When the winds of winter are blowing, the Modine WeatherHawk® can efficiently help keep the air in commercial and industrial facilities fresh and comfortable.

Buildings need outside air for a number of different reasons. Building codes require minimum ventilation rates be maintained based on occupancy to keep air fresh for people in the space. Buildings with exhaust require the introduction of outside make-up air to replenish what is being extracted from the building. Many buildings simply need to be positively pressurized to reduce uncontrolled infiltration that can strain space heating equipment. 

For large commercial facilities, this can be an expensive proposition. In the midst of a Midwest winter, for example, this can mean pulling in outside air that is 10 below zero and heating it to match the room temperature at 70 degrees. However, the benefit is space heating equipment only needs to focus on what it was designed to do, heat the space and not worry about the load of outside air, so the entire system operates more efficiently.

An indirect fired outdoor make-up air system, the WeatherHawk is capable of heating the air it brings into the facility with high air temperature rise capability, up to 100°F rise, for the bitter cold of Northern climates or lower air temperature rise configurations, down to 20°F rise, for milder Southern climates. Available in 17 ratings, ranging from 75,000 Btu/hr to 1.2 million Btu/hr with 81% thermal efficiency, the units can economically heat incoming air, reducing the load on the facility’s heating system. Modulating controls ensure that temperatures delivered remain consistent with ever-changing outdoor conditions.

WeatherHawk Features

Each WeatherHawk unit is designed to easily integrate into building’s existing HVAC systems. In addition to tempering the air, the units also have cooling capabilities through an optional cooling coil section with DX or chilled water coil or a factory installed evaporative cooling section.

Other features include:

• Superior corrosion resistance and extended equipment life with 18-gauge, polyester-powder paint on an aluminized steel casing.
• Multiple blower selections to handle a wide range of airflow and static pressures, making it suitable for longer ductwork or accessories with high pressure drops.
• Maximum control of outside ventilation air through fresh and return air dampers with two position or modulating controls.
• Ultra-low leak, AMCA Class-II fresh air dampers.

New Controls System Integration

The WeatherHawk units will soon offer the same intuitive, directly integrated programmable microprocessor controls systems available on our Atherion® Commercial Packaged Ventilation products, Airedale Classmate®, and other school products. Compatible with major building management system (BMS) protocols such as BACnet® and LonWorks®, the controls systems feature a customer interface through a handheld display. The controls allow facility managers to maximize energy savings by tailoring performance to the needs of the space. This control option will be available with the WeatherHawk product line in late 2019.