slowfox: Slowfox' default icon (Default)
[personal profile] slowfox
So, it's a bit chilly in our office this fine morn.

The heating engineer's just been round with his snazzy laser-pointer-thermometer thingy, to reassure us that we're all not actually freezing, and in the process, explained the philosophy of the heating installation we're enjoying.

And it goes like this: the panel radiators around the walls, which have just been fitted with thermostatic valves, run off recovered heat from the air-conditioning system. This is considered a supplementary system to the panel-heaters.

What panel heaters, we wondered, in a state of collective perplexity.

The ceiling mounted ones, came the answer.

Huh. OK - that'd be the ceiling mounted panel heaters that we can't see because of the polystyrene-tile-based floating ceiling that we have, then? Thought as much...

Aside from the fact that hot air isn't well known for falling downward, there's also the slightly odd design decision of then placing an insulating barrier of polystyrene betwixt what little gravity afflicted thermal action might be headed our way and us poor code monkeys.

And all this topped off by a radiator system running off the recovered heat from the air-conditioning, such that when the air conditioning is working hard, the radiators are warm (positive feedback loops FTW!), and when the air-conditioning isn't running, said beasties are stone-cold.

Date: 2009-12-18 11:59 am (UTC)
glittertine: (farscape - Crichton cracks - by iconofil)
From: [personal profile] glittertine
And I wonder why we can't pull off Copenhagen.

What. How. Do these people have brains. This makes no sense OMG why, world.

Date: 2009-12-18 12:41 pm (UTC)
yvi: (Geek - Physics is my boyfriend)
From: [personal profile] yvi
...

What?

(Although I do feel the need to point out that gravity doesn't play that big a role in hot air going up :P)

Date: 2009-12-18 02:16 pm (UTC)
schnurble: (Default)
From: [personal profile] schnurble
re heating panels: The mind boggles

re gravity: in my opinion, gravity is the big source for hot air going up and not just anywhere - because cold air is heavier and gravity makes it go down, it displaces the hot air and thus the hot air has no other choice than going up :o)

Date: 2009-12-18 02:56 pm (UTC)
yvi: Kaylee half-smiling, looking very pretty (Default)
From: [personal profile] yvi
Well, if you put it like that :P I was thinking 'density' and only then 'gravity'. My brain is only capable of thinking as far as the first layer today ;)

Date: 2009-12-18 01:29 pm (UTC)
stripped: (Default)
From: [personal profile] stripped
Last building I worked in was brand new when we moved in. We THOUGHT this meant we'd get decent heating. Except, they installed all the duct work before making the floor plans. Then they put the server room DEAD CENTER of the floor I was on. And since everything was linked... (you can see where this is going, I'm sure...) this resulted in cold air blowing constantly out of our vents all winter.

The temperature in the office was technically 69F which ought to've been bearable, but the windchill from the cold air blowing and the fact that all exterior walls were floor to ceiling windows... and it was an open floor plan except for the server room... yeah, we wore sweaters and fingerless gloves.

Now I work in a basement, and every time my hands warm up I go check to see if they turned off the A/C to my server room. Pesky A/C setups from the 70s are really not meant to handle basement server rooms!

Date: 2009-12-18 03:34 pm (UTC)
owl: cup of espresso with a Dreamwidth swirl of milk (coffee)
From: [personal profile] owl
I have not met the corporate heating system that actually did make sense. They tried to make ours work the same across all the floors of the building. After two days of cold gales throughout the building, Systems conceded defeat. This winter they have decided to provide us with company-branded indoor fleeces, rather than letting the temperature go beyond alleged 21 degrees.

Date: 2009-12-19 10:44 pm (UTC)
owl: girl with laptop (laptop)
From: [personal profile] owl
I played it safe and went for the navy.

To be fair, the building did come with one of those fancy modern aircon systems that don't really work preinstalled, and apparently getting it to be warm everywhere would take a dedicated oil rig to fuel it, or somesuch, and if it comes down to a choice between heating an keeping your job, well. Plus at least it's cool in summer, unlike the previous building. You can put on extra layers, but there's not a lot you can do when you're already down to a thin shirt and you're still too warm.

Date: 2009-12-18 09:06 pm (UTC)
aome: (fucking serious)
From: [personal profile] aome
In other words, I should have sent you some warm fingerless gloves?

Date: 2009-12-18 10:51 pm (UTC)
carolanne5: (Default)
From: [personal profile] carolanne5
You'd think the UK could master heating, we get lost of practice. I don't think I've ever worked anywhere with decent heating, but your place takes the biscuit, ceiling mounted heaters? Dumbfounded.

Date: 2009-12-19 01:48 am (UTC)
linaelyn: (Pants of Gondor)
From: [personal profile] linaelyn
The... wait...

Okay, but...

Um...

*boggles*

I got nuthin'.

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