The importance of air conditioning in industrial warehouses goes beyond thermal comfort; it is a critical element that influences health, operational efficiency, and product integrity. Providing industrial warehouses with a specialized air conditioning system responds to an unavoidable need and also constitutes a strategic investment for the long-term success of any company seeking to thrive in this demanding environment.
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In other words, air conditioning in industrial warehouses is not a luxury but an indispensable aspect that directly impacts productivity and the preservation of business assets.
As we mentioned, the purpose of having adequate air conditioning infrastructure in the environment of an industrial warehouse goes beyond achieving mere thermal comfort. Having HVAC equipment and systems in these spaces is critical to safeguarding a complex set of elements that converge for the proper functioning of daily operations. From the perspective of owners and managers of industries, understanding the relevance of air conditioning is essential for making informed and strategic decisions.
To begin with, one of the central reasons for the importance of air conditioning in industrial warehouses is the need to preserve machinery. Inappropriate temperature can wreak havoc on machine performance, affecting operational efficiency. Consequently, these damages will generate additional costs for repair or replacement. A specialized air conditioning system becomes the defense against atmospheric adversities that could compromise essential machinery.
On the other hand, proper air conditioning, besides safeguarding machinery, also plays a relevant role in protecting stored goods. And, no less important, it also protects the health of workers.
Indeed, ambient temperature during manufacturing processes has a direct impact on the quality of the final product. A well-designed air conditioning system facilitates the creation of an environment where each phase, from production to storage, adapts to specific conservation needs. Additionally, adequate ventilation prevents the presence of moisture, a factor that could threaten the integrity of entire product batches.
Certainly, this adaptability safeguards merchandise and also ensures the well-being of workers, mitigating the “thermal stress” that could affect their performance and health.
Of course, determining the ideal temperature for air conditioning in industrial warehouses is not a calculation operation with generic figures. On the contrary, we are talking about a complex process that must consider the dimensions of the warehouse and the number of workers. Furthermore, it must take into account the peculiarities of the machinery and, above all, the nature of the activity performed. In short, the implementation of an HVAC system strategically designed for a particular installation involves careful study. The design and development of a precise internal air conditioning infrastructure for these types of spaces will depend on it.
Undoubtedly, selecting a suitable industrial air conditioning system is a task that goes beyond simply choosing the brand and model. We already know that effective air conditioning installations in industrial warehouses are essential to ensure an optimal working environment. When addressing this process, it is critical to consider various factors ranging from cost and quality to energy efficiency and current regulations.
In the search for an industrial air conditioning system, thorough research and comparison of available manufacturers and installers are essential practices. Each industrial warehouse has unique needs, so choosing a system that suits those specific needs is fundamental. In this regard, the selected company must conduct a thorough study to evaluate all determining factors that we have mentioned: space size, type of activity carried out, number of workers, etc.
The initial cost of installation and the system itself is an aspect that is often considered with great care. However, the quality-price ratio should not be overlooked. Opting for a more expensive but higher quality system can be beneficial in the long run, as its durability and efficiency can translate into significant savings. Along the same lines, evaluating energy consumption is crucial in an increasingly sustainability-focused world.
Global climate change is generating a steady increase in temperatures, which directly impacts the need for air conditioning in industrial warehouses. For this reason, anticipating and adapting to these changes is essential to ensure a comfortable and efficient working environment. Investing in air conditioning systems that can cope with extreme temperatures is critical to maintaining productivity and the well-being of workers.
By the way, this close relationship between environmental conditions and productivity at work is linked to thermal stress. This phenomenon generated by extreme temperatures can result in a significant decrease in worker performance. NASA studies indicate that productivity can be reduced by up to 4.8% for every degree above 32ºC. Adequate air conditioning in industrial warehouses is not only a matter of comfort but also of safeguarding work performance and employee health.
Current regulations in Spain, outlined in Annex III of Royal Decree 486/, establish minimum safety and health conditions in workplaces, including ventilation in industrial warehouses. Similarly, it determines the minimum air renewal per worker per hour, but some experts suggest that these levels are insufficient to guarantee a healthy environment.
For example, the legal instrument requires that an industrial warehouse where 10 workers operate must provide a minimum renewal of 300m³ per hour. This value will increase to 50 cubic meters of air per worker/hour if there is stale air or bad odors in the workplace.
Beyond regulations, it is recommended to carry out between 4 and 10 air renewals per hour to maintain optimal air quality. Faced with possible regulatory omissions, it is essential to consult with recognized advisors to ensure compliance with standards that correspond to specific types of companies.
For most industrial factories, it’s process over people. The “human factor” comes in second place. In many North American factories, even those that make electric vehicles, this has translated into potentially sweltering, uncomfortable places. They can often make workers unproductive and, in some cases, unwell.
From a doing-the-right-thing perspective, it makes sense to put people and wellness first in today’s industrial facilities. And there are bottom-line reasons to emphasize worker comfort in the factory. The US manufacturing sector is booming. In a flourishing job market, and industrial workers have increasing choices of where to work. The hotter and unhealthier the factory floor, the more likely it is that workers will look to transfer out as soon as they can.
Recruiting and training new staff is costly. Manufacturing has one of the highest costs to hire, estimated at $5,100 by RecruiterBox. Deloitte says the US manufacturing sector could have a shortage of 2.1 million skilled jobs by . Thus, worker retention is a bottom-line issue.
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Whichever way you look at it—from a workplace wellness point of view or from a competing for talent angle—there are good reasons to explore options for climate control in the factory workplace. As a buildings-performance expert, I have decades of experience designing high-performance, sustainable, and energy-efficient systems for a variety of industrial clients. These include advanced manufacturers. And I see plenty of ways to design for wellness in industrial spaces.
First, we need to understand that these manufacturing plants and similar facilities, by their nature, can be extremely hot. The industrial activities that take place in these plants may require melting and forming substances. The heat required to melt material radiates through the space. And factory work is active. Movement creates heat. The work may also require personal protective equipment, which heats up the body. All these things influence the thermal comfort—or discomfort—of those working in the factory. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) warns that some conditions have a great danger of heat stroke. But only a few states have heat standards for workers, and those are generally concerned with agriculture.
Most of these plants don’t have air conditioning. They are built on a budget. They leak air. They occupy huge volumes of space. Some might have some fans, but the truth is that these places get so hot that they open the doors to let the heat out. Even when it’s 100 degrees outside.
US code usually requires employers to maintain a minimum temperature, not a maximum.
Southern states such as Texas, Florida, and Georgia are seeing their manufacturing sectors grow. And heat issues, like climate, are regional. Companies with multiple locations may find that their factories in Northern states rarely have thermal comfort issues. However, their Nashville, Charlotte, or Oklahoma City facilities often do.
The issue is serious. It’s not unheard of for workers to faint under these conditions. Between and , heat stress injuries killed 815 US workers, according to OSHA. More often, however, workers are leaving jobs due to the heat. Data in some areas shows a correlation between rising outdoor temperatures and worker resignations.
Health and safety are part of our design culture at Stantec. And no one should be investing in a plant that’s so uncomfortable it can’t hold onto its skilled staff. So, what are manufacturers’ options for retrofitting their existing plants?
Let’s look at interventions, from light to heavy, that can promote thermal comfort in factories.
We want to make sure the air in the factory is moving. So, our team designs more effective ventilation for these spaces. When cross ventilation occurs at a high level in factory spaces, it can result in stratification, meaning that little of the ventilated air reaches the occupants at floor level. In our analysis of overheated factory buildings in the South, we often encounter situations such as wall-mounted air louvers that don’t have fans to direct air toward areas where the workers are.
With good design, we can direct the incoming air to the right places. We often use large, slow ceiling-mounted fans (such as those made by Big Ass Fans) in our design for industrial spaces. These provide additional air circulation, which has a cooling effect. Fan placement is critical to effective air circulation.
We can locate the exhaust where the heat sources are, use fans to direct the heat out of the building and avoid mixing it into the main air supply. We can design systems that isolate the hotter areas, say shops where materials are melted down, and direct that hot air away toward exhaust systems.
We can engineer cooling systems for the places most occupied by people, even devise small cooling stations in contained areas. In this way, the workers can get relief with some conditioned air in certain areas.
We have designed spot cooling for individual workstations to provide comfort in hot industrial workplaces. And in extreme spaces where workers are exposed to very high temperatures, such as in a foundry or engine plant, we have created “cooling rooms” to give workers some relief.
We can raise the industrial equipment off the floor to keep heat from collecting there and creating hot zones. And if we can place equipment on the perimeter, we can more easily exhaust heat to the exterior using fans and exhaust vents.
If we can avoid bringing moisture into the space, it will be more comfortable. We can dehumidify specific high-occupancy areas if need be. In the past, we have suggested cooling methods such as indirect evaporative cooling systems for spot cooling factories without increasing the humidity.
We can make sure occupied spaces are shaded from direct sunlight and mitigate the building’s solar gain. Also, using lower-temperature LED lighting throughout rather than incandescent lights helps reduce heat.
For example, at Sacramento Municipal District’s East Campus Operations Center in California, we used special window shades and louvers. They project daylight into the workspaces while keeping the sun’s heat out. We can use similar approaches in manufacturing plants.
The steel construction and limited insulation on the roof and walls subject industrial structures in warmer regions to solar heat gains. What’s worse is that we see this heat gain turns the physical elements of the building into unexpected radiators. Our analysis of these factories shows fire hydrants, columns, and steel elements in the interior becoming hot spots on the interior of the facility.
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