Why should we install destratification fans?

First, it’s important to understand what a destratification fan system will do. A destratification system is a grid of multiple ceiling fans working in concert to continuously mix the ceiling air to the floor and balance a facility’s air temperature.

When a space’s temperature is balanced, the need to over-heat or over-cool the space due to stratification is eliminated and significant savings can be realized.

Colleges and schools have indoor athletic facilities, large classrooms and lecture halls, libraries, storage facilities and other highatrium areas where destratification fans are effective and will reduce the energy used to condition the space.

There are many other benefits from a destratification fan system:

  • Improved comfort:
    Any facility has areas that are often too cold or too hot. Occupant comfort is improved with a quality destratification fan installation.
  • Safer work areas:
    A PHI (photohydroionization) kit can be installed in some destratification fans to eliminate molds, bacteria, VOCs and odors. Health conditions can be improved in kitchens, cafeterias, locker rooms, janitorial storage areas, etc.
  • Fits into tight spaces:
    An enclosed destratification fan, unlike paddle or HVLS (high-volume, low-speed) fans, can fit tightly into a ceiling with rafters, ducts or other truss structure.
  • Helps swimmers:
    In indoor swimming facilities, destratification fans can remove the layer of chloramines just above a pool’s surface, which often irritates swimmers.
  • Longer life for lighting systems:
    Decreasing ceiling temperatures extends the life of the lighting system.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

About the Author

Christian Avedon is sales and marketing director for Airius (www.airiusfans.com), a Longmont, CO, manufacturer of destratification fans.

Featured

  • Arlington High School

    Arlington High School

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. Arlington High School has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of New Construction.

  • Texas Recruitment

    Texas Recruitment

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The University of Texas at Austin's Texas Recruitment has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of Renovation.

  • Higher Ed is Betting on New Buildings While Quietly Undermining Their Campuses — Here’s Why

    In this climate, the owner’s representative has changed from a delivery-focused advisor to a strategic campus partner. Institutions are increasingly relying on owner’s reps not just to manage, cope, schedule, and budget, but also help evaluate whether a project should proceed at all.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.