the energy it spends heating and cooling its logistics centres without making them less comfortable for the people who work there. HVLS fans did both, saving up to 45% of winter heating energy depending on building height, and since 2019 MegaFans have been installed at 54 Amazon sites across the UK and Ireland. MegaFan is now specified by Amazon in its tender documents.
Installed by MegaFan Technologies across the UK and Ireland, and by our European partner Magnovent in Spain.
01The challenge
Amazon's logistics centres are very large, high buildings with big workforces. They need heating in winter and cooling in summer, and both cost a great deal of energy. The brief was to reduce the annual energy used for heating and cooling while keeping workers comfortable.
On site
02The solution
HVLS fans were hung under the roof. In winter they turn slowly, bringing the warm air that collects under the roof back down to the working floor. In summer they run faster to create a smooth breeze across the floor.
Amazon Crawley (DRH2): the fan layout in 3D
Built from the tender ventilation layout for Amazon Crawley: 11 MegaFan AirMax 730 fans across Units A and B, hung 2.1 m below the roof, with the sortation, shelving, bays and high-level jet fans as drawn. Step through the scenes, or drag to look around.
Schematic view. Colours are illustrative: in winter, blue is cooler and orange is warmer; in summer, brighter strands are moving faster.
Winter: heat back where people work
The fans lower the hot air from the upper layers of the building, so the air at floor level is about 3°C warmer and the heating has to work less. Winter energy savings of up to 45% are achieved; the higher the building, the greater the savings.
Summer: a breeze that feels up to 6°C cooler
A smooth, constant breeze improves how warm it feels by up to 6°C and keeps air moving around the people working on the floor, for better comfort and air quality.
Built around the way Amazon works
Amazon sites are very busy in the morning, quieter in the afternoon, then busy again through the evening and into the night. The MegaFans adjust automatically to this pattern: running up when the floor is full of people, and turning down to a slow, energy-saving speed when it is quiet.
Illustrative daily pattern.
05Why it works
- Specified by Amazon: MegaFan is named in Amazon's tender documents for its UK sites.
- Suits Amazon's shift pattern: fan speeds adjust automatically to the busy morning, quieter afternoon and busy evening and night.
- Large space, few fans: a handful of large, slow fans serves a whole logistics hall.
- Destratification: warm air that would sit under the roof is returned to the working floor.
- Summer comfort: air movement cools people without refrigeration.
- Proven at scale: repeat orders across 54 sites, from 2 fans at the smallest to 25 at the largest.
Running a large logistics centre?
Talk to us about cutting heating costs and keeping your team comfortable.