Some jobs are stressful. Some are physically demanding. And some are just plain hot.
While most of us have experienced an uncomfortable workplace on a summer afternoon, millions of Americans work in environments where heat isn’t an occasional inconvenience, it’s part of the job. Ovens, machinery, radiant heat, open loading doors and massive buildings can create challenging conditions even before outdoor temperatures start climbing.
So, which workplaces really bring the heat?
If you’ve ever stepped into a busy restaurant kitchen during dinner service, you already know.
Commercial kitchens pack ovens, grills, fryers, steam tables and dishwashers into relatively small spaces. Add dozens or even hundreds of meals being prepared during a busy service, and all that equipment produces an enormous amount of heat.
Ventilation systems help remove smoke, grease and hot air, but they can also pull conditioned air out of the building. During the hottest days of summer, keeping a commercial kitchen comfortable can become a serious challenge.
Imagine working next to multiple industrial ovens for an entire shift.
Bakeries face many of the same challenges as restaurant kitchens, sometimes on an even larger scale. Commercial ovens may operate for hours at a time, continuously releasing heat into the surrounding environment.
The result? Even when the air conditioning is running, the area immediately surrounding production equipment can remain significantly warmer than the rest of the facility.
Warehouses may not have giant ovens, but they have another problem: size.
Large distribution centers and warehouses can contain hundreds of thousands of square feet of space, often with high ceilings. Cooling that much air is difficult and expensive.
Then there are loading docks. Every time a large bay door opens, hot and humid outdoor air can enter the building. Add forklifts, equipment, lighting and hundreds of employees, and temperatures can climb quickly particularly in older facilities without comprehensive cooling systems.
Manufacturing facilities can generate heat from nearly every direction.
Motors, compressors, production equipment and industrial processes all produce heat. Some facilities also deal with radiant heat from furnaces, kilns, welding operations or heated materials.
Unlike an office, simply adjusting the thermostat may not solve the problem. A manufacturing plant can contain dramatically different temperature zones depending on what is happening in each area.
That makes spot cooling especially valuable. Instead of trying to cool an entire massive facility, businesses can target employee workstations, production areas or temperature-sensitive equipment.
There’s hot and then there’s molten metal hot.
Foundries, forging operations and other metalworking facilities can expose workers to intense radiant heat generated by furnaces and heated materials. Even when outdoor temperatures are mild, these environments can be challenging.
When summer arrives, extreme outdoor temperatures add another layer of heat to an already demanding workplace.
Commercial and industrial laundries are another surprisingly hot workplace.
Large dryers, washers, steam systems and ironing or pressing equipment can generate significant heat and humidity. In facilities processing huge volumes of linens, uniforms or other textiles, that equipment may operate for much of the day.
Without adequate ventilation and cooling, conditions can quickly become uncomfortable.
Auto shops often have large garage doors that remain open throughout the day, making it difficult to maintain conditioned indoor air. Vehicles, tools, compressors and other equipment add additional heat.
On a 95-degree afternoon, the temperature inside a poorly cooled shop can begin feeling a lot like the temperature outside.
There isn’t one solution.
Businesses often rely on a combination of ventilation, air movement, employee hydration and rest practices, adjusted work schedules and mechanical cooling to help manage heat.
But cooling the entire building isn't always practical or necessary.
Portable and temporary air conditioning can provide targeted cooling exactly where it’s needed. Spot cooling can help businesses focus conditioned air around employees, critical equipment, production lines or particularly hot areas without requiring a permanent HVAC overhaul.
Temporary cooling can also provide additional capacity during summer heat waves or keep operations moving when an existing HVAC system fails or struggles to keep up.
At AirPac, we provide portable and temporary cooling solutions for commercial and industrial environments of all kinds from restaurants and warehouses to manufacturing facilities and other challenging spaces.
Because some workplaces will always be hot.
That doesn’t mean the people working inside them have to be.