Not only do retail premises need to look well organised and inviting in order to ensure a good amount of footfall, they also need to be warm and welcoming. The temperature inside any retail premises should be warm enough to be comfortable, without being stifling and airless. Effective retail space heating, with localised controls, is essential in order to provide comfortable, warm and draft free environments for visitors and staff.
High Street Retail
With ‘high street’ type retail spaces it’s important to get the balance right, as this environment presents more of a challenge than regulating the temperature within malls or shopping centres. Weather conditions can dramatically affect how the temperature and air quality feels in high street retail premises. But, even on cooler days it is better to keep retail premises lower in temperature to account for customers wearing outdoor coats whilst inside.
An overhead heater should be mounted over the front door to give customers a burst of warm air as they enter. The rest of the space should remain at an ambient temperature that is comfortable enough for customers to shop, and the air should flow freely around the space to ensure condensation doesn’t affect displays and odours are neutralised quickly.
According to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), it is recommended that your workplace should be at a MINIMUM of 16 degrees Celsius or 13 degrees if the work is more physical. Shops can become very crowded and therefore feel very hot and stuffy, so lower temperature settings are generally beneficial. If automatic doors create drafts, air curtains can help to counteract this. The shape and build of the premises can also influence the way it retains heat throughout the year.
Shopping Malls and Centres
Large enclosed shopping centres or malls, always need to be carefully ventilated. Too hot or too cold and the environment will not be conducive to shopping or dining. Every area of the premises must be carefully considered when planning the commercial heating installations for shopping centres in the UK.
Most shopping malls or centres rely upon either a central plant or unitary equipment. Most individual stores will be connected to a central plant system and charges for their heating and cooling requirements will be metered. If the mall has been designed to incorporate a unitary system, individual tenants are required to install their own heating and cooling system that operate in virtually the same way.
During the design stage of large retail centres and malls the design team have a responsibility to be fully aware of the lease requirements and should work closely with the leasing agents to provide energy efficient systems, that offer heat pumps, thermal storage and other energy saving technologies.
Successful Design Of Heating System For Retail Premises
Retail premises come in all shapes and sizes. The heating design of the space should be designed to maximise comfort for both staff and customers, whilst still remaining energy efficient and easy to use.
From large department stores through to small independent retailers, the heat distribution systems should be designed to encompass the age and design of the building. Premises designed for dining should also contain provisions for odour control, outdoor air requirements and excess heat removal.
Heating accounts for a huge proportion of energy used in a typical retail environment. Some businesses could reduce heating costs by up to a third through simple energy saving measures such as syncing usage with opening times and holidays or ensuring outer doors are not left open. Every retail heating system should be designed with energy efficiency as a primary factor in the design process.
Heating Systems From Total Environmental Kooling
At Total Environmental Kooling we design and install all aspects of plumbing and heating and ventilation systems for the retail sector. We work closely with you to design the most efficient and effective system possible for your needs. We then install the system to the highest degree of accuracy to ensure your system needs little to no maintenance.
If you need help with achieving the optimum temperature for your retail property and would like to find out more about our heating installation and climate control systems, call us on 0117 952 3355, or fill in our online contact form.
