ZIEHL-ABEGG: High-Efficiency Axial Fan Offers Maximum Airflow in a Compact Footprint
Slimmer housing and advanced nozzle design boost output, cut noise, and improve energy efficiency in data centers.
ZIEHL-ABEGG, a global leader in ventilation, control, and drive technology, is proud to highlight the ZAplus Next Generation, a high-performance axial fan system engineered to deliver optimal airflow, greater energy efficiency, and low-noise operation across data centers and other critical cooling applications while increasing capacity within the same footprint. It advances the original ZAplus design by combining a refined, slimmer housing with new, additional nozzles and advanced aerodynamic components to unlock higher air output and pressure without increasing unit dimensions or installation space.
The slimmer housing design allows larger fan sizes to fit within the same overall dimensions, meaning higher-capacity fan sizes, such as a 960 mm, can fit where a 910 previously did. This gives designers more fan capacity options within the same housing footprint and enables major performance upgrades in existing installations without changing the mechanical footprint or redesigning the system, making ZAplus Next Gen particularly attractive for data center retrofit and modernization projects and other mission-critical facilities.
At the core of the ZAplus Next Gen is the ZAplus housing, available in 450–1,000 mm dimensions, which allows system designers to select the right size for their application while maintaining a compact footprint. The housing is developed using CFD (state-of-the-art flow simulations) to deliver optimal airflow and aerodynamics, increasing efficiency and performance in real operating conditions. Manufactured using plastic injection molding, it reduces weight and corrosion risk while ensuring precise, repeatable quality of the fan housing.
The fan incorporates biomimetic FE2owlet and FE3owlet blade designs that achieve high efficiency with very low noise emissions by minimizing turbulence and flow losses. Integrated guide vanes straighten and stabilize airflow, while a short diffuser on the pressure side improves pressure recovery in a compact space, boosting air handling without increasing unit length. In the ZAplus Next Gen design, additional nozzles engineered to optimize and smooth air movement produce more uniform airflow with reduced turbulence, enhancing both efficiency and acoustic performance in mission-critical cooling environments.
Together, these aerodynamic components, including the optimised full nozzle, guide vane, motor suspension, short diffuser, and additional nozzles, form a multifunctional system that enables high pressures and strong overall efficiency without increasing footprint or noise. Fully speed-controllable airflow allows precise adjustment of air volume to actual demand, lowering energy use and operating costs over the life of the installation and supporting advanced control strategies such as variable-load data hall operation and economizer sequences.
The ZAplus Next Gen functions as an intelligent ventilation system with a focus on high efficiency and low operating costs, delivering consistently lower energy consumption per unit. Extremely low noise emissions enhance acoustic comfort and support use in noise-sensitive environments without extensive soundproofing, while high corrosion protection via a corrosion-free composite nozzle extends service life and reliability in demanding environments, reducing maintenance and replacement costs. These axial fans are available with both AC and ECblue motor technologies, offering flexibility to choose between conventional AC solutions or high-efficiency EC options to match project and control requirements in both legacy and next-generation data center designs.
More information about the ZAplus Next Generation axial fan system from ZIEHL-ABEGG
