Local Cooling in Large, Open Industrial Space

[ME27272727]

I'm working on a job in a large, open manufacturing plant. The space is about 25,000 SF and about 32 feet high from finished floor to top of steel. The current space has 150,000 CFM of exhaust and untreated supply air in a push-pull setup, with 25,000 of treated makeup available but not running. The plant is located in upstate NY, and the process heat alone is strong enough to heat the space in the winter. They would like to add cooling to where the employees will be operating. Building is served by steam and chilled water.

What is a good strategy to employ in this situation? It doesn't make sense to condition all of the air (~755,000 cubic feet). Rather, I was thinking maybe runs of spiral duct down close by the operators with diffusers throwing cool air on them. Which leads me to my next question: how exactly would you calculate a cooling load for this situation?

 

[Drazen]

forget about that if employee zone will not be separated. the best you can do is to put radiation shields in front of machines that eventually emit radiation heat, and to increase air changes of possible, ventilation without cooling of supply air - whatever outdoor temperature it will be lower that plant temperature most of time.

 

[trashcanman]

You did not state what exactly is producing the heat. If it is hot equipment, piping or ductwork, insulate it. That should cut down most of the heat.
Estimate the sq.footage of the heat emitting surfaces. Assume a surface temperature and calculate the heat loss. Most of the loss will be by radiation and convection. Conduction to the air will be small in comparison and can be discounted.

Try evaporative cooling. It works for athletes on the sidelines at ball games so should work in an industrial facility. Relatively inexpensive too.

 

[willard3]

Look into spot coolers. I did a foundry with spot coolers quite successfully.

It wis very difficult to model the heat gain accurately.

 

[dbill74]

Fan Coil Unit or Ductless mini-split units to provide spot cooling.

I can see where modeling the heat gain would be challenging. Try creating a room with partitions adjacent to unconditioned spaces.

 

[irfanbaig36]

I see it as a comfort application. Check for outdoor air conditions and run a fresh air fabric duct.

 

[ME27272727]

Thank you for the replies everyone.

 

[chicopee]

You could also explore a push-pull ventilation system within the work zone.