An inventive idea for cooling a portion of his facility is being
implemented by Wesley Bullard with the Silversprings Nursing Home in
If you are planning to "Shelter in Place” this hurricane season and you lose power, cooling for your residents becomes a primary consideration. If your generator runs your kitchen freezer, a “Start Collar” sized to fit one of the freezer fans can be connected to the fan housing and a flexible duct connected to the collar. The size of the flexible duct will vary according to your situation but will probably be from an 8 inch to 10 inch diameter.
This duct can be extended to an area close to the freezer, such as the dining room, adjacent activity room, or any area in which you can assemble your residents. Since the freezer door must be open in order for the duct to pass through the door opening, it can be sealed with plastic and duct tape to keep the hot air from the kitchen from returning to the freezer.
If there is not enough air flow coming through the duct, a duct booster fan, which can be purchased from Grainger, can be installed in the flexible duct. Make sure the wiring of your facility is compatible with the booster fan. At the end of the duct you can also install a variable-speed commercial fan. Have a sheet metal housing made to fit the fan and attact it to the duct. This will allow you to control the speed of the cool air supplied to the resident area.
Depending on the size of the resident area, this may cool the area to an acceptable temperature for a short duration until power is resumed.