Utilitywise How To Keep Your Warehouse Warm In The Winter
Working in a warehouse raises its own specialist set of concerns, but one of the very worst is heating. With temperatures dropping significantly in the wintertime, vast spaces such as warehouses can be badly affected, with working conditions inside suffering greatly as a result. A 24 hour industry, night shift workers are often some of the worst off, with the outside temperature falling even further overnight.
Not conducive to the design of most large open plan area, heating that kind of surface area presents a range of logistical difficulties of their own – but it’s by no means impossible to make conditions far more comfortable through just a few minor adjustments. Not only a concern where personal comfort is concerned, but also a drain on financial resources if energy is being used inefficiently, it’s well worth comparing business electricity and heating costs before considering alternatives and solutions.
This may seem rather basic and obvious, but entryways and exits are often the worst culprits for leaking heat. In older warehouses and spaces that haven’t been properly weather sealed, large doors with gaps around the edges can allow draughts through that severely decrease the temperature indoors, which is far from ideal. By ensuring all doors are closed when not in use and fitted with draught excluders where possible and appropriate, this will make an immediate, low cost impact.
Some warehouses have their loading bays directly enter the main body of their operation, and with deliveries coming in and out all day, there’s no chance for any internal warmth to gather if it’s being constantly exposed to the harsh conditions outside. By creating a barrier between those two sections of the business, however, you could greatly increase the natural retention of heat indoors, rather than wasted energy and warmth being constantly pumped outside. Loading crew workers should also be informed to not open loading bays or doors several minutes before a delivery is due to arrive in anticipation, but wait until the delivery is there, as to limit the amount of time the building is left open.
One of the first things we all learn in science class is that hot air rises. So, in warehouse environment where the ceilings are often high, most of the warmth will be trapped in an area that nobody is benefitting from. By ensuring that your ceiling is properly insulated and there are vents or fans in place to recirculate the heat across the entire building, it’s a long-term solution for a real problem that shouldn’t cost all that much to implement, and may help in saving money long term.