A transverse fan assembly that includes a fan rotatably disposed in an air plenum for drawing air through an inlet opening and drivingly forcing air from an outlet opening defined by the air plenum, the inlet opening having an elongate, bladed, inlet rotor oriented on a rotational axis parallel to the fan, extending the length of the fan, and positioned proximate to the fan periphery to increase air flow from the outlet of the air plenum along the length of the fan while generating less noise.