Temperature control is crucial for any building, and this goes double for warehouses.

Products need to be stored at certain temperatures, machinery needs to be kept at the right temperature to avoid malfunction, and frankly the workers’ comfort needs to be kept in mind to keep everybody happy, productive, and not thinking about quitting to get a job at that refrigerated food storage place across town.

And if that all isn’t enough to motivate you, it’s important to consider that proper temperature control is crucial to reducing expenses when it comes to utility bills and preventing product loss in cases like pharmaceuticals and food storage – and who doesn’t want to try and cut costs in today’s economy?

Got your attention now? Here’s five tips to get started with better warehouse temperature control:

1. Seal it up:

This should be a familiar tip to anyone who owns an old, drafty house, and luckily it’s one of the easiest tips to implement. Much like the drafts of outside air you can feel if the weather stripping in your home has started to fall apart, warehouses are subject to faulty stripping and drafts as well. Check around the common culprits – loading dock doors, vents, old windows – and apply new weather sealing as needed.

2. Get in the habit of closing doors:

Much like you’ve probably had to ask your kids to do, keeping your doors shut is a good way of preventing either hot or cold air from getting in or out, depending on what temperature you’re trying to keep your warehouse. If you have automatic doors, you can also install timers to shut the doors after X amount of time to help prevent drafts and keep everything the temperature it’s supposed to be.

3. Let the air flow:

Warehouses have a lot of stuff, right? Huge pallets, giant stacks of cargo, massive industrial shelving – it can all build up after a while and interfere with your heating and cooling. Rearrange your warehouse shelves to stop them from blocking vents and airways, and switching to more open wire shelves where you can will help keep the air moving like it should.

4. Hit the roof:

Most HVAC units are kept on the roof, and it’s not going to be any surprise to hear that roof-based units are exposed to the elements more than any other. Air conditioners and heaters on the roof have to work twice as hard in inclement weather to maintain your desired temperature in the warehouse, and airborne pollutants can get in the way as well. Get your roof-mounted units inspected at least a few times a year to prevent bigger issues down the road and keep them working as effectively as possible.

5. Just use a fan:

It’s a solution we’ve all resorted to at home in times of need (or high electric bills), but if it’s getting a little too warm in your warehouse and you can’t keep pushing your air conditioning, get some big industrial fans and place them at strategic locations around the warehouse to help circulate air and keep some of the stress off of your poor HVAC systems.

With these tips in mind, you should be able to keep costs down, reduce the risk of breakage in your heating and cooling, and keep your employees comfortable and productive. This way, everyone wins!