Warehouse facilities are buildings designed for the storage of goods. In addition to logistical requirements, they must also meet the energy efficiency expectations of investors and tenants.
While newly constructed rental facilities or those built to order are designed with energy efficiency in mind from the planning stage onward, existing buildings can only be adapted to meet current needs by implementing specific measures aimed at reducing electricity and heat consumption.
What is energy efficiency?
Energy efficiency refers to the relationship between the energy used and the results achieved—that is, performance, benefits, or end results. This means that energy efficiency involves achieving the greatest possible value, results, or services with minimal energy consumption. It aims to optimize the use of available energy, minimize losses, and reduce the negative impact on the environment. It is an important aspect of sustainable development and the conservation of energy resources.
Warehouse Facilities and Energy Efficiency
In the case of buildings, including warehouses, energy efficiency may involve the use of thermal insulation, energy-efficient lighting systems, as well as heating and cooling equipment and systems that reduce energy consumption.
Energy efficiency in a tent hall and a building with good thermal insulation
When considering how to reduce energy consumption in warehouse facilities, thereby improving the facility’s energy efficiency, it is important to realize that much depends on the specific solution chosen. In tent-style warehouse halls, for obvious reasons, it is not possible to achieve as good performance as in steel-framed facilities with walls or roofs made of sandwich panels. Similarly, it is more difficult to reduce energy consumption in high-bay warehouses than in low-bay facilities.
How should a warehouse space be designed with energy efficiency in mind?
Warehouse facilities currently being designed must meet high standards of energy efficiency. Increasingly, clients commissioning warehouse space expect these facilities to be built as large-scale passive buildings.
Warehouse – where can you find ways to save on energy?
In the case of a newly constructed warehouse, energy efficiency considerations are taken into account as early as the design phase. But what if the property already exists and is in use? How can the facility be adapted to specific requirements related to the building’s energy management? A warehouse located on a specific plot of land, with walls of a certain thickness made of specific building materials, can be adapted to requirements related to reducing energy consumption in many ways, including:
- by investing in energy-efficient machinery,
- by carrying out thermal retrofitting of the building, replacing the windows and doors,
- by investing in renewable energy sources,
- by replacing the light sources with LEDs,
- by automating the management of a building's lighting, heating, and cooling systems.
Good insulation performance in warehouse buildings
Thermal insulation is one of the key aspects of energy efficiency. In addition to insulating walls and roofs, special attention should be paid to entry doors in warehouse facilities. These doors are a weak link when it comes to a building’s insulation. They remain open for most of the day, leading to heat loss and annoying drafts. It is worth noting that drafts are not only a nuisance for warehouse employees but also lead to increased humidity and, as a result, more frequent operation of dehumidification systems.
As a result, unsecured doors lead to increased energy consumption and, consequently, reduced energy efficiency in the building. This efficiency can be improved by using commercially available PVC curtains designed in such a way that they do not hinder the use of the doors while simultaneously preventing cold and damp air from entering the building.
How to Save Electricity – LED
Although warehousing does not typically require high-intensity lighting, even the mere storage of goods necessitates at least a minimum level of brightness in warehouse facilities. Low-wattage LED lighting is currently the most cost-effective option. It is worth noting that a 6–8 W LED light source is equivalent to a traditional 60 W incandescent bulb. Therefore, simply replacing existing light sources with LED-based lighting already yields significant energy savings.
Automation systems – lighting, heating, cooling
An automated warehouse, like any other building, typically results in greater savings on heating and electricity. Lighting controls eliminate areas that remain lit when it is not necessary. Similarly, heating and cooling controls allow for temperature optimization based on current needs.
Warehouses and Renewable Energy Sources
The weather conditions in our climate zone allow for the relatively efficient use of renewable energy from photovoltaics. Although energy for warehouse facilities can also be obtained from other renewable sources, photovoltaic cells are by far the most prevalent option, for both climatic and legal reasons.
It is worth noting that solar energy yields are highest during the spring and summer months, while in the fall and winter, the amount of energy generated by photovoltaics is significantly lower. According to some experts in the field, combining solar panels with small, local wind turbines would be beneficial for generating energy for personal use. This would benefit warehouses located in areas with strong winds. The nature of wind power generation is the opposite of that of photovoltaics in the sense that the highest yields occur in the fall and winter, while they drop significantly in the spring and summer.
Many warehouse complexes would benefit from such a solution, and it may become possible in Poland in the near future—the current legal framework significantly restricts the use of wind turbines, although changes are moving in a direction favorable to supporters of wind energy.
Energy storage as a complement to renewable energy sources
Although energy from renewable sources is free and environmentally friendly, it has one major drawback: its production is unpredictable because it depends on weather conditions. When deciding on a modern warehouse equipped with photovoltaics (panels can be installed on the roof, if the structure allows it, but also in the area in front of or behind the warehouse), it is also worth considering energy storage systems.
These are usually rechargeable batteries or standard batteries that allow for the storage of excess energy when production exceeds demand, and for the use of that stored energy when the panels are not generating power (at night) or are generating too little.
Warehouse spaces powered by energy storage systems are a great way to reduce electricity consumption from the grid, but their cost-effectiveness remains an economic challenge. The cost of energy storage systems is relatively high, and the return on investment is still too low for this solution to be widely adopted in warehouse buildings.
