Commercial Unit Heater Advice

[gt67]

Hi,

We are moving into a single story industrial unit of approx 1000sq ft (32ft x 30ft) and am looking for advice on what type of heater to have installed.

The previous tenant had air blowers so I assume that something along those lines would be ok as it was warm enough when we viewed it while he was still in there.

We have been advoised that the Dimplex CFS range are pretty good - they do a 3kw and a 6kw version.

I think that the existing cable would be of suffivcient gauge but this would need to be checked. We get the keys officially on the 16th Dec but have been told that we can get access from next week as we have a chippie who needs to do some work for us.

So I am basically looking for some recomendations and if there is anyone in the Romford / Harold Wood area who can quote for supply and fitting that would be cool as well.

Thanks in advance,

Graham

 

[MDJ]

If it is a commercial unit with low bay lighting and a very high roof level for example then Electric heating is pants and will cost a bomb. I would recommend a Gas heater in the corner with a Blower myself. JMO

 

[gt67]

no gas so it would have to be bottled.

The ceiling isnt that high to be honest but I will investigarte some gas blowers.

Thanks for the reply

 

[plugsandsparks]

There are many solutions for space heating as you can probably gather. The calculation usually starts with a heat loss calculation based on the construction of the building etc. There is some stuff on the internet to help come up with a number in KW that you will need to heat it. As a very rough guide I would have expected around 15KW for a modern commercial space as you describe but it can vary a lot. i.e. if the doors are opened, roller shutters, leaks, use of glass, any insulation etc, you get the picture. Once you have a accurate KW figure then you could use LPG or oil or electric, you could use radiant heating that tries to not heat the air but the people or use warm air heating which heats up the air and everything else. Radiant is cheaper but maybe the wrong choice if you are trying to keep other things warm apart from people. If you are looking at LPG try and get indirectly fired heaters ( they have a chimney) as this will be better for people over a long day.

 

[gt67]

Thanks for the replies.

I should probably have said it will be used as a warehouse for storage, picking and packing of art supplies for our internet business. The doors will be closed and the roler shutters have been boarded over by the previous tennant who used it as a shop as well as a warehouse.

There would only a couple of us there each day and I will (hopefully) be busy walking around all day picking etc so it doesnt have to be office warm for people who will be sat at desks all day long. The walls will all have slatboard with the stock hanging on them.

 

[Richard Burns]

Using gas is often the best solution, but if you are using it as an essentially closed storage area then the burning of gas can create a lot of moisture, so probably not the best idea for art supplies.
As a storage area you are really looking to maintain a constant temperature, so it may be worth looking at installing better insulation before you fit it out, this may ease the cost of maintaining temperature.

 

[Engineer54]

Can't you ask the previous tenant what units they were using?? Or even contact a space heating company (or two) to conduct a survey of the premises for your requirements...