Controlling Temperatures In Facilities, Warehouses, and Manufacturing Centers

By Mark D’Agostino, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Hunter Industrial

Controlling your facility or warehouse’s temperature can be challenging, especially if you have high ceilings, several windows, a large workforce or just a big space. Despite these factors, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) requires the minimum temperature for indoor workplaces to be 68 degrees Fahrenheit and the maximum be 76 degrees Fahrenheit. Additionally, OSHA’s approved range for indoor humidity is between 20 and 60 percent to reduce mold growth and assist with the overall temperature control.

Importance of Air Quality

Beyond ensuring you are meeting OSHA standards, good air quality and temperature control can enhance workplace productivity. A recent Harvard Business Review survey reported that the number one workplace wellness perk that employees most desired was air quality. Air quality received 58 percent of the survey vote, with the option for an on-site gym receiving only 16 percent of the vote. 

Air quality is crucial to maintaining your workforce. By improving temperature control in buildings, you're creating a more comfortable, healthier work environment. We have seen companies experience reduced absenteeism and employee complaints, coupled with boosts in overall productivity.

One manufacturing and logistics company echoed this sentiment after installing seven 24-foot industrial HVLS (high volume, low speed) ceiling fans in their 300,000-square foot warehouse. Keeping their HVLS fans running 24/7, the company's Vice President of Supply Chain noted, "[HVLS] fans provide uniform comfort year-round for our nearly 230 employees, which has increased worker productivity. … The fans are essential in creating an optimal, healthy environment in our facility from ceiling to floor."

Improving Cost and Energy Savings

Turning off your building HVAC system when no one is in the building increases the demand on the HVAC system when it’s turned back on. That’s because the equipment has to work harder to reach the desired indoor temperature when it’s switched on. Using an HVAC system coupled with an industrial ceiling fan can help save energy while preventing your HVAC system from working too hard.

Designed with longer blade lengths than conventional fans, industrial ceiling fans have diameters that can range from 7 to 24 feet and move large volumes of air with minimized energy consumption per square foot. One HVLS fan can mobilize as much air as 10 to 20-floor fans or twelve 48-inch barrel fans—translating into reduced operating costs of about $1 per day. Also, this efficiency is most prevalent in colder months.

HVLS fans also help with thermal destratification to save on heating costs

In the winter—buildings with high ceilings often experience significant heat stratification where warmer air rises to the ceiling while cooler air remains at floor level. This phenomenon forces a facility’s heaters to work two to three times harder to keep employees and building occupants adequately warm while most of the heat continues to be trapped above their heads.

HVLS Fans

These points are just a few examples of how HVLS fans can be comprehensive solutions to improve workforce comfort, circulate air and heat more efficiently and reduce overall energy costs. The importance of a facility's air circulation and air management can't be underestimated, and investments in the right HVLS solution for your facility can make radical transformations in a company's wellness standards while boosting its bottom line.