Ceiling Fan Provides Year-Round Comfort

Expanding a business is an outward sign of success, yet this accomplishment can also spur unexpected growing pains. That was the case when New Hampton Metal Fab added to its facility, and heating and cooling the extra space became a challenge. To improve the working environment, New Hampton installed a large-diameter fan from Big Ass Fans (Lexington, Kentucky). Now, the company has realized energy savings, and the work environment is much more comfortable for employees.

When New Hampton Metal Fab opened its doors in 1945 as a blacksmith shop in northeast Iowa, the company worked out of an 800-square-foot wooden shed. After several expansions, the third-generation, family-owned business now fills a 53,000-square-foot facility, where it produces molds for the pipe and precast concrete industry as well as agricultural equipment. After a recent 12,000-square-foot expansion, the company realized its growth created hot working conditions in the summer and cold conditions in the winter that were diminishing employee comfort levels and hampering productivity.

The facility itself has little to no insulation, so the average 20°F to 80°F outside temperatures are felt throughout the shop floor. Adding to the varying-temperature issue is a 40-foot-high ceiling in the most recent addition. In the summer, the high ceilings make air conditioning an uneconomical option. During the winter, the temperature difference from floor to ceiling could range from 5°F to 30°F due to stratification. This occurs when hot air, which is less dense than cold air, rises. The air coming from a heating system or as a byproduct from the facility's plasma burn table and welding station is lighter than the rest of the air in the facility, so it collects at the ceiling while the colder air remains at ground level. "We'd send somebody up to fix something and they would strip down to their long Johns, while the guys on the floor were standing there in Carhartts, basically freezing," explains Pete Gallup, purchasing manager.

To eliminate these temperature variations, New Hampton originally installed individual, 30-inch floor fans at 20 different stations. "They moved some air in the summer, but they didn't destratify at all in the winter," Mr. Gallup says. The company also tried installing fans on the walls to push the warm air down during winter months, but this caused a draft at the already cold floor level. Finally, the company removed the wall-mounted fans and replaced them with an 18-foot-diameter PowerfoilX fan from Big Ass Fans.

As it turned out, the large-diameter ceiling fan solved both summer and winter temperature-control issues for New Hampton. The key to this is variable-speed control--running at higher speeds in the summer and lower speeds in the winter. While adjusting the fan's speed is part of the equation, ultimately the large-diameter, low-speed fan's immense size is what makes it so efficient at moving large volumes of air and saving energy.

In the summer, the fan runs at 60 to 100 percent capacity to circulate a cool breeze.

New Hampton is able to save energy by increasing the temperature several degrees because air movement across a person's skin creates a cooling sensation similar to that of an air conditioned building. To achieve this rate of effectiveness, the low-speed fan uses an airfoil/winglet design to move air up and over obstructions. Additional AirFences installed along the airfoil can reclaim the air sliding down the airfoil as the fan spins, redirecting the air towards the floor and increasing the efficiency of the fan.

In the winter, the fan is slowed to 15 to 25 percent of maximum operating speed to destratify air. The key to destratification is the ability to mix the entire volume of air in the space and to do so without causing a draft. By increasing the length of the airfoils, the large-diameter fan is able to sweep more surface area than a smaller-diameter fan. Through proper air circulation, warm air is pulled off the ceiling and brought down to occupant level before being pushed out to the walls and up to the roof to be recirculated (see diagram on page 124). Thoroughly mixing the indoor air at New Hampton has reduced the temperature difference between the floor level and the underside of the roof deck to less than 1°F, enabling the company to keep the facility at a uniform temperature of 68°F. "We used to have some very cold corners we just kind of moved away from. Nobody would work there," Mr. Gallup says. Now, employees can work pretty much everywhere, he says.

As an added benefit, the amount of air the fan moves increases at a much faster rate than the amount of power it takes to turn it as the size gets larger. So, with all things being equal, the fan will become more efficient as its size increases. "By reducing the amount of heat trapped at the ceiling, it's similar to turning the thermostat down five to seven degrees," says Christian Taber, senior application engineer and LEED AP for Big Ass Fans.

The large-diameter fan turned out to be a good balance for New Hampton. The company says it saved 34 percent on heating costs after the fan was installed while providing cooling during the summer. "Welding is pretty much a down and dirty job no matter where you do it," Mr. Gallup says. The addition of air movement does not change this fact, but it goes a long way to improve the overall comfort of the welders.

NEW HAMPTON METAL FAB

PROBLEM High-ceiling facility addition caused extreme temperature fluctuations from season to season

SOLUTION 18-foot-diameter PowerfoilX fan from Big Ass Fans

RESULT Uniform temperatures, improved working environment

Big Ass Fans, call 877-244-3267 or visit bigassfans.com.

Due to the 40-ft.-high ceilings in the most recent addition at New Hampton Metal Fab, air conditioning was not an economical option. Instead, the company installed an 18 ft. diameter PowerfoilX fan from Big Ass Fans.

The immense size of the large-diameter fan efficiently moves the large amounts of air through the entire facility, leading to more comfortable and productive employees.

During destratification, warm air is pulled off the ceiling and brought down to occupant level before being pushed out to the walls and up to the roof to be recirculated. Thoroughly mixing the indoor air at New Hampton has reduced the temperature difference between the floor level and the underside of the roof deck to less than 1°F, enabling the company to keep the facility at a uniform temperature of 68°F.

The Guru of Home Decor

Dave DeMattei is applying the magic he learned at Coach and J. Crew to Williams-Sonoma's emerging brands. Will his vision connect with consumers?

Dave DeMattei knows what you want. That is, if you live in America, are between the ages of 18 and 65 and prefer to spend less than huge sums on stylish everyday items, DeMattei has a pretty good idea of what will strike your fancy--maybe even better than you have. Right now, he says, there's a good chance you will be enticed by one of the following: chandeliers, end tables like the ones at the Hôtel Costes in Paris, and anything teak; objects featuring monograms, including pajamas, hand towels and, among a certain demographic, stackable jewelry boxes; bright orange, powder blue and other colors typical of midcentury design, whether you recognize them as such or not; and anything with a functional detail built into it, like a beach towel with a cloth loop for hanging or an ottoman that opens up to accommodate storage.

A metal desk was the object of DeMattei's scrutiny one Friday afternoon this past winter, and it was not faring well. "Do you see ..." he said as he marched over to the desk, "... this raisin color?" Eyes wide and eyebrows raised, he asked the question as if he had spotted an insect traversing its shiny surface. The desk was displayed near the entrance of the new Hold Everything store in San Francisco, a franchise that, in his role as president of emerging brands at parent company Williams-Sonoma Inc., DeMattei recently revamped. In place of the familiar postcollege plastic drawers and storage bins was a design extravaganza: Eichler-inspired architectural details, whimsical dinnerware from Italy, powder-coated filing cabinets the pale blue of Smythson paper, not to mention Jonathan Adler pillows and key chains reminiscent of Prada's. DeMattei passed a mint green nylon preppie tote bag, nodding approvingly. The desk, however, was not passing muster. "That was a mistake," he said, eyes wide again. "It was supposed to be a beautiful chocolate brown."

DeMattei, 48, has a confidence--and a sense of style--that cannot be ignored. And he believes American consumers, or at least a sizable subset of them, are equally discriminating. "I'm aiming at people who appreciate design," explains DeMattei, whose other tasks include broadening the appeal of Williams-Sonoma's lower-priced West Elm line and launching Williams-Sonoma Home, a furniture and housewares counterpart to the company's namesake kitchen brand. (Pottery Barn, of course, is the company's other marquee brand, accounting for roughly half of its $3.1 billion in annual sales.) "There is a whole population," DeMattei continues, "of people who want stylish home products that are a little more contemporary and that come at a great price."

So strong are DeMattei's convictions on the subject that they made themselves heard from a tiny, out-of-the-way office in the finance department at Gap. Hired as a numbers guy in the 1980s, DeMattei rose through the company and held six positions in 11 years, including chief financial officer of Gap Inc. at age 34 and president of Banana Republic at 36. He left the company after restructuring reduced his role, but during his tenure he quietly learned everything he could about designs that would sell. "I made sure I was always hanging around the creative people," he says. "It allowed me to get involved."

He deepened this creative training after being recruited to J. Crew in 1995 by co-founder Emily Woods, who put him in charge of building a retail division from the ground up. Among the highlights: launching J. Crew's flagship Manhattan Soho store, which DeMattei says made $1 million in its first 10 days, with him helping bag merchandise on opening weekend. From then on, he started each workday with a visit to the Soho store for an interview with the manager about what was selling and why. Soon after Woods and her family sold J. Crew, in 1997, DeMattei moved over to Coach North America, where he became president and remerchandised stores to look like boutiques rather than luggage shops. By the time he left, 4 1/2 years later, Coach's single C's were on their way to rivaling the double ones at Chanel--and net income had more than quadrupled.

The peripatetic DeMattei is now settled in downtown San Francisco at Williams-Sonoma's new "emerging brands" headquarters, a quirky, architectural bungalow that acts as a petri dish for the gestating lines. Last fall, under his direction, the company launched a spin-off brand, Williams-Sonoma Home, offering an eclectic mix of hand-selected upscale furniture from Europe. The headquarters is filled with the stuff. A maple occasional table is stacked, upside-down, within a life-size diorama with a gray-flannel pleated sofa and a lamp from Blake's Hotel in London. Stray swatches of silver for the 2005 holiday season are scattered on the floor as if it were the day after Christmas, even though it's not yet spring. "This Irish farm table has been hugely successful for us," says DeMattei, who introduced the Home line via catalog. "It can be really dressy or really casual, and there's not a lot of that in the marketplace."

DeMattei drops the names and opinions of his designers constantly and has ready praise for his artistic minions--the Metropolitan Home contributing editor who writes the catalog copy, for instance ("She's fantastic"), or the woman dubbed the director of flower arranging ("We think it's a big part of the style of the catalogs," DeMattei explains. "They agonize over every picture"). But he also initiates design decisions from time to time. "You know the movie Something's Gotta Give?" he says. "There were all these magnificent upholstered beds in it. I came back and said, 'We have to do this!'" Thus inspired, the Home collection now has five upholstered headboard designs with a choice of 49 different fabrics. Each variation can be previewed online, with a toll-free number that aims to deliver a swatch to you within 48 hours. Time from order to doorstep: 45 days.

There's no question that DeMattei and the brands he's been given to shepherd are critical to the future of Williams-Sonoma. Despite the dominance of the company's Pottery Barn brand, Wall Street analysts say it is merchandising savvy across multiple areas that gives Williams-Sonoma an edge over old guard competitors--that instead of relying on a single blockbuster to please all tastes, the company offers a series of more targeted indie options, from Pottery Barn Kids and PB Teen to DeMattei's universe of Williams-Sonoma Home, Hold Everything and West Elm. "They have figured out that to be successful and create a loyal consumer base, you need to have an identity, to market to a lifestyle," says Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD Group in Port Washington, N.Y. "It's all about personality." And while right now DeMattei's brands account for less than 10% of the company's overall annual sales, analysts report that Williams-Sonoma believes that in time the West Elm brand, for one, could be even larger than Pottery Barn.

DeMattei's job is, among other things, to make sure the personality of each of the newer brands he runs is uniquely appealing. West Elm was recently transformed by DeMattei from a stoic indigo-and-green-themed housewares catalog into the furniture equivalent of Aveda. A newly opened store in Corte Madera, Calif., just outside San Francisco, has an organic feel--the entrance is teak and glass, and there are hemp ropes at the cash register plus a recycled, reclaimed, scuffed-wood floor. Still, it manages to be fashionable. There are the best-selling dark-wood Moroccan headboards, lilac-colored comforters and pillows covered in the metallic sequins and beads that showed up on every spring runway.

On a recent visit, DeMattei surveyed the store the way a different sort of fellow watches a football game: synapses firing, emotions at the ready, eyes alert to every detail. "Look at the age group, I'm telling you," he says, noting the diversity in the customers. "We thought this [store would attract] really young, first-time home buyers, but when you watch, it's really a mix of people."

"What's the hot item?" DeMattei asks the manager, who points out the geometric storage unit (DeMattei has the same one in his office) and the mocha-colored ottoman, which is upholstered in Ultrasuede and sells for $99. The same ottoman in green, last season's best seller, is off in a corner, marked down. "You need to keep moving," he notes, "because tastes change, fashions change, lifestyles change."

DeMattei is clearly in his element, despite his jump from finance to fashion to furniture. West Elm's Manhattan store, open only six months, is already the company's highest-grossing retail outlet, and he is next eyeing the late-2005 rollout of three Williams-Sonoma Home stores, starting with an imposing, 18,000-sq.-ft. emporium in Beverly Hills. Analyst Lauren Cooks Levitan of SG Cowen sees "huge growth potential" in DeMattei's portfolio. His superiors are equally bullish. "Dave lives and breathes the brands and, most importantly, understands what our customer wants," says Williams-Sonoma chairman Howard Lester. "We are thrilled with what's happening."

DeMattei remains obsessed with consumers' evolving tastes. He predicts that we will soon have a hankering for a more colorful laundry room, for instance, and that in the not too distant future, buyers will be seeking out smaller furniture. He is adjusting the products in his emerging-brands stable accordingly. And on the weekends, he is testing out his visions in his own home, which he has redecorated--or what he calls "remerchandised"--twice since moving to San Francisco from New York. It seems he has found his niche.

The World of Williams-Sonoma

Founder Chuck Williams opened his first kitchenwares store in Sonoma, Calif., in 1956. Nearly 50 years later, his little shop is a $3.1 billion multibrand empire

WILLIAMS-SONOMA

FOUNDED 1956

ESTIMATED ANNUAL SALES $900 million

STORES 254

BEST SELLERS Silicone spatulas, wooden spoons, whisks, gourmet olive oils and vinegars

INSIDE STORY A newly spruced-up catalog with more recipes and ideas for entertaining could boost business at the namesake brand, which is already a solid performer

POTTERY BARN

FOUNDED 1949 (acquired by Williams-Sonoma in 1986)

ESTIMATED ANNUAL SALES $1.4 billion

STORES 183

BEST SELLER Overstuffed Manhattan armchair

INSIDE STORY After a slower-than-expected holiday season, the company's biggest division is regaining momentum, thanks in part to growing website traffic, up 43%

POTTERY BARN KIDS

FOUNDED 1999

ESTIMATED ANNUAL SALES $450 million

STORES 87

BEST SELLER Child-size Anywhere armchair

INSIDE STORY The baby and gift registry at this enormously successful spin-off is particularly strong, up 32% last year, compared with a 16% rise in brandwide sales. Furniture also continues to boom, even though items are often available on back order only

POTTERY BARN TEEN

FOUNDED 2003

ESTIMATED ANNUAL SALES $100 million+

STORES None

BEST SELLER Locker desk with multicolored metal drawers

INSIDE STORY Sales jumped a whopping 98% in 2004. There are still no announced plans to open retail outlets, but catalog circulation increased more than 50% last year to 28 million

Sources: William-Sonoma Inc.; SG Cowen & Co.; TIME Estimates

Dave's Domain

DeMattei's brands today account for less than 10% of Williams-Sonoma's overall sales, but there are high hopes for growth. The company claims that West Elm, for instance, has the potential to be as big as Pottery Barn in revenues

HOLD EVERYTHING

FOUNDED 1985

ESTIMATED ANNUAL SALES $60 million

STORES 9

BEST SELLERS Book-cloth-covered photo box and magazine butler

INSIDE STORY It is a turnaround project for DeMattei, who has updated the product line. A revamped website was launched in November

WILLIAMS-SONOMA HOME

FOUNDED 2004

ESTIMATED ANNUAL SALES $30 million

STORES None

BEST SELLERS Bedford upholstered furniture collection, Wilshire sofa

INSIDE STORY This recently introduced brand hasn't yet taken off like the Pottery Barn spin-offs, but its customized-upholstery program is an early hit. The first three retail stores are due to open late this year

WEST ELM

FOUNDED 2002

ESTIMATED ANNUAL SALES $30 million+

STORES 4

BEST SELLERS Decorative pillows, Moroccan headboard, Overlapping Squares headboard

INSIDE STORY The six-month-old Manhattan store is already Williams-Sonoma's highest-grossing retail outlet. Brandwide sales were up 76% last year. Seven stores are due to open in 2005

Sources: William-Sonoma Inc.; SG Cowen & Co.; TIME Estimates DeMattei surveyed the store the way a different sort of fellow watches a football game

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3 Great Tips to Choose the Best Area Rugs For Your Home

3 Great Tips to Choose the Best Area Rugs For Your Home
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Dr._Ashwini_Maurya]Dr. Ashwini Maurya

The Area rugs have gained great popularity in interior design through the recent years. When it comes to the best interior design items at affordable prices, the area rugs are the ones to look for. With very easy maintenance and simple installation, the area rugs are the most preferred objects by the best Interior designers. Though the area rugs come in all shapes and sizes, not all of them are suitable for every home. There are certain factors that have to be taken into account for selecting the best area rug. Just keep reading on the article to know the 3 most wanted tips to choose the best area rug that perfectly suits your requirements.

1. Selection of the material

From cozy wool to stylish bamboo, the area rugs are made out of different types of materials. There are area rugs that come with a Sisal-wool combination too. The main benefit of using such sisal-wool area rug is that they can be easily cleaned by using a conventional vacuum cleaner. Moreover, the sisal-wool area rugs have great sound absorbing capabilities too. Hence if your rooms produce much echo, the Sisal-Wool area rugs will be perfect for you. There are pure woolen area rugs if you love natural materials rather than synthetic ones. If you like to be environment friendly, then the woolen rugs are made for you. The added advantage of the woolen rug is that they are highly durable and can last for a lifetime in its entire splendor. When it comes to environment friendliness along with great looks and durability, the bamboo area rugs are the ones to look for. They are stain resistant and the bamboo area rug maintenance is very simple. There are other rugs like silk area rugs, Persian area rugs and so on.

2. The Size factor

Once the material of the area rug is chosen, next comes the size. The area rugs should perfectly fit the place where you are installing it. Hence before choosing the size of the area rug, you must first decide where to install it. The area rug size selection has to be done based on the spot where you choose to place the area rug. Most of the people make a mistake by buying the area rug and then searching for the best spot to place it.

3. The Price factor

When it comes to the area rugs there are very costly ones and very cheap ones. It's always good to spend some time in the Internet before buying the area rug for your home. With a very high competition, the area rug sellers are offering great discounts now. For example, you will find an area rug for $750 at some place and moments later you will be able to find the same rug at a discounted price of around 600$ at some other place. However, along with the discounts comes the online scam. Hence you shouldn't rush to buy an area rug by just seeing the discounted pricing. You should make sure that the source is genuine before you proceed with the purchase.

All the above mentioned tips will help you to choose the best suited area rug for your home.

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Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?3-Great-Tips-to-Choose-the-Best-Area-Rugs-For-Your-Home&id=1844253] 3 Great Tips to Choose the Best Area Rugs For Your Home