Tips for Choosing the Best Commercial Heaters for your Warehouse
Whether your products require neutral temperature or you just need to keep your staff members warm during the cold winter months, having the right commercial gas heaters can make all the difference. No one heater is going to be the right choice for all warehouses. Instead, you must take the unique attributes of your physical warehouse and its operations into account when determining which commercial gas heaters will best fit your needs.
Start By Knowing Your Options
Before you can choose the right industrial warehouse heaters for your space, you need to understand the various options that are out there. This way, you can evaluate how you can benefit from each option, such as gas heaters. The most commonly used options for industrial warehouse heaters include the following:
- Unit Heaters
- Heat Pumps
- Water Oil / Gas Heaters
- Steam Oil / Gas Heaters
- Natural Energy
- Radiant Heating
Unit Heaters
A very popular option of commercial heaters for warehouse are unit heaters. These utilize a simple fan assembly that blows over a coil and out into the open space of the warehouse. Many commercial buildings will utilize multiple unit heaters to heat up the air throughout their floor space. These commercial heaters for warehouses can run on various types of fuels, including natural gas, propane, and electric. This makes them perfect for choosing the type of fuel that is more readily available in your area.
Heat Pumps
Next up in the industrial warehouse heaters selection is the heat pump. These systems work to extract heat from the cold air. They utilize a refrigerant that pumps the generated heat throughout the commercial space. Heat pumps utilize the natural environment instead of fossil fuels, which makes them a perfect green alternative for those looking for more environmentally-friendly heating systems. It’s also important to note that heat pumps do come with a significant upfront expenditure.
Water Oil / Gas Heaters
These water-based HVAC systems can utilize either gas or oil as the fossil fuel of choice to power the entire system. These systems use a boiler to heat the water until it turns into steam. The steam is then passed through the radiators in the warehouse to let off heat. With this type of system, the boiler must heat up, and the air must be cleared from the system before the heat will be felt.
Steam Oil / Gas Heaters
One of the most traditional types of heating systems is created via steam by gas or oil. This type of heating system uses fossil fuels that are boiled. They get condensed and then create steam that is passed through the pipes in a building. It’s important to note that this type of system requires the boiler to heat up first before the warm steam can be circulated throughout the pipes of the warehouse.
Natural Energy
When you think of natural energy, you should think of green energy. This type of heating system uses a sustainable resource to power itself. These resources commonly include wind, solar, and geothermal power. Since these systems don’t utilize fossil fuels, they drastically reduce the carbon footprint of your business. These types of heating systems do come along with higher than normal installation costs, but many states offer substantial tax breaks for companies that employ natural energy.
Radiant Heating
The last type of industrial warehouse heaters that we’re going to discuss is radiant heating. This utilizes a hydronic radiant system that utilizes warm water that flows through PEX tubing, which is embedded in the floor or radiant panels of the warehouse. This type of system employs radiant heat transfer where the heat is delivered to the cool areas of the space. This is a popular option when creating new buildings where easy access to the floor and walls are available. These also can be commonly referred to as commercial infrared heaters for warehouses.
The Importance Of Destratification
Most warehouses come with high roofs. These high spaces inevitably trap some of the warm air as it rises to the top of the building. Traditionally, this warm air would be wasted energy. However, with the concept of destratification, you can reuse this energy to heat your warehouse. This simple concept involves the use of suspended fans that re-circulate the warm air from your commercial heating system back to the occupied floor level.
Factors You Must Consider
As we discussed above, each warehouse makeup is going to be different than the next. You’ll need to assess your own necessities when it comes to heating so you can determine which type of system is best for you. Here are the top factors you’ll need to consider in your decision.
Square Footage
At the most basic level, you need to determine the square footage that needs to be heated. This can be as simple as just determining the square footage of your warehouse. Or, you can break it down further if you would like. For example, if the products in your warehouse don’t need to be heated, you can focus your heating efforts on areas where your employees are going to be working. This can help to reduce the overall number of gas heaters that you utilize in your building but will still ensure that your warehouse functions appropriately.
While there are many factors to take into consideration, such as the number of loading docks that will be in use throughout the day and the amount of insulation you have present in your warehouse, there is a general rule of thumb about heating per square foot. You should aim for about 10 watts of heating power per square foot of your warehouse. As a general reference, one watt of power is equal to just under three and a half BTU per hour.
The Design Of Your Building
As you learned above, commercial heaters for warehouse come in various options. Determining the right one for your warehouse starts with identifying the actual design of your building. Do you have tall roofs? How many loading docks do you have? Do your employees work on the floor or up high? This will help you to determine where your heating needs are going to be. By assessing these needs, you can better decide which type of heating system is going to be able to meet your needs the best.
Available Resources
Before you can choose the right type of heating system, you’ll need to identify the types of available resources surrounding your warehouse. Do you have access to natural gas? Is there property for a geothermal heat pump to be installed? Do you have enough roof space to install solar panels? Is oil cheaper than gas in your area? By identifying the types of resources that are readily available to your warehouse, you can better narrow down your list of commercial heaters for warehouses that you can choose to use.
Outline Your Main Business Operations
The business activities that take place at your warehouse are going to play a huge rule in the type of industrial warehouse heaters that you choose to use. Think about the products that you store and their temperature requirements. Consider how often your loading bay doors will be open. Know how often staff will be occupying various zones of your warehouse. By having this information readily available from the start, you can better formulate a great heating solution that is both cost-efficient and effective for your business’s heating needs.
Consider Your Space Restrictions
Different commercial heaters for warehouses come in various sizes. Some units may need to be installed at floor level while others can be installed on the ceiling. Knowing the amount of space that you have on the floor and on the ceiling is a necessity. This way, you can choose the type of heating system that allows you to utilize your open space best. For example, if your floor space is very limited, you may want to consider a heating solution that is ceiling mounted.
Maintenance Requirements
Before you purchase any commercial heaters for your warehouse, you should know what sort of maintenance is required for the system. The amount of maintenance that is required will highly depend on the type of system that your purchase and your regular business operations. It’s best to talk with an expert in the commercial heating industry to determine the type of maintenance requirements that will be necessary with your system. If they’re simply not feasible for your operations, then you may want to consider another heating option that is more attainable for your business. Remember that upkeep with your heating system is a vital component of ensuring it works successfully.
Tips For Keeping Heating Costs Low
As with any type of heating system, we’re always looking for ways to reduce the cost. By employing some regular practices, you can help to limit the amount of time that your heating system runs and the amount of money it costs to utilize. Here are our best tips for you to start employing at your warehouse today.
Seal Leaks
Most buildings have them, and for some reason, many managers skip over this easy feat for other energy-saving options. Start with the simple and seal off the known leaks in your warehouse. You should have a regular maintenance routine of checking for infiltration gaps in your warehouse and repairing them. Have employees on the floor report gaps regularly so that you can address them.
Install Occupancy Sensors
In many cases, there’s no reason to heat a sector of your warehouse if there are no employees present. To ensure that your heating system turns off when your staff members are gone, simply install occupancy sensors. These will automatically reduce or shut off the heat produced to specific sectors of your warehouse when there are no staff members present in the area.
What To Look For In A Commercial Heating Provider
Undergoing the decision of choosing the right heating system for your warehouse starts with befriending a commercial heating provider. They have the knowledge that can help you to determine the best system to fit your individual warehouse setup. Here are some necessary traits that you should be looking for in any commercial heating provider you choose to utilize.
Tour Your Facility
As you’ve learned throughout this entire article, every warehouse is different. Therefore, each warehouse requires its own heating combination to fit its needs appropriately. A great commercial heating provider will not tote a heating package over the phone. Rather, they’ll take the time to tour your facility.
They’ll be looking for various components like the height of your ceilings, the number of loading bays you have, and where your staff mainly works. These will all be taken into account when providing you with a heating solution plan. Commercial heaters for warehouses can be strategically implemented to ensure that you get the best heating options with the least amount of energy costs.
Warranty And Response Times
When you purchase gas heaters and other heating equipment, you want to ensure that you’re informed about the warranty that comes with it. You should know what is covered, including parts and labor. You should also have a clear idea of the response time of the heating provider. If your facility runs around the clock, you’re going to want a heating provider that is available to respond to heating issues no matter what hour of the day it is.
They Provide A Written Estimate
This factor can’t be overlooked when choosing a commercial heating provider. Any experienced heating provider will have no problem drawing up a written estimate for the installation of your new heating system. This is a great way to ensure that both you and the heating provider are on the same page about what is necessary and how much it will cost. For example, the written estimate should have the cost of gas heaters broken down separate from the labor. This way, you know what you’ll be spending your money on during the installation of commercial heaters for the warehouse.
If your warehouse is being built or you’re simply looking for a better heating solution, then you know that you have many options out there. Hopefully, you now have a clear idea of what types of commercial heaters are best for your location. Next, it’s time to contact an industry expert who can walk you through the entire installation process.
