Industrial Portable Air Conditioning

Additional product information

Portable Air Conditioning Units

At Broughton EAP, we are experts in supplying state-of-the-art portable air conditioning units to suit a whole host of working environments and industries. There are a huge number of advantages attached to investing in the right industrial conditioning systems, not least helping the health of your workforce. When you have the right commercial AC units in place, you  enhance air quality, reduce illnesses by eliminating bacteria, allergens and dust and distribute warmth and coolness appropriately. This in turn heightens productivity and comfort, cultivating a more satisfied and professional workplace.

Decades of Innovation

We have been designing, manufacturing and supplying industrial air conditioning solutions for over four decades. After our foundation in 1979, we have constantly adapted our approach and invested in pioneering new solutions to cater for the ever-changing and expanding needs of our customers. Our current industrial air conditioning systems are designed to provide you with all the energy-efficiency you require, including fantastic efficiency ratings, ErP compliance, EC fans and the latest low GWP refrigerant technology. We can supply a wide range of valuable solutions, including monobloc packages, portable water-cooled split systems and industrial evaporative coolers.

What is Industrial air conditioning?

An industrial portable air conditioner is a unit that uses the principles of refrigeration to remove heat from the air. The process is very similar to that used by fridges and freezers but rather than cool the air within a sealed, confined space they draw air in, cool it and redeliver it to the room. Both systems also use the same group of major components; an evaporator, compressor, condenser and an expansion valve/capillary which are all piped together using copper (most commonly) refrigeration pipe. A refrigerant is then pumped around the circuit as follows:

Fixed installation air conditioning usually comes in two parts, an indoor unit and outdoor unit. The indoor section is normally installed in the area to be cooled and houses the cold element (the evaporator) which is the part of the process where the refrigerant evaporates. This evaporation is caused because the refrigerant has a very low boiling point at standard atmospheric pressure, typically around -40ºC. In order for this evaporation to happen a rise in temperature is needed and this is supplied by the air of the area which needs cooling and where the indoor unit is installed. As air is drawn across the evaporator coil heat is removed and the ambient area temperature can be reduced.

The compressor draws the refrigerant vapour through the system, reduces the pressure in the evaporator coil and as a result the refrigerant evaporates. The vapour then enters the compressor where it is compressed to increase the temperature and pressure. This hotter, more pressured gas then enters the condenser coil (usually installed outside the area to be cooled) where it cools to its condensation point again and returns to liquid form. Just as the evaporation process requires warm air the condensation process needs cooling to prevent the pressure and temperature climbing too high. This cooling can be provided by either air or water (hence water cooled systems).

The next stage in the process, the expansion valve or capillary, narrows the pipework which decreases the pressure and allows the liquid refrigerant to evaporate. Because warm air is needed for this evaporation the circuit is closed.

Types of portable industrial air conditioning

Broughton EAP Ltd makes two forms of commercial portable air conditioner:

– THE MCe6.0

The MCe6.0 monobloc is a low GWP unit able to provide 6.5kW of chilled air to two areas at the same time, and is an ideal match for environments such as events, data centres, offices and retail outlets. This commercial air conditioning unit comes with insulated exhaust duct and directional cooling duct outlets, and is supplied with a two-year warranty.

– THE MCe9.0

The largest monobloc in its field, the MCe9.0 is capable of supplying about 9kW of chilled air to two areas simultaneously, and comes with features such as variable fan speed and a thermostat. The product comes with insulated exhaust duct and directional cooling outlets. The MCe9.0 is also able to keep working in lower ambient temperatures, down to around 15C – cooler than most industrial portable air conditioning units. As with the MCe6.0, the MCe9.0 uses low GWP technology and comes with a two-year warranty.

– WATER COOLED SPLIT UNITS

Our compact MCSe7.3 system offers all the benefits of a water-cooled split as it uses water to remove heat as opposed to air. This type of industrial air con unit avoids the derating effect of the condenser synonymous with traditional systems making it incredibly efficient, and is able to provide up to 7.3kW of chilled air. You can store your main unit as far as 30-metres away from the outdoor section, with the system coming complete with a 5-metre umbilical line. The MCSe14.6 is a first class leading portable 14.6kW unit, designed to provide comfort and contentment to workforces across and outside of the UK.

– THE COMCOOL

Finally, our pioneering COMCOOL evaporative cooling system is a large volume, robust and heavy duty evaporative cooler that can produce the equivalent of 20kW of cooling from just 2A by harnessing the cooling effect of evaporation. You can either feed the system directly from a tap or use the internal 90l tank. The system is an ideal match for environments where traditional air conditioning systems cannot meet requirements, such as outdoor areas and large warehouses. The commercial air conditioning unit comes with features including a water filter, a tank purge system, locking casters and submersible pump.

Calculating the amount of cooling required

As with all portable air conditioning, industrial air conditioning is specified by the amount of cooling duty they deliver in either kilowatts (kw) or British thermal units (Btu’s). 1kw = 3412Btu.

Due to the huge number of variables (such as building direction, roof type, insulation type number of people and computers, windows facing the sun etc) in accurately calculating the required cooling capacity it is very difficult to give an exact answer without a site visit. You can however get close enough for 99.9% of applications by using the following rules of thumb:

· Normal, Modern Offices ± 46 W per m³

· Portable Buildings ± 57 W per m³

· Tents/Marquees ± 95 W per m³

Any equipment within the area that generates heat must also be taken into consideration. Following are approximate heat generation values to be allowed for:

PC ± 150w
Laser Printer ± 500w
Photocopier (standby) ± 200w
Photocopier (in use) ± 1000w
Fax Machine ± 500w
Coffee Machine ± 800w
TV/ Video Screen ± 50w

Commercial Applications for portable air conditioning equipment

It would be impossible to list all the possible uses for our industrial cooling and air conditioning here but most tend to go into the Hire Industry, Facilities Management and Event Hire. Below is a list of some of the most popular commercial applications:

• Shops and Offices
• Offices
• Marquees
• Hotels
• Kitchens
• Data Centres
• Portable Buildings
• Events
• Laboratories
• Hospitals
• Gymnasiums
• Server Rooms
• Schools/Colleges
• Shops
• Exhibitions
• Theatres

Considerations for selection and installation

Once the appropriate industrial portable air conditioner has been selected there are several other things to be considered. These include:

1. Where will the hot air be exhausted to? Is there a window or ceiling void that can be used?
2. Is there a 13a 230v socket within 2m (of indoor unit on split types)? The unit must also be situated without obstruction to any airflow, both in and out. PAC equipment uses large amounts of electricity and is therefore unsuitable for use with extension leads and on ring mains with other similarly power draining equipment.
3. When using a split type the room must be within 35m of an appropriate position for the heat exchanger section (It is however recommended that the line length be kept to the minimum possible). Ideally it should be positioned outside as it will expel large quantities of warm air and the condensate. If it is positioned inside then there must be a means of draining this.
4. The heat exchanger should always be placed out of direct sunlight and where it will cause the minimum amount of disruption.

Finally, don’t forget that while most AC manufacturing companies are based in the far east these days we are the UK’s premier AC manufacturers. The advantage to that is full technical support, totally serviceable equipment with complete spare parts availability and most importantly; portable air conditioning that’s built to last.

Get in Touch

Portable air con systems are ideal for environments where emergency, back up or additional cooling is needed for guests, staff or even processes on either a permanent or temporary basis. If you’re looking for an AC manufacturing company, we can provide you with the perfect industrial air conditioning products and cooling fans no matter what your needs or budget are, including energy-efficient systems with low running costs. We can also provide spare parts and help with maintenance whenever required. To find out more about our various air conditioning systems, simply contact us today by calling +44(0)1527 830610 or send a message to sales@broughtoneap.co.uk.