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Cold warehouses can have an impact on more than just your employees’ comfort – the knock-on effect can reduce productivity, employee satisfaction and performance as well as health. Heating such a large and open space can be difficult, though, so here is our guide to the best fan heaters for industrial spaces and why you should invest.
Health and safety
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidelines for working conditions state that the minimum temperature for your environment is 16°C. There is a caveat here that might apply to industrial and warehouse sites – if the job duties require rigorous physical effort, then the minimum is 13°C. Neither of these figures is legally mandated – they are guidelines intended to help keep staff healthy and comfortable – but employers are legally required to determine what’s a reasonable working temperature in their employees’ particular working conditions.
What is a fan heater?
A fan heater contains a heating element and a fan. The fan draws in air through the back of the unit across the heating element, which rapidly heats the air before the fan recirculates it around your space. This kind of heater is great for large spaces – they tend to be relatively budget friendly, they are often portable (or at least, not fixed) and can warm large, open spaces quite quickly. Temperature in higher-end models is controlled by an internal thermostat, so you can set the unit to the temperature you want and the heater will stop when that temperature is reached, restarting when it drops again.
The benefits of using a fan heater as opposed to an oil burning unit are a lack of odour and no need to purchase, stock and store consumables – simply plug the unit in and you are done.
What should you look for?
Industrial fan heaters come in a range of power inputs, and these directly relate to how much space they can heat. Smaller, 2kW units will cover areas of around 40 cubic metres, with heavier-duty 40kW units capable of tackling spaces up to 600 cubic metres. For even larger spaces, several units can be used together – just make sure that they are spaced out, otherwise you’ll end up with hot spots and cold areas.
For a more targeted heating solution, some models of fan heater can be used with ducting – allowing you to carry the warm air to further reaches or specific rooms.
A lot of modern industrial fan heaters can also be used independently of their heating element – meaning that you can use them as a cooling fan or an air circulating device for warmer days.
If you plan on moving your fan heater, either in and out of storage or around the site as needs arise, you might benefit from getting a model that is mounted on wheels, or at the very least has a carrying handle (for smaller models) to make moving the heater easier.
Author Bio: First Mats started life as safety matting specialists, but have since expanded to become a complete industrial and commercial supplies company. The focus of First Mats is to provide safety-focused products that improve the wellbeing of staff through quality approved products, backed up by extensive knowledge. www.firstmats.co.uk
