There are, however, a few tips to follow to help aid the cost of your warehouse HVAC system. The following are some great strategies for maintaining temperature control that are not only easy but convenient.
Focus Your Temperature Control Areas
Keeping the temperature controlled only in areas that people occupy helps you zone in on spaces that don’t need heating and cooling full-time. This is, of course, only if the products you are storing in your warehouse do not need to be in a temperature-controlled environment too.
By focusing on your temperature control areas, your energy costs and energy use can be dramatically reduced. If regulating the temperature in smaller spaces is not an option, using the most efficient HVAC system you can is your best option.
Air Destratification Techniques
We all know that hot air rises to the highest point in a room or warehouse, and cooler air settles to the bottom. This is called air stratification. When you think about air stratification in a large warehouse, the lost heat in the rafters can be a significant and colossal waste.
This is where destratification comes in. Destratification is when you intentionally mix the hot air with the cold air by pushing the hot air down. This can be done with something as simple as ceiling fans or high-velocity diffusers. It is recommended that large fans at low speed but putting out high volume is much better than using dozens of fans working quickly to do the same job. The larger fans will use much less energy to run, cutting your energy costs.
Ventilation
Somewhat like air destratification, using natural ventilation can help hot air rising to the top escape in the summer by using things like skylights and clerestory windows with ventilation. Natural ventilation can help improve airflow as well, preventing sickness or other health problems in your employees. Fresh air is always welcome when you’re stuck indoors all day!
Insulation and Air Curtains
Insulation is a highly effective way to seal off temperature-controlled air from escaping as well as keeping other air from coming in. Using linings and seals at your doors and windows helps, as well as vinyl strips called air curtains to block air from moving back and forth at loading docks. These large vinyl strips allow people to walk through them while avoiding air from flowing back and forth too much. You may also consider adding fast-mechanism doors that open and close quicker than standard doors so that the warm air or cool air doesn’t have a chance to escape as much. Even insulating the roof and installing double-pane windows can be pretty beneficial.
Recover Existing Heat
Recycling heat is another strategy for maintaining warm air in your warehouse. Recovering actual existing heat from things like machinery and more can help your unit heaters from working too hard, improving your energy bills.
Heat recycling works with an energy recovery ventilator (ERV). This system acclimates the air from outside before it comes into the warehouse. It also helps control the air already inside. These can be built-in units or stand-alone.