When a commercial or industrial site needs temporary cooling, the first question should not always be: How big is the room? A better question can be: What actually needs to be cooled?
Sometimes the objective is to maintain conditions throughout an enclosed room. In other applications, only a workstation, machine, server rack, production area or group of employees needs cooling.
That distinction determines whether spot cooling or whole-room cooling is likely to be more practical. Aircon Rentals provides both commercial portable air conditioner hire and dedicated spot cooler hire.
Spot cooling and whole-room cooling describe the cooling objective rather than a specific type of equipment. A portable air conditioner may be used for either approach depending on the room, heat load and installation conditions.
Spot cooling targets people, workstations and equipment, while whole-room cooling maintains conditions across an enclosed space.
What Is Spot Cooling?
Spot cooling directs conditioned air toward a specific person, piece of equipment or work area rather than trying to control the temperature throughout the entire surrounding space.
It can suit applications such as workstations, machinery, server racks, production equipment, packing stations and selected areas within larger warehouses or industrial facilities.
Aircon Rentals’ 4.5kW Mobile Spot Cooling Unit and 6.1kW Portable Cooling Unit Hire are designed for commercial and industrial applications where refrigerated air needs to be directed to a specific area.
Portable spot cooling unit installed inside a retail environment, with ducting used to direct conditioned air and remove heat from the space.
When Does Spot Cooling Make Sense?
Large Open Areas
Trying to air-condition an entire warehouse or production facility can require considerable capacity. If the requirement is limited to several staffed work zones, spot cooling can focus the available capacity where people actually need it.
Production Equipment
Machinery can generate concentrated heat. In these situations, the requirement may be cooling around the equipment or operator rather than the entire building.
IT and Electrical Equipment
A particular rack, cabinet or electrical system may create a localised heat load even when the wider room does not require the same level of cooling.
Temporary HVAC Failure
If permanent building cooling fails, spot cooling can prioritise critical areas while repairs are completed.
Real Project: Spot Cooling a Working Restaurant
A Sydney fast-food restaurant lost its permanent HVAC system during hot weather. Instead of attempting to temporarily replace the entire central system, Aircon Rentals installed 4.5kW mobile spot coolers where cooling was most needed in the kitchen and front-of-house areas.
Hot discharge air was ducted away from staff and customers, and the restaurant remained operational throughout the repairs.
Read the Temporary Restaurant Cooling Case Study
This is a strong example of targeted cooling because the immediate objective was supporting people in the highest-priority areas, not conditioning every cubic metre of the building.
What Is Whole-Room Cooling?
Whole-room cooling aims to maintain more consistent conditions throughout an enclosed space rather than directing cooled air at one specific person, machine or work area.
It can suit applications such as offices, meeting rooms, boardrooms, small retail areas, server rooms, temporary buildings and other enclosed commercial spaces.
For whole-room cooling to work effectively, the space generally needs to be sufficiently enclosed so the temporary system can manage the heat load and distribute cooled air throughout the room.
Real Project: Whole-Room Cooling for a Boardroom
Aircon Rentals was called when permanent building air conditioning failed before an important C-suite meeting. A 4.8kW water-cooled split system was used to cool the boardroom while allowing the heat-rejection section of the equipment to be positioned away from the occupied meeting space.
Read the Boardroom Temporary Cooling Case Study
Here, the goal was different from the restaurant. The requirement was to maintain suitable conditions throughout an enclosed meeting room rather than directing cooling at a particular workstation or machine.
The Key Difference Is the Cooling Objective
The main question is not simply how large the space is. It is what actually needs to be cooled.
If only a workstation, machine, rack or small work zone needs cooling, spot cooling may be the more practical approach.
If the objective is to maintain more consistent conditions throughout an enclosed room, whole-room cooling may be more appropriate.
Warehouse Example
A 1,500m² warehouse has six employees concentrated around two packing stations. The business may not need the entire warehouse conditioned to an office-like temperature. Cooling those work areas may be enough.
Meeting Room Example
A 30m² meeting room contains 15 people. Everyone occupies the same enclosed space, so maintaining suitable conditions throughout the room becomes more important.
Floor area alone does not determine the right temporary cooling approach.
Room Size Is Only the Starting Point
Floor area alone does not determine whether spot cooling or whole-room cooling is the better option.
Other factors can include:
- Ceiling height
- Occupancy
- Machinery or equipment heat
- Computers and servers
- Solar load
- Insulation
- Ventilation
- Ambient temperature
- Required temperature
See our Portable Air Conditioner Sizing Guide for a more detailed explanation of cooling-load factors.
Can Spot Cooling Reduce the Temporary Capacity Required?
Potentially. If only a small part of a large building requires cooling, targeting that area can avoid trying to condition the entire space.
For example, cooling two staffed packing stations inside a large warehouse may require significantly less temporary capacity than attempting to cool the whole warehouse.
But spot cooling is not automatically the better option. If the objective is to maintain a consistent temperature throughout an enclosed room, whole-room cooling may be more appropriate.
For the factors that influence weekly equipment hire and total project cost, see our Portable Air Conditioner Hire Cost Guide.
Heat Still Needs Somewhere to Go
Depending on the equipment and site conditions, this may involve:
· Flexible exhaust ducting
· Ceiling access
· External discharge
· A remote heat-rejection unit
· A water-cooled split configuration
Where ceiling space is being considered for temporary air conditioning ducting, see our Ceiling Types for Temporary Air Conditioning Installation guide for more detail on common ceiling configurations and installation considerations.
If conventional hot-air exhaust is difficult, see our Air-Cooled vs Water-Cooled Portable Air Conditioner Guide.
When Is Whole-Room Cooling Better?
Whole-room cooling is generally more appropriate when the objective is to maintain suitable conditions throughout an enclosed space rather than cooling only selected people, equipment or work zones.
- The entire space requires a controlled temperature
- Occupants move throughout the room
- Heat-producing equipment is distributed across the space
- Temperature variation needs to be limited
- The room is reasonably enclosed
- Cooled air can be distributed effectively
In these situations, the temporary cooling setup should be selected around the total room heat load rather than a few localised hot spots.
What If the Whole Space Is Too Large for Portable AC?
Several portable units are not always the most practical way to cool a large commercial or industrial space.
Where the cooling requirement is higher, a larger temporary HVAC system such as a reverse cycle package unit may provide a more effective whole-space.
Multiple portable units can suit smaller, targeted cooling needs, while larger temporary HVAC systems may be more practical for whole-space cooling and higher heat loads.
Aircon Rentals’ HVAC upgrade project illustrates this well. Portable spot coolers were initially installed, but unusually hot weather and increased customer numbers, increased the temporary cooling requirement. Aircon Rentals then installed a 40kW package unit with temporary supply and return ductwork connected into the building.
Read the HVAC Upgrade Temporary Cooling Case Study
This is a good example of why the cooling objective and total heat load should be assessed before simply adding more portable units.
For larger applications, see our Reverse Cycle Package Unit Hire range.
What If Cooling Is Needed During Planned HVAC Works?
If permanent HVAC equipment is being serviced, upgraded or replaced, the temporary cooling requirement should be planned before the shutdown begins.
Depending on the building and cooling load, the solution may involve portable air conditioners, spot coolers or a larger temporary HVAC system.
Temporary equipment can often be delivered, positioned, connected and tested before the permanent system is taken offline.
For more detail, see our Temporary Air Conditioning During HVAC Maintenance or Replacement Guide.
Questions to Ask Before Choosing
Before selecting temporary cooling equipment, ask:
- What actually needs cooling: people, equipment, a work zone or the entire room?
- Does the whole space need a controlled temperature?
- How large is the affected area?
- What is producing the heat?
- How many people occupy the area?
- Is the space enclosed?
- Where can rejected heat go?
- What electrical power is available?
- Are there access, ducting or hose-routing restrictions?
- How long will temporary cooling be required?
These questions are usually more useful than floor area alone when deciding between spot cooling and whole-room cooling.
Need Help Choosing the Right Temporary Cooling Setup?
If you are unsure whether spot cooling or whole-room cooling is more appropriate, Aircon Rentals can assess the cooling objective, heat load, site conditions and installation requirements.
Depending on the application, the solution may involve:
- Spot Cooler Hire
- Commercial Portable Air Conditioner Hire
- Reverse Cycle Package Unit Hire for larger whole-space requirements
Request a Temporary Cooling Quote
Call 1800 626 996