There are a variety of heating systems available. Commercial buildings normally use radiators, air-handling units or electric heaters, while industrial buildings like retail ‘sheds’, factories and warehouses tend to choose unit or radiant heaters and hot air systems.Identifying the heating system in your building is the first step to knowing what specific measures you can take to minimise running costs.
- If the building has radiators the heating system also has a boiler, pumps and distribution pipework, and is often called a ‘wet central heating system’.
- If the circulating air is warm you’ll either have air-handling units that deliver warm air through ducts (and possibly unheated or cooled air during the summer) or unit heaters that use fans to distribute warm air around the building.
- If you only have electricity on your site then you are probably using local electric heaters or a ventilation system that heats the air. Both of these solutions can be expensive to run.
- If your heaters get very hot and glow red then they are radiant heaters. They are good at creating comfortable conditions when internal air temperatures are low. Plus, they are ideal for large areas with poor insulation, or for providing local ‘spot heating’ in wider open spaces.
- If you have discrete units pushing hot air into the space occasionally then you have unducted warm air systems. These are quite common in industrial buildings.
Some energy saving tips:
- Radiators - fit thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) to all radiators except those in the same space as a room thermostat.
- Electric heating - ensure that electric heaters are only used when required, by fitting time switches and thermostats.
- Controls – regularly check timers and temperature controllers to ensure they match occupancy and activity patterns.
- Maintenance - service boilers annually and ask for the report on combustion efficiency. This should show an improvement after the service.
- Hot water - set time controls to reflect when hot water is needed.
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