Maintaining a comfortable indoor temperature during the winter is always a challenge. It’s even more difficult when you have a large commercial building. What’s the secret to heating large spaces evenly and avoiding things like cold spots or disparate temperatures? Here’s a guide to heating large spaces.
Warm-Air Heating
Similar to an ordinary furnace, this method uses a heat exchanger to heat the air and fans to distribute it throughout the building. The placement of those fans determines how the air is distributed: They can spread it out evenly or they can be used to direct more heat to a specific area as needed, similar to a zoning system.
There’s one drawback to this method, however, when it comes to heating large spaces: Hot air rises. Therefore, particularly in a commercial building with high ceilings, it can take a lot of extra time and energy before the warmth is felt by employees and customers.
Radiant Heating
Another method of heating large spaces is radiant heating. This is more similar to a space heater than to a furnace. However, rather than heating a single area, the heaters are placed throughout the building for even distribution. Heating coils or plaques can be installed in the ceiling, walls, or floor, spreading warmth throughout the area and allowing it to reach the building’s occupants more easily.
Unlike warm-air heating, however, radiant heating doesn’t simply warm the entire room. The overall temperature is lower than with warm-air heating. In order to get the benefits, you must be in the direct line of a heating source. If you want more coverage, you need to install more radiant heaters, which then uses more energy.
Which of these methods of heating large spaces best suits your building? It depends on your specific needs in terms of comfort, energy usage, and a variety of other factors. Talk to your HVAC contractor to find the heating method that’s right for you, your customers, and your employees.
For more help with heating large spaces, contact us at Hansberger Refrigeration and Electric Company. We provide Yuma with quality home-comfort solutions.
