The productivity of an employee working in an unventilated facility really takes a hit in the summer. Excessive heat increases fatigue and reduces cognitive thinking. That results in people taking more breaks, working more slowly, and making more mistakes. In Texas, the cost of this lost productivity is estimated to be $30 billion annually. That leads to the question: How to boost productivity in the summer? The answer is improved ventilation.
Heat Impact on Productivity
The impact of excessive heat on productivity has been well studied. One study determined that productivity decreases by 1% for every one degree above 77 degrees F. Now imagine that you are working in a facility on a 95 degree day. Without adequate ventilation, the temperature inside the facility could be as much as 20 degrees higher than the outdoor temperature. The result is a 38% decrease in your productivity.
Ways to Boost Productivity
Here are ways to boost productivity by improving ventilation:
- Increase air flow by adding exhaust fans. By adding the proper amount of additional air flow, the inside temperature should be the same as the outside temperature. The amount of additional air flow will depend on solar and internal heat loads.
- Add spot cooling fans. Once the inside temperature is the same as the outside temperature, installing spot cooling fans that will use the effect of sweat evaporation to create a perceived cooling effect in the range of 8 to 10 degrees F.
- Convert to indirect evaporative cooling. To really boost productivity, install an indirect evaporative cooler which uses water evaporation to cool the air without adding humidity. Depending on the humidity conditions, indirect evaporative coolers can cool the outside air by 10 to 20 degrees F at a fraction of the cost of air conditioning.
Conclusion
Improving ventilation will provide an immediate boost to productivity. In addition to higher productivity, improved ventilation will also positively impact absenteeism and employee turnover. All of these benefits can make it easy to justify an investment in a ventilation system upgrade. To determine what invest in ventilation equipment is right for your facility, call an Eldridge ventilation expert today.