How the Ecogate System Works
How Ecogate Improves Ventilation Systems
How Substantial Savings are Possible
Leveraging the Fan Law
Fan power doesn’t decrease at the same rate as airflow—it follows the Affinity Laws, meaning small reductions in air volume lead to exponentially larger energy savings. For example, cutting airflow by just 30% reduces fan power demand by nearly 70%, as shown in the graph. This is because fan energy consumption is proportional to the cube of airflow reduction.
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10% reduction in airflow → ~27% energy savings
25% reduction in airflow → ~68% energy savings
50% reduction in airflow → ~87.5% energy savings
How does this play out in a real duct system?
Every dust collection system has a 'defined' safe operating range: a minimum transport velocity below which dust settles and clogs the ductwork, and a design velocity it was sized for. Ecogate's greenBOX controller keeps the fan operating precisely within that window — automatically, in real time.​
​Drag the slider to see how fan power changes as air velocity moves through the safe range. The savings aren't just possible in theory — they're locked in by the physics of where Ecogate operates.
How Common are the Savings?
Average Workstation Utilization
Managers often assume machines operate continuously, estimating utilization at 80% or more based on busy production floors. But data from hundreds of Ecogate installations, mostly U.S. woodworking facilities, reveals actual utilization averages around just 50%. Machines don’t need ventilation during loading/unloading, setup, programming, cleaning, maintenance, or idle periods. ​
​Recognizing this difference between a machine being on and a machine needing ventilation uncovers substantial energy savings potential.
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