The Challenge
The 400m² workshop had no insulation and the workshop heating consisted of a single 24 kW oil fired warm air blower positioned in the back corner of the building. With a ridge height of 6.5m, the convection heater was unable to effectively heat the space and warm the mechanics as the heated air quickly rose towards the ceiling where it offered no thermal benefit. Only when the air cooled and lost its heating capability did it sink back towards the ground where it slightly raised the ambient temperature offering little or no real benefit to the occupants.
There was also a significant loss of heat and a cold draught every time the large sliding doors were opened to move the cars because the rising warm convection currents sucked in cold air from outside.
Due to the nature of the work only 40% of the floor area is occupied by the mechanics. Therefore, those working on the cars needed a form of heating which would warm them directly without wasting valuable energy attempting to heat the unoccupied areas. It was also important that the workshop heating should not escape each time the large sliding doors were opened.
Throughout the day mechanics use the Diagnostics Work Stations for approx. 20 minutes at a time. However, they are not in continuous use and only required heating when a mechanic is present. Effectively controlling the workshop heating was important to optimise the mechanics thermal comfort and to ensure as little energy as possible was consumed during its use. This was also a pre-requisite to obtaining grant funding (33%) from European Regional Development Fund through Low Carbon Workspaces, specifically given to enable small and medium sized businesses to improve the energy efficiency of their premises.
Only when the air cooled and lost its heating capability did it sink back towards the ground where it slightly raised the ambient temperature offering little or no real benefit to the occupants.
Due to the nature of the work only 40% of the floor area is occupied by the mechanics. Therefore, those working on the cars needed a form of heating which would warm them directly without wasting valuable energy attempting to heat the unoccupied areas.
Effectively controlling the workshop heating was important to optimise the mechanics thermal comfort and to ensure as little energy as possible was consumed during its use.
