Dear Larry
Just think of all that good solar energy going to waste!!! Your problem
is not the temperature, but how rarely it happens and still be moderate.
Here, in the summer, it can top 45°C at least several times per year
(record 47.8°C, and that's quite warm). It has been topping 35° - 40° C
already for a month, down to the upper 20s at night. Airconning factory
buildings for a few days per year at over 30°C is just not economical,
unless it is a reversible system that can also be used for heating. My
office is SE facing. I keep the windows open during the night and in the
morning, so I don't need to switch on the aircon until the afternoon,
even though it's a smallish room with a poorly insulated roof with four
computers heating it. Even then, I run it for only an hour or two. But I
dress appropriately (cotton shirt and shorts) and I'm acclimatised. It's
the sudden onset of warm weather that kills people, not the temperature
itself.
One of the problems is that synthetic fibre protective clothing is
probably equivalent to an extra 5°C or so of actual air temperature.
My guess is that the first thing you should do is determine whether the
unpleasant conditions are because of the air temperature and humidity or
because of the building heating in the sun. If it's the former, then
some form of humidity reduction is the most effective way of improving
comfort. The cheapest way (but not the most environmentally friendly
one) of doing this is to have a moisture condenser in the air intake and
run cold water through it: at the same time, the temp may drop a degree
or so. This should not be too expensive. You can also purchase standard
large ventilators with water-cooled condensers for fitting in strategic
places. If it is the insulation, then polished aluminium cladding on the
roof may be effective, provided that planning permission can be
obtained. Most likely, it's a combination of the two.
Of course, if it is a roof problem, you could, at an enormous cost,
double the roof with photovoltaic panels which will provide you with
electricity (and you would get paid for the juice you generate at
weekends!). You could reckon about 80W average/m2 of panel.
Unfortunately, the payback period would be about the lifetime of the
panels, roughly 40 years!
More pragmatically, if it is possible, encourage the siesta during hot
weather. Start work at, say, 6 am and go through to noon and then, say,
1600 to 1900, when it is cooler. This works fine if the workers live
reasonably close, but may present problems if they have to travel far.
If your processes allow flexibility, allow the workforce to choose their
own hours, so that they can compromise best between sweltering and their
personal commitments (if not, perhaps you can do it by teams).
Tell me, what are you going to do when summer comes? Isn't it due for a
Thursday, this year?
Best regards
Brian
> Graham Naisbitt wrote:
>
> Hello Techies,
>
> I wonder if anyone can come up with some good ideas for our little
> problem:
>
> We now have a heatwave with the temperature at over 30 DegC in the
> shade that's 86 in old money.
>
> Our conformal coating room which is 10,000 cubic feet (that's 283.17
> in new money) is extracted at 5000 cubic feet per minute = 30
> exchanges per hour.
>
> The problem is, I cannot easily chill that amount of air without
> incurring the wrath of the Euro-Environmental Lobby (we call them
> Eels! If you need to figure out why, then you need to get out more)
>
> Can anyone suggest a novel, but effective way I can chill my staff -
> apart from freezing their wages of course!
>
> What a year, first we drown then we cook - yours in anticipation Larry
> the Lobster.
>
> RegardsRegards, Graham Naisbitt
>
> [log in to unmask]
> http://www.concoat.co.uk
>
> For instant access to Product Data Sheets register on the Tech-Shot
> area of http://www.concoat.co.uk
>
> Concoat Limited
> Alasan House, Albany Park
> CAMBERLEY GU16 7PH UK
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>
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