Safety and Comfort in the Workplace

Safety and Comfort in the Workplace

The two things that Heaters Wholesale focus on is the safety and the comfort of all of our valued customers. These are our top priorities.

 

We only use gas safe registered, and safe contractor approved engineers.

 

What is the safe contractor register and how does that affect me?

 The safe contractor register is a health and safety assessment scheme which was developed to ensure peace of mind that any contractors or engineers that you are using, are competent in the execution of all health and safety aspects of the construction industry including:

Risk Assessments

First Aid
Asbestos removal

 The gas safety register was created for your safety. It ensures that the engineers are fully qualified in the use of gas appliances, but there are different forms, some are registered to work on domestic appliances only and some for both Industrial and appliances, you should always expect your engineer to carry their gas safe registration card.

 

How do you know if they are gas safe registered and qualified to work on your industrial heaters?

 

Heating engineers should always carry their gas safe registration card with them, and they should present this upon arrival. If they don't then before they carry out any work you should ask to see this. You will be looking for 4 different characteristics on this card which are:

 

1.       The photograph of the engineer as confirmation that they are who they say they are.
2.       The start date and expiry date. If the card is out of date then the engineers is no longer permitted to work on gas appliances and should not carry out any work on your heating equipment.
3.       Their unique licence number.
4.       Gas safe security hologram logo at the bottom of the card to confirm the authenticity.

 

If all of the above criteria are not met they are not legally permitted to work on any gas appliances.

 Should all of the above be present, you need to check their qualifications to establish that they are qualified to work on your equipment. On the reverse of the card the there is a list of all the relevant qualifications that the individual holds, the start date and the end date of each qualification, ensure that you check these, as they may no longer be valid. The most basic qualification that should be listed on all gas safe cards is pipework, check that this is stated on the card. Engineers that are qualified to work on commercial heating will also be qualified to work on domestic appliance, although each one will be listed separately.

 Remember that if an engineer is qualified to work on domestic appliance this does not automatically

Mean that they can work on industrial heaters.

 

Our engineers are situated throughout the U.K, fully qualified in the installation of warm air heating and radiant heating equipment. We offer site surveys at no cost to yourself, to identify the most efficient and comfortable way to heat your business. 

Thermal Comfort for Industrial and Warehouse Heaters

What is Thermal Comfort?

 

The definition as defined in the British standard BS EN ISO7730  is “That condition of mind that which expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment.”

So what does this mean?

Thermal comfort is based on each person individually, and occurs when a person is too cold or too hot. This can alter his or her psychological state of mind that could possibly effect his or her concentration and mood. Since you can only really define thermal comfort on a scale of number of employees that complain about temperatures, it’s very difficult to ascertain a comfortable working environment. Although this is the case, regulations state that thermal comfort is achieved when at least 80% of your workforce is comfortable at the working temperature.

Thermal comfort is not only measured by air temperature, but also by radiant temperature, air velocity and convection.

Radiant temperature is a form of heat transfer, made up of three components: reflectance, absorbance and emissivity. Reflectance is when an item receives heat, but does not absorb it, then reflects the heat back into the room. Absorbance is when an item absorbs and retains heat. Emissivity is when retained heat is released back into the room at a steady pace. So for example, if you have a large building with a lot of windows that receive a lot of sunlight, the objects in the room will be heated by the sun and release heat throughout the day. Although this may not be enough to heat a building, it is something that can be taken into consideration when analysing thermal comfort. This is the way in which an infrared radiant heater works.

Convection – This is another form of heat transfer that occurs when an item or person picks up warmth from an airstream that travels. For example, through a building, much like how a warm air heating system heats a premises.

Air Velocity- This describes the speed of air moving across the worker that may help cool the worker if it is cooler than the environment.  People can be sensitive to air velocity, as the speed of air moves across the worker it can cool the worker down, if it is cooler than the original environment. A worker’s speed can also alter air velocity, as it increases air movement. For example, if air temperature is cooler than a person’s skin temperature, heat loss by convection is increased. Moving air in warm or humid conditions can increase heat loss through convection without any change in air temperature.

 

How can you regulate thermal comfort in your premises?

There are many ways in which you can regulate the temperature of your building so that your staff is comfortable with the temperature. Easy solutions include allowing workers to remove layers of clothing or opening of windows during the warmer months. During the winter months, you could consider installing energy efficient heating equipment, such as warm air heaters or radiant heating equipment. For example, when considering warehouse heating, the above must be taken into account in order to provide an adequate industrial heating solution that is efficient and assists in creating thermal comfort. With the installation of any warm air or radiant heater, you can install energy efficient controls. This helps to regulate temperature within the building because they can be timed to operate only when required and only at the required temperature set.

To determine the most efficient heating solution for your building, contact an approved contractor who will visit your site, evaluate the conditions and present equipment that suits you best. Heaters Wholesale can provide you with that information with expertise that covers over two decades, you can be sure that we can provide you with an industrial heating solution to suit you.

The difference between Infrared Radiant Heating and traditional industrial heating methods

Ever since the onset of the industrial revolution  and the beginning of manufacturing, Factory buildings and warehouses' struggled to retain the heat within the premises. Since the development of the of the most basic heating technology, the industrial heating market has evolved and grown from strength to strength.

The case in point is how popular infrared radiant heating has become throughout the years, compared to the traditional warm air heating. They both hold their own attributes, but, depending on the building, infrared heating can represent the most effective heating solution, for factory and warehouse heating.

Many factory premises were built many years ago and although structurally resilient, there was little concern over heat loss as there  was no major thought into energy savings like there are today.

For example, the high ceilings that you often see in many industrial premises tend to lead  to a process  called stratification. This is where the air in the room arranges itself into layers of temperatures, ascending from cold air at the ground level to warmer air towards the ceiling of the building.

By contrast infrared radiant heaters work like the sun which transmits infrared rays into the room, which is then absorbed by the objects and people within the building. This heat is then slowly released over  time allowing the room to remain at a comfortable temperature throughout the day. This can reduce the likelihood of stratification, meaning less heat loss through the roof and a potential saving on your  energy use.

Will Infrared heating suit my building.

Each property will differ, with many factors that can identify whether radiant heaters are the right choice for you. Look around your property do any of  the below apply?

Do you have high ceilings?
Do you regularly use loading bays with open shutters that increase the escape of the warm air.
Are your energy bills excessive?

If you answered yes to any of the above then you may benefit from the installation of radiant tube heaters, and may benefit from a site survey carried out by a fully qualified installer to assess the most efficient way to heat your premises.

Heaters Wholesale will provide you with a free site survey, to determine which heating solution will suit your business.

Radiant Heaters Explained

How Does Radiant Heating Work?

Heating Objects Rather than the Air

Unlike warm air heating that blows out high temperature heated air, radiant heating systems utilise electromagnetic waves to heat people and objects. These waves do not heat the air as they travel through it; instead, it is the objects and people that have absorbed the radiant energy that warm the air via convection as air passes across those warm objects.

These objects then act like heat reservoirs, storing the warmth and releasing it via re-radiation and convection - much like how the Sun heats our planet.



This methodology uses significantly less energy to heat the area at occupant level when compared with more traditional systems, and as there is no need for ceiling fans to push the heat towards the floor, you reduce electricity usage.

Reducing Your Building’s Heat Loss

As radiant heating helps to warm the space at occupant level, heat stratification - which is where the warm air rises to the ceiling - can be significantly reduced. The higher the temperature of the air at ceiling level, the more energy you are losing from your building, so by ensuring you maintain lower ceiling temperatures you can reduce building heat loss, which in turn means you will require less energy to heat the space in the first place.

Radiant heaters are extremely beneficial to greenhouses, garages, workshops, warehouses as well as any other business that utilises shutters or doors that may need to be open for extended periods.

Radiant Heaters are ideal when considering

• Garden Centre Heating

• Warehouse Heating

• Factory Heating

Alternatively, any other industrial or commercial premises that require doors, or shutters to be open for significant periods throughout the day.

If you would like to find out more about how the radiant heating systems we can supply here at Heaters Wholesale can help to keep your industrial or commercial property warm while saving you money, get in touch with our friendly customer service team that will be happy to arrange your free site survey.