FEBRUARY 2014 | HIRE
AND
RENTAL
NEWS
| 37
PORTABLES
Always required, but rarely thought
of, air conditioning is expected wherever
there’s people, IT equipment or sensitive
machinery. So what happens when the
main air conditioning fails or is down for
maintenance? Here, Active Air Rentals
Director, John Sweeny, talks about the
secret side of portable air conditioners -
their surprisingly varied uses and what
you should know when hiring a unit.
Portable air conditioning has been in
Australia for over 40 years and has seen
exceptional growth due to its easy install,
temporary nature and efficiency.
Most people don’t realise portable air
conditioners vary in size from 3kW to a
huge 20kW making them highly versatile.
They have wheels for easy manoeuvering
and even the large 20kW unit can be
wheeled through a standard doorway. The
majority plug into standard 10amp sockets
and vent through temporary ducting.
Due to their versatility and ease of use,
portable air conditioners are used in places
you would never think of; off-shore oil
rigs, crane cabs, war ships, prisons, mental
The secret life of portable air conditioners
health units, dog kennels,
air craft, super computers,
exclusive VIP events.
As the reliance on IT
ever increases, temporary
portable air conditioners
are now the default choice
for keeping server rooms
cool during scheduled
maintenance or in
emergency breakdowns.
There are a few things
to be aware of when
hiring them for commercial or industrial
use. What needs to be cooled? An office,
marquee, mineshaft, server room? The
whole environment, just the people, a
piece of machinery?
Where will the hot air be vented? Into
the ceiling space, out a window? Is there
enough power? Is there a power socket
available? What else will be using power?
OH&S and placement. Where will the
portable air conditioner be placed? Avoid
creating a trip hazard.
Site access. If the unit is required
anywhere other than a
ground floor, how will it be
lifted? Is there an elevator or
similar?
There are also a few tricks
for new players. The key
to an efficient portable air
conditioner is removing the
heat as quickly as possible.
Try to avoid putting the hot
air back into the existing air
conditioning system as the
heat will enter one part of
the room but appear in another.
Additionally, portable air conditioners
should generally not be used on double
adaptors or power boards due to electrical
draw.
As well as technical requirements, softer
factors are equally important when hiring
a portable air conditioner, including: time
(when will you need the unit? is it an
emergency?); reliability (will the unit be
used to cool critical equipment?) and out
of hours delivery options and availability.
Visit:
HR
Powerlite’s LED floodlight is a quality, heavy duty, high power
rotosymmetrical floodlight with five beam widths, which are
interchangeable without requiring LED replacement.
The Powerlite LED lighting tower features 4 x 400W lamps
incorporating advanced Philips Luxeon ES LED technology
producing 136,000lm, 5mm acrylic resin lenses, die-cast aluminium
body and frame, IP65 weatherproofing, fully customised beam
angle, instant illumination, no warm up or cool down required.
The main feature of Powerlite’s new LED lamp is they can be
retro fitted to existing lighting towers or paired with the SMC TL-
90 lighting tower, featuring: 140 hours run per fuel fill, power lamp
tilt, seven day, 24hr automatic timer, fully bunded, auxiliary power
outlet, battery isolator
switch, compact
design, 12/24V DC LED
trailer lighting, easy
towing and optional
light sensing automatic
control.
Powerlite LED Lamps
and SMC Lighting
Towers are designed
and manufactured
for the toughest
Australian conditions.
For more contact
02 9912 5000 or visit:
HR
LED lighting tower for tough
Australian conditions
John Sweeny
Powerlite’s new LED lamp can be retro fitted to
existing lighting towers
