How can we reduce power consumption and noise while maintaining cooling performance?

Reducing the power consumption of digital signage has become an urgent issue as a measure to conserve electricity

Company G is involved in the development, manufacturing, sales, and OEM of digital AV equipment. One of their main products is digital signage, which offers a wide lineup of display types ranging from small indoor models to large outdoor models. They entered the digital advertising market early and have steadily increased their market share.

However, in light of recent concerns about power supply shortages and the spread of power-saving measures, there is a strong demand for energy-saving measures in advertising equipment such as large displays. In response to these circumstances, the company has set "reducing power consumption" as a key development point in order to meet market needs and to survive in the increasingly competitive digital signage market, and has begun developing its next-generation model. From the user's perspective, reducing power consumption is not only a power-saving measure, but also leads to the benefit of reduced electricity bills.

Maintaining "cooling performance" while reducing "power consumption" and "noise" - how to meet these conflicting requirements...

First, Company G decided to review the components of the equipment. Among them, the cooling fan, which consumes a relatively large amount of power, was considered as one of the key components to review. Mr. M, the company's design and development team manager, said:

"The amount of power consumed by a single fan is by no means large, but our flagship 70-inch digital signage product is equipped with a total of 12 fans, so we expected that when taken together, they would have a considerable impact."

However, cooling fans are important parts that prevent equipment malfunctions and breakdowns caused by overheating of the CPU or power supply, so cooling performance cannot be sacrificed. In addition, digital signage is often installed indoors or in stores, so there is also a demand for low noise equipment. Feeling stuck on the difficult issue of having to achieve energy savings and low noise while maintaining the performance and quality of the equipment, Mr. M consulted the current fan supplier about the problem, but...

"I consulted with the sales department of our current fan manufacturer, but their response was slow, and in the end, they only sent me a few graphs of airflow vs. static pressure characteristics. Even before then, it took several months from order to delivery, even for mass-produced products. I had always felt dissatisfied with their slow and unhelpful response, so I began looking into changing cooling fans with the assumption that I would change manufacturers." (Mr. M)

With 1,000 devices, a significant energy saving effect was confirmed, with electricity bills reduced by 1.46 million yen and CO2 emissions reduced by 29,000 kg (per year)!

Mr. M was looking for a cooling fan that could reduce power consumption while maintaining the necessary cooling performance, and at an industrial equipment exhibition, he noticed SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. 's "DC Cooling Fan." Intrigued by the catchphrase "high airflow and high static pressure while drastically reducing power consumption," Mr. M immediately spoke to a sales representative in detail.

"The sales representative from SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. gave us a clear explanation of the reduction in power consumption compared to our current fans. This gave us the feeling that there was a possibility of significantly reducing power consumption when actually installing the fan. The current fans consume 1.5W per unit, but this will reduce power consumption by 52%, to 0.72W." (Mr. M)
Based on these results, Mr. M calculated the power saving effect for major customers who were requesting energy saving measures, and found that a 52% reduction could be expected.

Company G was planning to gradually deliver a total of 1,000 digital signage units to the target stores of the chain to this customer. Assuming that all of the equipment is equipped with SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. 's "DC Cooling Fan," changing the fans alone will reduce annual CO2 emissions by 29,000 kg, which translates into a reduction in electricity bills of 1.46 million yen.

The idea is to drastically reduce power consumption while maintaining the cooling performance in the "usage range".

We immediately ordered an evaluation sample and conducted actual testing.
"No matter how much power consumption is reduced, it is meaningless if the cooling performance is not met. Looking only at maximum airflow and static pressure in the specifications, I was worried that it might not provide sufficient cooling, but after testing, I found that there were no problems.
I was curious about this, so I asked a SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. salesperson about it, and they told me that the DC Cooling Fan had been optimized for the expected "area of use" when installed in equipment, with the blades, frame shape, and motor circuit optimized. This point provided more airflow and static pressure than our current fan, so it was perfect for our equipment. I thought, "That's a great idea!" (Mr. M)

Continued support from prototype verification to mass production

Thus, Company G decided to use SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. 's DC Cooling Fan. Soon, other improvements besides the fan were also decided, and mass production of the new model finally began. Mr. M said:

"By installing this fan, we can expect a considerable energy saving effect. We believe that our customers will be very satisfied with the result. SANYO DENKI CO., LTD. 's continuous support from the prototype verification stage through to mass production was a great help in the development of the new model. Above all, we are grateful that we were able to deliver a large volume of products smoothly thanks to their prompt and courteous response. We look forward to continuing to rely on them for advice on various matters."

release date: 2019-01-18 00:00