Asset type
Fan & blower monitoring
SAM4 monitors ventilation fans, cooling fans, process blowers, and aerators from the motor control cabinet — detecting imbalance, bearing degradation, belt issues, and efficiency loss without accessing the fan or ductwork.
At a glance
- Monitoring method
- Electrical Signature Analysis (ESA)
- Sensor location
- Motor control cabinet (MCC)
- Voltage range
- Low and medium voltage
- Drive type
- DOL, soft starter, VFD
- Fan types
- Centrifugal, axial, induced draft, forced draft, aerators
- Faults detected
- 5 fault types
- Typical lead time
- 3–10 weeks before failure
Why monitor fans and blowers
Critical for safety and process — yet often monitored only by manual rounds
Fans and blowers maintain atmospheric conditions in mines, tunnels, and process buildings. They keep furnaces running, aeration systems active, and cooling circuits flowing. When they fail, the consequences range from production loss to safety shutdowns.
typical cost of an unplanned fan failure — including production loss, environmental non-compliance, and emergency repair.
of fan failures are bearing-related and detectable weeks in advance through electrical signature changes.
energy savings achievable by identifying fans operating away from their design point.
What SAM4 detects on fans and blowers
Five fault types from one sensor location
| Fault type | What's happening | How SAM4 detects it | Typical lead time | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imbalance | Deposit buildup, blade erosion, or foreign object damage causing rotational imbalance | 1× running speed component increase in the current spectrum | 3–10 weeks | Full |
| Bearing degradation | Inner/outer race defects, rolling element wear, lubrication breakdown | Characteristic bearing fault frequencies in the motor current spectrum | 4–12 weeks | Full |
| Belt wear | V-belt stretching, misalignment, or slippage on belt-driven fans | Belt frequency harmonics and slip ratio changes in the electrical signature | 2–6 weeks | Full |
| Process deviations | Abnormal airflow, damper issues, or system resistance changes | Load signature deviations from established operating baseline | Days–weeks | Partial |
| Efficiency loss | Fan operating below design efficiency due to wear, fouling, or system changes | Power consumption deviation tracked against baseline at equivalent conditions | Continuous | Full |
Detection capability depends on drive topology, sampling rate, load variation, and operating conditions. See ESA detection constraints.
Installation on fans and blowers
30 minutes. No access to the fan or ductwork required.
Open the motor control cabinet
SAM4 installs at the MCC — the same panel your electricians already access. No confined space entry, no scaffolding, no process shutdown.
Clip sensor onto motor supply cables
Current and voltage sensors clip directly onto the existing cabling. No wiring changes. No interruption to the asset's operation.
Connect and commission
The SAM4 gateway connects via cellular (4G/LTE) — no dependency on your IT network. Monitoring starts immediately. First diagnostic results within 48 hours.
Energy monitoring
Not just fault detection. Energy optimisation too.
Fans and blowers account for a significant share of energy consumption in process industries. SAM4 tracks power consumption against airflow conditions — identifying fans running below design efficiency due to wear, fouling, or system resistance changes.
Power baseline tracking
SAM4 establishes a power consumption baseline for each fan and tracks deviations — flagging efficiency degradation caused by wear, fouling, or system changes.
Operating point monitoring
Continuous tracking of where the fan operates relative to its design point. Identifies fans running at suboptimal speeds or against incorrect system resistance.
Degradation-linked energy loss
Links efficiency losses to specific mechanical fault signatures — providing data to justify maintenance actions that recover energy performance.
Where fans and blowers are monitored
Industries using SAM4 on fans and blowers
Water & Wastewater
Aeration blowers, ventilation fans. Continuous monitoring across treatment works.
Metals & Mining
Mine ventilation fans, furnace draft fans, cooling fans. Underground and surface installations.
Chemicals
Cooling tower fans, process blowers, ventilation systems. Hazardous zone monitoring.
Pulp & Paper
Recovery boiler fans, drying section fans, ventilation systems across mill operations.
See SAM4 monitoring fans and blowers
A 30-minute demo shows SAM4 running on fans and blowers like yours — with real fault data, real diagnostics, and real energy insights.