If your warehouse is located in Florida, keeping it cool year-round is likely a concern for you. Not only does a cool and comfortable warehouse promote better employee productivity, but it helps protect equipment while improving the quality of the product you produce.
It’s always more cost effective to keep a cool industrial workplace as opposed to dealing with the negative effects of a hot warehouse, such as reduced productivity, sick employees, and overheated machinery.
8 Tips for Keeping a Cool Warehouse Year-Round
#1. Invest in Spot Coolers
If you have a central AC system, that might be enough to cool off your warehouse – although, if it were, would you really be reading this article right now? Portable AC units or spot coolers come in handy when used in conjunction with a central AC system or used on their own. Depending on the size of your warehouse, you’ll need a different size spot cooler, and you may need more than one. Using a portable unit tends to be more cost effective than running a central AC system in overtime.
Spot coolers are easy to move around and can be placed in areas that tend to attract the most heat, cooling off hot zones. You have an option between water cooled and air-cooled units, it all depends on your set up and what will work best for you. In addition, you can rent or buy spot coolers depending on how often you need them.
We are more than happy to help you find the right unit for your warehouse. Learn more
#2. Don’t Forget About the Humidity
Humidity is another important factor you’ll need to control for. After all, removing moisture from the air provides a cooling effect, while protecting employees and your equipment. You could invest in dehumidifiers, although spot coolers can take care of the humidity while reducing temperatures simultaneously.
#3. Industrial Fans
Using portable industrial fans will help circulate cool air around the warehouse. The most effective fans for warehouses with a lot of square footage are high volume/low speed (HVLS) fans.
#4. Insulate the Building
A well-insulated building is going to keep the heat out while keeping cool air produced by spot coolers and fans inside. It may be worth it to invest in new insulation if the existing insulation isn’t doing its job. Insulation is necessary in the walls and ceiling.
#5. Add Plants to Your Roof
If you need to replace your roof, look into installing an energy efficient roof that’ll help keep temperatures lower. An eco-friendly option is to add a rooftop garden or moss roof. Both options will greatly reduce the temperature in a building. Plants act as an extra layer of insulation, trapping heat before it has a chance to enter the building.
#6. Stay on Top of Machinery Efficiency
Make sure that all of the machinery in your warehouse is operating at peak efficiency. Hot running motors along with friction produced by conveyor-belts will increase the temperature in your warehouse.
#7. Watch the Doors
Make sure that dock doors are sealed throughout the day so that cool air doesn’t escape. In addition, make use of truck shelters to keep the hot air outside from coming in. Furthermore, you could add roll-up dock screen doors to allow for greater air circulation when there’s a nice breeze outside, while still keeping out pests, bugs, and so forth.
#8. Separate Areas of the Warehouse
Use vinyl-strip curtains to prevent hot air from moving from one area into another.