“ Installing the Big Ass Fans is one of the best decisions we've made. It's unbelievable how comfortable they make the shop. The fans are so much more efficient than the other cooling options we considered. Every farm shop needs at least one of these.
Southwest Family Farms needed an indoor space to keep workers and equipment cool, even when summer temperatures topped 105°F (40.5°C). Working outside meant exposure to the elements (and bugs), and equipment and tools left in the sun would become too hot to handle. Farm staff needed to take water breaks every hour and the afternoon heat limited the amount of usable hours in a day. Obviously a shop was a necessity, but the new space needed to be more than a shelter—it also had to serve as an oasis from the bugs and prairie heat.
Farm staff considered in-floor cooling, which would have cost $70,000 and wouldn’t have provided the air movement needed for workers. Instead, they selected two 16-ft (4.9-m) Powerfoil®X2.0 fans by Big Ass Fans® to help keep the well-insulated 9,600-sq-ft (892-sq-m) shop almost 30°F (16.5°C) cooler than the outdoors. The airflow from the fans helps the shop feel cool at a fraction of the price, and the benefits don’t stop there. Maintenance on the farm’s vital equipment is now 40 percent faster, farm staff don’t need to re-hydrate every hour, and the workers stay cool no matter the weather.
