Problems of motionless, humid air and high temperatures in the finishing section of an industrial laundry have been resolved following the installation of a Breezair Evaporative Air Cooling System from distributor CoSaf Environments
Temperatures in excess of 45°C in the vicinity of the Tunnel Finisher at Johnsons Apparelmaster’s laundry in Hinckley, Leicester, have been reduced by between 20 and 30°C since installation of the Breezair system, providing the workforce with a cooler and more pleasant working environment.
As the laundry provides a hygiene service for the food industry, it has to operate in a sealed environment. This includes the finishing section where garments are passed through a Tunnel Finisher at 150°C after been washed and disinfected before being passed on a conveyor to the folding machines. Heat generated by the Tunnel Finisher resulted in extreme temperatures for the operators.
Unable to open windows — this would invalidate its ‘silver standard’ hygiene accreditation — the laundry had to rely on overhead fans, which had little effect as they only recirculated hot air around the 400sq.m area. Looking for a solution to the problem, Engineering Manager David Jackson turned to Heaters Wholesale for a cost-effective solution.
“We handle around 45,000 garments a week, which means that the Tunnel Finisher is working constantly”, said Jackson. “Providing air conditioning in a factory that was built in the 1900’s was prohibitively expensive, so we had to find an alternative solution."
Rooftop location
To start, Heaters Wholesale calculated the air volume needed for the area and designed a ducting system based on this volume. They then worked out that two Breezair coolers would be needed to spot cool a radius of 20m around the Tunnel Finisher. Based on their recommendation, Johnson decided to install two Breezair coolers onto the roof of the laundry, with the vents strategically located near to the Tunnel Finisher to create a refreshing breeze for staff and reduce overall temperatures.
“Our staff have remarked on the improvement in their working conditions which has resulted from enhanced air movement and a substantial decrease in temperature," said Jackson. “The results have been so good that we will be installing additional units to cover other areas of the site."
Breezair coolers contain large cooling pads that are kept wet by a pump and water distribution system. Air is drawn through the pads by a powerful fan and is cooled by the evaporative process, providing a constant flow of naturally cooled, fresh air, without any air being recirculated. This evaporative process is particularly good for sealed, hygienic environments as most contaminants within the water supply are scrubbed out within the air cooler and do not pass through the cooler into the cooled zones.
Breezair says its Evaporative Air Coolers are the only air coolers in the world to have passed stringent German Hygiene Standard VDI-6022. Units are housed in a simple, clean plastic casing specially developed to withstand all weather conditions. An aerodynamic fan provides a constant, even flow of air over the pads to provide a welcome cool breeze with minimal noise and low energy consumption. Other components include an efficient water pump that guarantees constant and reliable cooling when most needed, and a long-lasting variable speed motor for maximum comfort level control.
