What is CFM Calculator

To maximize optimum airflow in any space – from air conditioners that power living rooms or conference halls, to heating furnaces or the ductwork in various industrial dust collection systems – it is pivotal to quantify the amount of airflow entering such space, and this leads to our discussion on cfm. 

Cubic feet per minute (cfm) is the unit of measurement that determines the amount of air or liquid moving through a room in a fraction of time. The CFM formula application spans across a wide range of industries including automotive and aerospace to estimate the airflow in car and aircraft engines respectively; environmental protection to contain waste gas emissions; ventilation engineering to fabricate air conditioning systems for homes, etc., and other HVAC systems.

Keep reading this article to see the role of cubic feet per minute airflow in dust collector machines! 

What is CFM

Before installing a dust filtration system in your production house (from welding facilities to flour mills), it is important to take into consideration the dimensions of the workspace – the length, width, and height – to ascertain the area of the room exposed to dust and the volume of dust that can fill such space. Such information helps in culling the best dust collector systems, in terms of efficiency. Dust collector designers like Tysum use room dimensions to fabricate bespoke dust collectors with specific cubic feet per minute airflow coefficients to meet various workplace requirements.

CFM, short for cubic feet per minute, is a unit of volumetric airflow popularly employed in ventilation engineering and industrial hygiene. The cfm coefficient gives the amount of airflow in volume, through a space in one minute. It is crucial information in fabricating and maintaining air-moving/air-exchange systems like air conditioners and dust filtration systems, as it directly impacts the filtration mechanisms and filter media such as pleated filter bags, of these machines.

Calculating cfm helps maintain minimum airflow for efficient ventilation in work environments in compliance with statutory regulations from bodies such as EPA, FDA, OSPHA, and other agencies, to minimize any endangerment to employees’ health at work. 

How to Calculate CFM

CFM formula:

CFM=ACH ×Room Volume ÷60

Determining cfm for a room follows three major easy steps:

• Step One: Get the dimensions of your workspace
• Step Two: Calculate its volume
• Step Three: Determine how many air changes per hour will be needed
• Step Four: Apply the values into the cfm calculator formula and estimate the cfm of your space.

Step One

Measuring your facility or space is the first step to determining the cfm of a room. Using your tape measure, take down the values of the length, width, and ceiling height of the space exposed to dust or to be ventilated. All measurements should be in feet (ft.) and values should be approximated to the nearest foot.

Step Two

After taking down the dimensions, the volume of the work environment should be calculated because the CFM calculator formula requires the volume of the space requiring ventilation. The volume of a room is estimated as follows:

Volume = length × width × height

The unit will be in cubic feet. Remember, the foot measurement is written as 1F on the 12th inch of every tape measure. You can also use a length converter if you take down the dimensions in centimeters or millimeters.

Step Three

Calculating the amount of air changes per hour (ACH) that will be needed is another vital step on how to figure out cfm. Changing the air more frequently in your workspace improves the air quality and enhances the obliteration of allergens. The size of your space and the nature of operations carried out within it are also crucial in arriving at the air changes per hour needed. Larger facilities require more air changes than smaller spaces because of the volume of air they can accommodate in a fraction of the time. 

Facilities involved in the production of consumer goods like pharmaceutical industries will require more air changes due to the high level of purity involved in their operations (at least 5 ACH). Flour mills and other heavy-dust-producing facilities will also require more air changes per hour during operations compared to other low-dust-producing spaces like your kitchen at home.

Step Four

The final step involves using the cfm formula below:

CFM=ACH ×Room Volume ÷60

Thus, for a single air change per hour, the formula is given as:

CFM=Room Volume÷60

Where, CFM = cubic feet per minute, ACH = Air change per hour, and Room volume = the volume of the space to be ventilated in cubic feet.

If your space requires more ACH, the required ACH should be multiplied by the rooms’ volume before dividing by 60 as given by the formula.

 

Conclusion

This article elaborates extensively on how to figure out cfm in any facility or space, the role of air changes per hour (ACH) in calculating cfm, and the importance of cubic feet per minute airflow in ventilation.

Improving the air quality of your workplace results in improved employee health and helps upscale productivity massively. At Tysum, we help you achieve both goals by offering custom-made dust collector solutions that suit your business needs. Our fabrications are not only tailored in adherence to industry standards but we also have a track record of efficient solutions across China, as we create designs based on the CFM and ACH requirements of client’ facilities. 

Contact Tysum today for the latest dust collectors in the industry! And for the dust collection systems that suit just you.