Rooftop air handlers and condenser fans on a commercial building

HVAC and building services

Match HVAC fans and pumps to the building's real load

Commercial fans and pumps are sized for peak occupancy and design-day weather, so most of the year they run throttled or oversped. Because fan and pump power follows the cube of speed, slowing them to meet actual demand is where the energy goes, and these drives do it while talking to the building management system.

Browse HVAC drives Talk to an engineer
30%

Fan power at half airflow

1-2 yr

Typical fan or pump payback

BACnet

On board with Modbus

ASHRAE 90.1 fan and pump speed control, BACnet and Modbus for BMS integration, UL listed and CE marked, Authorized Invertek distributor

Why drives matter

Where VFDs change HVAC operating cost

HVAC fans and pumps almost never need full output. Matching speed to load with a drive is the single largest lever on a building's mechanical energy, and it also cuts noise, water hammer, and start stress.

50%

Energy cut, 20% slower

Speed cubes into savings

Fan and pump power follows the cube of speed, so trimming speed about 20 percent cuts energy close to half. Since the system runs below design load most of the year, those reductions add up fast.

Affinity laws, Fuji Electric HVAC ROI

30%

Fan power at half airflow

Half the air, a third of the power

ASHRAE 90.1 expects fan power at 50 percent airflow to sit at or below 30 percent of full load. A drive reaches that point, while dampers and inlet vanes burn the difference as pressure drop.

ASHRAE 90.1 and IECC fan control

1-2 yr

Typical payback

Pays back inside two years

Fan and pump retrofits commonly pay back in one to two years on energy alone, before counting the softer starts that spare belts, bearings, and couplings.

Fuji Electric, industry install data

Applications and drives

Drives we recommend for HVAC

Each load pairs with an Optidrive Eco, the drive Invertek builds specifically for fans and pumps, with BACnet and Modbus on board, fire mode, and resonance avoidance. Enclosure follows where the drive lives: IP20 in a plant room, IP66 on the roof.

Application 1 of 6

AHU supply fans

Variable air volume control for air handler supply fans, holding duct static pressure as VAV boxes modulate instead of throttling with dampers.

1-40 HPPID + VAVBACnet
Invertek Optidrive Eco ODV-3-360220-3012-MN – ECO IP20 Size 3 Left
Invertek ODV-3-340180-3F12-MN

Invertek Optidrive Eco ODV-3-340180-3F12-MN – 10Hp 380~480V 3Ph IP20

Invertek Optidrive Eco – Model ODV-3-340180-3F12-MN Power: 10Hp / 7.5kW Output Current: 18A Input Voltage:...

HP 10.0
$943.01
View

Application 3 of 6

Chilled water pumps

Variable primary or secondary chilled water pumping on a differential pressure setpoint, with dual setpoint control to ease back during low-demand hours.

5-100 HPdual setpointOptiflow multi-pump
Invertek Optidrive Eco ODV-3-460430-301N-MN – ECO IP55 Size 4 Left
Invertek ODV-3-440390-3F1N-MN

Invertek Optidrive Eco ODV-3-440390-3F1N-MN – 25Hp 380~480V 3Ph IP55/NEMA12

Invertek Optidrive Eco – Model ODV-3-440390-3F1N-MN Power: 25Hp / 18.5kW Output Current: 39A Input Voltage...

HP 25.0
$2,301.55
View

Application 4 of 6

Condenser water pumps

Condenser water flow matched to chiller load and tower staging, holding flow inside the chiller's window without a throttling valve.

10-100 HPconstant dPIP55
Invertek Optidrive Eco ODV-3-560650-301N-MN – ECO IP55 Size 5 Left
Invertek ODV-3-540610-3F1N-MN

Invertek Optidrive Eco ODV-3-540610-3F1N-MN – 40Hp 380~480V 3Ph IP55/NEMA12

Invertek Optidrive Eco – Model ODV-3-540610-3F1N-MN Power: 40Hp / 30kW Output Current: 61A Input Voltage: ...

HP 40.0
$3,175.39
View

Application 5 of 6

Return and exhaust fans

Return, relief, and general exhaust fans tracked to supply airflow or building pressure, with resonance avoidance to keep ductwork quiet.

1-20 HPskip frequenciesquiet
Invertek Optidrive Eco ODV-3-260090-3012-MN – ECO IP20 Size 2 Left
Invertek ODV-3-240095-3F12-MN

Invertek Optidrive Eco ODV-3-240095-3F12-MN – 5Hp 380~480V 3Ph IP20

Invertek Optidrive Eco – Model ODV-3-240095-3F12-MN Power: 5Hp / 4kW Output Current: 9.5A Input Voltage: 3...

HP 5.0
$777.74
View

Quick ROI estimate

Estimate your HVAC savings

Enter motor HP, annual hours, energy cost, and operating capacity (the share of full flow the pump runs at). Drive price is optional. Results are estimates for variable torque loads (centrifugal pumps and fans) based on the affinity laws. Savings rise as capacity falls and shrink when static head is high; constant torque loads see little benefit, and at full speed there is no saving.

VFD

Recommended drive

ODP-2-22075-1KF42

ODP-2-22075-1KF42

General-purpose drive recommendation for pump and motor control.

Estimated annual savings

$0
0 kWh saved
0 Payback months
Get a quote

Formula: motor kW x annual hours x energy cost x savings rate, where motor kW is HP x 0.746. The savings rate comes from the pump affinity laws: power falls with the cube of speed, so a drive saves energy only by running the pump below full speed, and the saving shrinks as static head rises. Drive losses of about 3 percent are included. Payback uses the entered drive price, or the recommended one when blank. Verify against the pump curve for critical sizing.

Drive selector

Drive Selector

Find the right variable frequency drive by horsepower, voltage, enclosure, and EMC filter requirements.

Use the filters below to narrow the selector across all available drives.

Drive selector
Brand HP Amps Input Voltage Output Voltage Enclosure Model Number Approvals Built-In Protection Display Special Feature Fieldbus Quick View
Scroll inside the results area to view more drives.