I toured a bottling facility last year and noticed a high heat build-up in the areas were they filled and stored bottles. I told them how Eldridge can create a successful environment inside the facility where the employees would happier, healthier and more productive. When the customer was ready to make the investment in a cooler bottling facility, they gave Eldridge a call.
Application Challenge
The area of the facility that needed an upgraded ventilation system was the older section. The customer had relied on a few roof mounted belt-driven fans and loading dock doors to create some air movement. The problem was that the belt-driven fans had not been well maintained. So on summer days, it was significantly hotter on the inside than the ambient temperature outside.
There were two key challenges with this project. The first was the shape of the building. Instead on being rectangular, it was a perfect square. This would mean that in order to get air flow to the center of the facility, we would need to design the ventilation system with roof exhaust fans. A budget limitation imposed by the customer was the second challenge. Unfortunately, roof mounted fans have a higher cost than wall mounted fans. This combined with the budget constraint meant that we would not be able to achieve the air change rate that we would normally recommend to remove the solar heat load.
Solution
We designed an upgraded ventilation system with hooded roof exhaust fans in the center of the building. The customer indicated that they were planning to add more fans as future budgets would allow. Therefore, we placed the current group of roof fans in locations that would create the most air flow where people would be working. To get an even flow of air coming from both sides of the building at the floor level, we added louvers along the base of the walls opposite the fans.
Conclusion
The customer and their employees were very happy this summer with a cooler bottling facility on hot days. The customer liked the upgraded ventilation system so much that they found some additional money in their 2021 budget to have another fan installed. They are currently considering adding more fans in 2022.
At Eldridge, we enjoy this type of project where we have created a successful environment that is a win-win for the company and the employees. If you would like to create a successful environment in your facility, contact an Eldridge ventilation expert. We can help you plan for a cooler facility in the summer of 2022.