New Product Development Update

Direct Vent System for Greenhouse and Warehouse Ventilation

Engineers here at AirScape are currently working on the finishing touches of a direct vent exhaust fan designed for industrial and commercial applications such as large indoor greenhouses and warehouses.

The system can be configured for roof or wall exhaust and has automatic Powered AirLock doors. There is an inlet louver with a Powered AirLock so that the space can be sealed up when no exhaust is desired.

Preliminary airflow testing is still incomplete because it outperforms our test chamber’s capacity…  Well over 8500 cfm on only speed 6 (out of 10)! More data to follow as we recalibrate be able to accurately test such high airflow.

For more info, email us at experts@airscapefans.com

Designing the 5.0e

5.0e, Front
5.0e, Front

Our newest model of whole house fan, the 5.0e, is has been available on our website since spring. We’re extremely excited about it. Not only is this our first new fan in several years, but it is also our most powerful and our most efficient fan ever. Moreover, we’re manufacturing a greater portion of this fan “in-house” at our Medford, Oregon facility than any of our other fans. We’re also seeking a patent for some of the innovations behind its performance. As our patent is finally “pending”, we can now share the story of the 5.0e’s development.

Read more

XR High Insulation Model Whole House Fans

Starting in July 2014 we are offering R-49 insulation on our AirScape line whole house fans (R-47 on the 1.7 WHF).  These will be separate part numbers (-XR designation) from our standard units.  R-49/R-47 insulation will not be available on Kohilo fans.

How do we get R-49 into the doors?  A combination of standard fiberglass insulation and VIP panel (vacuum insulation panel) technology. VIP is a relatively new technology that offers an R–Value (thermal resistance) up to ten times greater than commonly used forms of insulation, such as Styrofoam and six times greater than polyurethane. The chart below gives us a visual comparison of VIP panel R values vs. other common insulation on a per inch thickness basis. (image courtesy of ThermoCor)

vip_graph

Why not R-49 on Kohilo fans? VIP insulation is relatively heavy and necessitates mechanical actuators to open and close these insulated doors.  Gravity dampers used on Kohilos, and a few other fan manufacturers, are not able to handle the added weight of insulation.

If you would like to read more on VIPs, check out the manufacturer’s website:  www.thermocorvip.com

PR: Data Monitoring Package

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Airscape announces the launch of its new Data Monitoring Package extending the web server capability of its whole house fans.MC-Contact

The data monitoring package “DMP” provides extra sensors and software to allow whole house fan owners to view room, outside, and attic temperatures. Users can view the temperatures through browser enabled devices (smart phones, computers, tablets). Historical data will be aggregated and saved on AirScape servers and available by secure login.

 

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Users can check temperatures in the house, attic, and outside remotely. dmp_package

By looking at the graphs of temperatures, users can view patterns, identify trends, and decide upon the best ways to save utility costs, and optimize green energy efficiencies.

For more information, visit :

http://www.airscapefans.com/learn-about/dmp-explained.php

Bookmark your WHF controller

UPDATE: The controls referenced below are currently only available as an upgrade on Sierra units. For more information please call us at 866.448.4187.

There are a couple of ways of quickly accessing your whole house fan controller through a web browser.

A bit of technical background:

Your AirScape WHF gets an IP address (something like 192.168.xxx.xxx) from your router through a process called DHCP.  This IP address stays the same for long periods, but  may change because of power failures, unit resets, etc. For convenience we don’t want to have to look for that IP address or URL whenever we want to change fan speeds or set the timer.

Method 1: Fix the IP address or set an IP address reservation

  • Follow the instructions to reserve or fix an IP address as described in https://blog.airscapefans.com/archives/ip-address-reservation
  • Put the IP address into your browser URL window
  • Save that page as a Bookmark

Method 2: Use the AirScape server to find your IP address

  • You need to be signed up for the AirScape Data Monitoring. (Call us to set this up)
  • Make a bookmark on your browser with the address as follows: http://airscapefans.com/control/local-link.php?mac=:last-6-characters-of-your-MAC . You can find the ‘last-6-characters-of-your-MAC” on the sticker of your WHF control panel. This one (pictured below) has a MAC address of 60:CB:FB:00:00:17.
  • The bookmark for this example would be: http://airscapefans.com/control/local-link.php?mac=000017
  • This will only work when you are connected to your LAN (local area network). So if your smart phone is not connected to your home LAN, it won’t work.

dhcp-3

How to access your Router

Once you’ve ran a CAT5 cable from your 3.5e or 4.4e to your router, you still have some more work to do before you can control your fan through your computer, smartphone or tablet. Since not all of us are Computer Gurus like the AirScape Engineers, (I’m certainly not!), I thought I’d endeavor to figure out what had to be done and break it down into steps for you. Here is a very wordy explanation on how to get access to your router:

 

Step 1 – Find your Router’s IP Address (192.168.__.__)

***Hint – in most home systems, the router’s IP address is usually going to be something basic, like: 192.168.0.1, 192.168.1.1, 192.168.10.10, 192.168.01.01…

How to find the IP Address:

Windows XP (7 is about the same)

  1. Start
  2. Control Panel
  3. Network and Internet Connections
  4. Network Connections
  5. Local Area Connections
  6. On the left of that window, notice the box labeled Details. Expand if it is minimized and in that box will be a bunch of info including an IP address. That IP address is your router.
  7. Yay! You got the IP address! Now be sure to write it down.

iMac

  1. Open your web browser – Firefox, Safari, etc
  2. Click on the “Firefox” or “Safari” icon in the upper left corner
  3. Preferences
  4. Advanced
  5. For Firefox – Choose Network then Settings – IP address should be listed here
  6. For Safari – Choose Proxies – Change Settings, then click on TCP/IP – IP address listed – then change your default browser – Firefox is WAY better than Safari!

Apple – iPhone/iPad

  1.  Open Settings
  2.  Choose your Network and There it is.

 

Step 2. Access your Router

1. Type the IP address into your web browser.
2. You will need to put in the user name and password – This is where it gets hard.

The user name and password would have been assigned when the system was originally set up. It may be still set to the manufacturer’s default, but whoever set up your internet should have provided you with the info if they changed it. If you’re like me, and either got it and lost it or never knew it to begin with, you’re going to need to do some detective work to find it out. The password is not the same as your secure network password.

Before getting too involved, look at your router… Turns out my router had the default user name and password printed on it right next to the model #. You may be able to save yourself a lot of extra work by looking at your router BEFORE you do everything written below – learn from my mistakes 🙂

  • If you have the router setup disk – good for you, you’re way more organized than me. Now is the time to pull it out and use it.
  • If not, you can get your model # off your router and go to the manufacturer’s website and fight your way through support sections until you find the info you want, which is either:

1. The default user name and password. We’re hoping in this case that the default manufacturer’s user name and password were never changed.
Or
2. Directions for how to reset your user name and password back to factory settings. *Warning – If you reset a router, all saved information will be lost.

  • If you find the manufacturer’s defaults but they don’t work, you may be able to contact the company that set up your connection. A large company such as Charter, Comcast, etc. may use standard defaults or note on your account what user name and password they gave your router. This is pretty unlikely, but may be the case if you are renting one of their routers. This is worth a try before resetting your router and possibly losing important information.

Ok, you get the idea…

If the manufacturer’s default doesn’t work and/or you can’t figure out how to reset your system, you could always try calling the manufacturer’s Tech Support and begging for help.They may sigh with exasperation, but they can probably help you.

Please note – However you get access to your routers user name and password, if it is still set to default or if you reset it, be sure to change it after all this is over so your network is secure!

3. Once you are “in” to your router, go ahead and follow the instructions on our blog IP Address Reservation to complete the set up.

Good luck., and give us a call at (866) 448-4187 if you have any questions.