Industrial Air Conditioning
Factories, data centers, large production facilities, and warehouses with climate control requirements… for such places, a high-performance HVAC system is critical to regular operations. Unlike residential-grade hardware, industrial air conditioning units must run reliably under stress, handle extreme conditions, and be built to last without failing at a critical moment.
If you’re looking for a supplier and contractor of industrial HVAC systems for your operations, Varcoe has decades of experience providing these mission-critical systems to thousands of businesses throughout New Zealand. Here’s everything you need to know about these machines—what they can do, the various types available, and whether you need them.
Who Needs an Industrial Air Conditioning System?
At Varcoe, we’ve worked with customers in many different industries, all with different cooling and heating needs.
- Food production. Businesses in the food industry (canning, meat packing, etc.) often need heavy-duty refrigeration systems to conform to health and safety requirements.
- Data centers. Servers generate a massive amount of heat and must be cooled continuously, typically requiring multiple redundant cooling systems.
- Pharmaceutical manufacturing. Extremely tight tolerance with high compliance requirements, as a properly-cooled production line is crucial to having safe, quality pharmaceutical products.
- Electronics manufacturing. Many processes in electronic manufacturing lines are climate-sensitive, which means humidity and temperature must be tightly controlled to prevent defects.
- Warehousing. Perishables and other sensitive goods need temperature control to last for a long time. In large warehouses, an industrial-scale cooling solution is needed for the goods inside to last.
What Makes It Industrial
Capacity
Size is the number one thing – these machines can cool down hundreds, even thousands, of cubic meters of space, not just a single room. So, a well-constructed industrial system can help you regulate the temperature of an entire facility.
Heat Load
Industrial air conditioning systems are often employed in places containing machinery that generates continuous, high heat, such as manufacturing facilities. Recently, there has been a string of data centers popping up throughout New Zealand – such facilities contain equipment that may break down or shut off if ambient temperature or humidity isn’t properly controlled. An industrial-sized HVAC system can help with precisely that.
High Reliability
At home, if your AC fails, it’s merely an inconvenience at most. But for places like factories or data centers, every second of the HVAC system not working (and thus, the equipment that relies on them) can cost the operator thousands of dollars, potentially even millions in production time, damaged equipment.
As such, a hallmark of an industrial system is high “uptime” – meaning they must reliably operate 24/7/365. Even in the event that there’s a fault or an emergency in the system, they must come with backup and mitigating systems to lessen the potential impact to business as much as possible.
Types of Systems
Today, depending on your needs, you’ll find several categories of industrial HVAC systems. A couple of them are:
Chilled water systems.
Central cooling loop with chiller units and distribution throughout. Scales to any size. Handles complex layouts with multiple zones needing different temperatures.
Large ducted systems.
Roof-mounted heat pump units with ductwork throughout the building. High capacity. Handles open floor plans and production areas.
Spot-cooling systems.
Targeted cooling for specific equipment, such as the server room or processing area, not the whole facility.
Modular systems.
Multiple units that can be added or removed as needs change. Scalable. Start small and expand.
Variables You Need to Factor In
- Window size and type: Large windows or single glazing? Add 10%. Double glazing helps a lot.
- How new is your house: Older homes leak heat. Newer homes (especially post-2016) are more airtight.
- Sunlight exposure: A north-facing room gets passive solar heat in winter. Reduce your calculation by 5–10% if it’s sunny.
- Ceiling height: Standard is 2.4m. Higher ceilings? Multiply by 1.2–1.5 for the extra volume.
- North vs. South Island: South Island’s colder, so you need extra capacity.
The Design Process
Installing an industrial AC system is definitely not a DIY job. There’s a lot of careful assessments and calculations involved, taking into account every facet of your actual operation.
Where are the heat sources that need cooling located? All the machinery and their heat output? Where are the people seated? Any sensitive data equipment that needs extra care? At what temperature and humidity level is the facility best maintained?
Each of these questions needs to be answered and can significantly change a HVAC system’s layout. Some manufacturing facilities require only a well-thought-out and installed HVAC systems. Other, like data centers, are less forgiving, requiring extremely tight tolerances and multiple backups.
So knowing precisely what we’re dealing with, then designing around your operation and its processes is how any respectable industrial HVAC contractor would approach the design process, which can take anywhere from weeks to months.
Installation and Maintenance
Once the plan has been finalized, installation can take place. The entire process can take weeks as we run ducting through ceilings, mount and test large outdoor equipment feeding fresh air into the system (or pumping hot, spent air out). In virtually all cases, we also need to handle a significant amount of electrical and plumbing work.
We’ll coordinate closely with your operation to determine what level of disruption you can tolerate and when. If needed, we’ll handle the installation in phases.
As for maintenance, despite being constructed for robustness and reliability, industrial systems require regular servicing to remain in top shape. Filters need to be changed periodically, coils cleaned, the refrigerant reservoir checked, the compressor serviced, and the electrical system inspected. Most industrial systems also include automated monitoring systems, with sensors that track temperature and humidity and alert you if anything drifts out of specification.
To address issues before they impact your operations, we offer maintenance contracts with scheduled visits, remote monitoring (where supported), and priority service if something goes wrong.
Cost and Reliability
You’re looking at anywhere between $20,000 to $100,000+, depending on the size and the complexity of the final system. However, the cost isn’t the measure you should be focusing on. Instead, look at whether the system will work reliably and protect your operation for months, even years, from now. A failed AC system costing $50,000 to fix is more expensive than a well-designed one costing $80,000 upfront, but needs minimal maintenance.
For extremely critical operations, we also design systems with added redundancy – so you’d get two chillers instead of just one, as well as backup cooling units with failover logic, so if the primary cooling system fails, the secondary takes over automatically. Such systems will obviously be more expensive, but worth it for the peace of mind.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How long does the design and assessment phase typically take, and can we expedite it?
Design usually takes weeks to months depending on facility complexity. If you have tight deadlines, discuss this upfront – we can sometimes accelerate the process with intensive on-site assessments and parallel design work. However, rushing the design phase often leads to oversized, inefficient, or unreliable systems, so it’s worth allowing proper time.
What happens during the site assessment – what information do you actually need?
We map heat sources and machinery locations, check your electrical infrastructure, examine existing ductwork or space constraints, assess humidity and temperature zones, and understand your production processes. Basically, we need to see your facility in operation and understand where climate control matters most. Bring operational staff who can explain what happens in each area.
Do you provide references from other facilities in similar industries?
Yes. We’ve worked with food production, pharmaceutical, data center, and warehousing clients throughout New Zealand. We can connect you with references in your industry so you can speak directly with operators about their experience, system reliability, and whether the investment paid off.
What's the typical lifespan of an industrial HVAC system, and when do major components need replacement?
Can your team handle the electrical and plumbing work, or do we need to hire separate contractors?
Let's Understand Your Operation!
Ring 0800 088 888 or email quotes@varcoe.co.nz. Let’s talk about your business, your processes, and your requirements. We’ll assess your facility to design the right system for your needs!