Maintaining comfortable working conditions in a busy food production facility can be challenging, particularly where heat generated by equipment, production processes and the surrounding environment can quickly impact indoor temperatures.
Coral Air was engaged by this client at its Western Sydney facility to develop a cooling solution that would provide better working conditions for staff while meeting the practical requirements of an active food production environment.
The Challenge
The existing conditions within the production area were very hot and humid due to the large use of steam in the cooking and bottling process. This facility is constructed of cool room panel located within a large warehouse. They have uses cool room panel for the ease of cleaning and hygiene. The existing cooking and packaging spaces did not have any form of air flow other than local floor standing fans that the employees brought in.
Staff working in the facility work a 10 hour day and during the summer months the internal working conditions were excessive for extended periods of time. Increasing worker comfort by the introduction of airflow was an important priority.
The solution also needed to consider the amount of air required to cool the space and effective running costs of the plant. There was also the ever important hygiene to be considered in a food preparation facility.
The Solution: A Smarter Cooling Solution
After assessing the facility and its operational requirements, Coral Air recommended an indirect evaporative cooling system.
Unlike traditional evaporative cooling, indirect evaporative cooling can reduce air temperature without adding significant moisture directly to the supply air. In this case the introduction of additional moisture would worsen the situation for the workers and the plants operation.
For the client, this provided a practical solution to their workers comfort and provided a linear air flow throughout the work area which helps with insect control, and as an added bonus the exhaust air provided cooling for the workers that packed the pallets outside of the clean area.
The selected systems use extremely little energy and require 100% of the air to be exhausted (no return air) which was perfect for this site. All of the cooking process smells were exhausted along with the humid air.
The Coral Air team took this project from the initial requirements expressed by the client through the design, engineering, construction and final commissioning phases of this project.
To reduce the impact on the site storage and equipment footprint due to the greatly reduced weight of the selected system, they were able to be located on a disused area over the offices. This enabled all of the works to be carried out while the site was in full production.
We had to duct the supply air from the front of the units down to the required spaces. The larger of the spaces also required 2 systems to be used combined to provide the required cooling capacity.
The Follow Up
Following completion of the project, the new cooling system vastly improved the conditions for the workers in the facility. Following the first really hot day of summer we called into the site to get some feedback about the system’s performance and the business owner thanked us for providing a system that made his workers smile and want to come to work.
By taking the time to understand the facility and how the space was being used, Coral Air was able to deliver a tailored solution focused on improving comfort and creating better working conditions for staff.
Every commercial and industrial environment has different cooling requirements. From food production facilities and warehouses to offices and specialised environments, Coral Air combines more than 40 years of industry experience with practical, innovative thinking to deliver tailored solutions for commercial air conditioning in Sydney and surrounding areas.
Looking for a smarter cooling solution for your commercial or industrial facility? Contact the Coral Air team to discuss your requirements.
