Heating a sales area

[si-mate]

Not sure if this is the right section, but here goes anyway:

I need to heat the sales area of our warehouse. It's approximately 10m x 5m x 2.4m. Floor is concrete and ceiling is suspended. One end has automatic doors and the other end is open to the rest of the warehouse which doesn't need heating.

It obviously gets blooming cold in here in the winter so was thinking of having some recessed ceiling heaters installed into the suspended ceiling.

Any idea of how many 3 / 4.5kw heaters I would need?

 

[ColJack]

your best bet is radiant heaters and an air curtain over the front door and close up the entrance to the warehouse.. even if it's with another suatomatic door..

 

[Steve]

If you're closing up the warehouse bit, might as well have air heaters instead. Heat pumps will be the most efficient option, but the highest outlay.

 

[si-mate]

It isn't really an option to close off the warehouse as customers do venture in there.

I can't say I'm that keen on the radiant heaters as they would spoil the look of the area.

 

[Steve]

It isn't really an option to close off the warehouse as customers do venture in there.

I can't say I'm that keen on the radiant heaters as they would spoil the look of the area.

You dont have to have the ones that glow bright orange - in my local Ford dealers they have long tubular gas fired radiant heaters on the ceiling. They dont glow, and the ceiling is a good 20ft up.

The thing with any heater specced to heat the sales area, is that it will run constantly, and may never actually reach temperature due to heat loss into the warehouse.

In my shop we just had 8 hydronic heaters installed in the ceiling. They look like air conditioners, and they are heated by hot water circulated from 3 gas boilers. Much more efficient than electric. But if electric is your only option, you can have air conditioners installed and use them as heat in the winter. The heat from these is very efficient, much more so than plain electric heaters.

 

[si-mate]

Actually that's why I'm asking. We had an air-con unit installed in the Autumn and it made no difference whatsoever. We working with the installer to find a solution.

 

[Steve]

Actually that's why I'm asking. We had an air-con unit installed in the Autumn and it made no difference whatsoever. We working with the installer to find a solution.

I think any solution is going to involve either heating the whole warehouse or closing it off somehow. How about plastic curtain flaps? Like on the doors into fridges or refrigerated lorrries. We have a tall wide curtain on the door into our warehouse at work, it works well except when theres wind!

Im interested in what this business is now!

 

[ColJack]

you're tying to heat the air.. that's kind of like trying to boil a swimming pool ..

unless you close off the warehouse bit ( again, glass frontage with auto doors etc ) then you're trying to heat that area too with the same heaters..

the obvious option in that case is some bloody great big gas heaters in the warehouse and heat it all..

radiant heat will warm the floors, walls, shelves, stock, people etc in the area rather than the air..

how much room do you have available? space somewhere outside for something the size of a transit van?
contact my old employer and tell them what you're trying to heat and they may be able to design you a package for heating and cooling ( for the summer ).

http://www.weatherite-group.com/ ( they can help with the doors etc for closing off the warehouse area too )

 

[ban-all-sheds]

It isn't really an option to close off the warehouse as customers do venture in there.

Most customers can work doors, can't they?

 

[holmslaw]

..

 

[Steve]

It isn't really an option to close off the warehouse as customers do venture in there.

Most customers can work doors, can't they?

You'd be surprised

For example, double automatic doors in a supermarket. Locked because the place isnt open yet. Big sign on the doors saying "automatic doors" and arrows indicating their direction of travel.

Customer approaches locked door. Appears perturbed by their lack of movement, so attempts to push them.

Customers are not very intelligent when they enter a sales situation.

 

[holmslaw]

..

 

[Lectrician]

How big is the access to the warehouse?

A warm air curtain at the warehouse end, and then a form of heating in the show room area.

Whats above the suspended ceiling? You may need to investigate the possibility of insulating above this - you can get 600x600 rockwool tiles sealed in plastic that are light weight and sit on the tiles, but they do not have great thermal values at all.

 

[Steve]

If the shop staff had any intelligence they would have put a "Big sign" saying "shop closed" as guidance for the non clairvoyant customers.

The shop in question is open 7am-10pm. A shop closed sign wouldnt be worth the investment! Most the time its shut, the shutters are down so the sign cant be seen, and theres only an hour per day that the shutters up and the doors locked!