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Air conditioning might not keep a warehouse cool in the summer. Most warehouses are large, uninsulated spaces, and the cost of air conditioning them can be prohibitive. Loading dock doors that constantly open and close cause the cooled air to escape.
Working in a warehouse without air conditioning can be challenging for your team members and even hazardous to their health. Overheated employees can also be less productive and less engaged with their work. Fortunately, warehouse cooling doesn’t always need central air conditioning, and there are ways to cool a warehouse without AC.
Here’s how to keep your warehouse cool without cranking up the air conditioning.
Stagnant air feels hotter than air that circulates freely. Whether attached to the floor or wall, industrial fans keep air moving, making the warehouse’s interior much more comfortable for a much lower cost than AC.
You can also use fans year-round. As warm air rises to the ceiling in the winter, fans (particularly HVLS fans) can help mix the warm air with the cooler air near the floor. HVLS fans are high volume low speed fans specially designed for moving large amounts of air in a warehouse a the lowest cost. They regulate the temperature inside the warehouse, saving your company money on energy bills all year.
When the temperatures peak in the summer, you want to keep that hot air out of your warehouse. However, people coming in and out and open loading dock doors can cause the hot air to flow in freely.
Air barriers seal your doors, keeping the hot air out and trapping cool air. For the greatest efficiency, choose a custom-built air barrier for your facility.
In some cases, the equipment used inside a warehouse produces heat. Combined with hot air from the doors, the heat generated by warehouse equipment can be persistent. You can cool the working area of your facility by setting up curtain walls.
The curtain walls create a thermal barrier between heat-generating equipment and the working areas of your warehouse. Your team will stay more comfortable and be less disrupted. You can also move the curtain walls as needed to reconfigure the layout of the space.
Heat can come from unexpected sources, such as lightbulbs used to illuminate the warehouse. Incandescent and halogen bulbs generate heat, which, in combination with warm weather, can raise the interior temperature of your facility.
LED bulbs produce much less heat than incandescent or halogen, and switching can help reduce the temperature inside your warehouse. As a bonus, you’ll save on electricity costs since LEDs use much less energy to produce the same light.
Trucks pull up to the loading dock to make it easy to unload and load goods. They also generate a lot of heat, mainly if their motors are left running. Truck shelters block the heat, keeping it from getting into the warehouse. They also keep cooler air from escaping your warehouse.
Truck shelters can efficiently cool your warehouse’s interior when used with air barriers on loading dock doors and other entryways.
If the heat makes it difficult for your warehouse team to do their jobs and you don’t have the budget for a central AC system, Kings Material Handling has the products you need to keep your facility cool. We’ll visit your site and help you develop a solution that keeps everyone cool and comfortable, no matter the weather.
Contact us today to get started.