Air Conditioning Solutions

[Jessy_1]

I need alternatives or solutions to cooling down a big bay. The boss doesn't want to invest in AC so i'm trying to find some options that I can present to him.

We currently run 2 dehumidifiers that help with the humidity and we have 4, 5' fans that help circulate the air. But its just pushing hot air around and isn't cooling the bay down. I also have 2 latex printers and a hot laminator that raise the temperature quite a lot.

We also do all our vehicle wraps and sign making in the same bay. We're starting to have a hard time getting the vinyl to cooperate because of the heat.

Any suggestions would be great.

 

[Zoogee World]

My 2 cents, but maybe you need to present the AC in a different manner. Ask him if he wants his business to succeed, and for him to think of it as an investment into the future of his business, maybe he might want to increase costs slightly to compensate, but it would help in the long run and save on wasted material due to poor adhesion. Also if the heat is that bad, will probably help with employee moral and less chance of heat exhaustion.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Printers and vinyl production / installation should be done in climate controlled areas. Fab areas don't have to have A/C

 

[Solventinkjet]

We cool our 8,000 sqft warehouse with swamp coolers which is much cheaper than AC, but if you're having issues with humidity, that probably won't work in your area. Your printers should be working at under 86 degrees. Maybe that will sway the boss to cool things down a bit.

 

[Jessy_1]

My 2 cents, but maybe you need to present the AC in a different manner. Ask him if he wants his business to succeed, and for him to think of it as an investment into the future of his business, maybe he might want to increase costs slightly to compensate, but it would help in the long run and save on wasted material due to poor adhesion. Also if the heat is that bad, will probably help with employee moral and less chance of heat exhaustion.

I've tried doing that :/ if he isn't actively seeing the repercussions he ignores/doesn't understand.

I've been keeping a log of all the wasted material that's failed because of the heat/humidity to give a case as to why we need some sort of solution

 

[Jessy_1]

We cool our 8,000 sqft warehouse with swamp coolers which is much cheaper than AC, but if you're having issues with humidity, that probably won't work in your area. Your printers should be working at under 86 degrees. Maybe that will sway the boss to cool things down a bit.

I was looking at those. Do you think if I have dehumidifiers working at the same time it would help the swamp cooler with the humidity?

 

[Solventinkjet]

I was looking at those. Do you think if I have dehumidifiers working at the same time it would help the swamp cooler with the humidity?

It's hard to say. Here in the midwest it's a no brainer because of the natural humidity. You have to keep the windows open to keep the air flowing. if not, it gets so humid it's unbearable. With a dehumidifier, it might act as the open window. Plus the internet says it works so there's that.

 

[StarSign]

Maybe if some of the employees started passing out the boss would change his mind.

 

[Modern Ink Signs]

Until the owner of your company decides to be a true professional you may be stuck.

You could try portable ac units based on the sqft you are trying to cool. May not be ideal but may help.

My entire 10,000 sqft facility is HVAC controlled year round. 70-72 every day. Was not cheap to put in when I purchased my building but well worth it.

 

[Gino]

You say a big bay. How big ?? Length by width by height.

It's silly to invest in those sensitive machines and vinyl and not take care of them properly. He could always build a small room and make it rather air-tight and keep you printers and vinyl in there and only cool that area down with a decent A/C unit.

 

[BigNate]

I've tried doing that :/ if he isn't actively seeing the repercussions he ignores/doesn't understand.

I've been keeping a log of all the wasted material that's failed because of the heat/humidity to give a case as to why we need some sort of solution

I have had good luck using the machines performance specs - dig deep, usually there is a plot of machine effectiveness vs temp vs humidity -- to get our administration to allow heavy AC in our shop - we have over $500k of equipment and we can show that the temp fluctuations reduce the life expectancy and reduce productivity. Even when all other departments loose their AC half-an-hour before closing, the Print Shop stays climate controlled 24/7... (and I have Canon, Oce, HP and Ricohs that regularly go way beyond expected - we track costs, repairs, prints between jams, prints between failures, etc...)

you should be able to show your boss that increasing the life of a $400k printer by 50% is equivalent to adding $200k to your equipment budget - less the cost of the AC.... (if he cheaped out on equipment, there may not be any low-hanging fruit here.....)

 

[JBurton]

I have had good luck using the machines performance specs - dig deep, usually there is a plot of machine effectiveness vs temp vs humidity -- to get our administration to allow heavy AC in our shop

I'm going to assume this bay has quite a bit less of an investment compared to your workplace, with limited time for r and d on performance vs temp.
That being said, one could reckon a cost to replace and retrain any given employee, along with the average employment lifespan, and potentially convince the boss of all the savings in employee retention alone.

 

[BigNate]

I'm going to assume this bay has quite a bit less of an investment compared to your workplace, with limited time for r and d on performance vs temp.
That being said, one could reckon a cost to replace and retrain any given employee, along with the average employment lifespan, and potentially convince the boss of all the savings in employee retention alone.

I agree - but I have noticed a reduction in caring about employees and heat vs equipment and heat. Things like most other employees (few thousand) lose all a/c half-an-hour before quitting time... but the machines are allowed to stay 'comfortable'.

 

[JBurton]

I agree - but I have noticed a reduction in caring about employees and heat vs equipment and heat. Things like most other employees (few thousand) lose all a/c half-an-hour before quitting time... but the machines are allowed to stay 'comfortable'.

Ya know, I didn't consider the other investment here, materials. It's likely easier to account for all of the materials they are using in a month, paired with storage specs, and show that if not stored in a climate controlled area, you risk losing the ability to print on this $1k roll of material.
I mean, you're totally right about the equipment, just convincing the boss man of that sounds like a more difficult task.