Mumbai: WR installs special high powered fans at Churchgate station

In this scorching heat slightest of breeze brings comfort. Interestingly people at Churchgate station are seen standing in groups right under fans. The WR has installed these special high powered fans that apparently drops the temperature by 4-5 degrees making it a cool experience for people.

This is the first railway station where these 'high volume, low speed (HVLS)' fans have been installed on pilot basis. These fans have proved quite helpful in the hot afternoons - Mumbai was sizzling at 38-40 degree Celcius just few days ago - and even now situation isn't any different.

The probable reason behind the heat are hot and dry winds from northwest India. The slow movement of sea breeze along the Maharashtra coast and the overall clear sky conditions have together resulted in such hot conditions.

People are seen standing below this huge fan, which has a diameter of 10 feet, to catch the cool breeze. The cost of the fan is Rs 2.94 lakh per fan. The WR officials claim that the air circulation has increased many fold and it reduces the temperature from 4-6 degrees where these fans are installed compared to the surrounding area. The fan dispenses less than 35 decibels.

"This HVLS fan distributes air corner to corner uniformly and wind chill effect can be felt at any spot. It has directly replaced 20 air circulators of 200w each," said Sumit Thakur, Chief PRO, Western Railway.

This fan distributes air up to 14000 cubic meters per minute corner to corner uniformly. The maximum speed is 160 RPM, it is energy efficient, gearless, lubricant less among other things. It's blade is made of anodized aluminium and can cover an area of not less than 6000 sq.feet. while the airflow will not be less than 3.50 lakh cubic meter per minute.