CHICAGO - To meet the candy needs of consumers during Halloween, candy companies produce in excess of demand during the spring and summer months. Recently NuTemp worked on a job where a large candy company had already began increasing their production for the fall season, only to discover that their new warehouse would not be ready until the following spring. The obvious solution was to rent a warehouse until the new facility was open. The only problem was that general-purpose warehouses are not designed to store products, like chocolate, which are temperature sensitive.
After some searching a warehouse was located and NuTemp contacted. The warehouse owner wanted to see if a temporary air conditioning system could be devised that would meet the temperature control requirements for candy storage and still be cost effective. NuTemp sales engineers first met with the candy company to understand the specific temperature and humidity control requirements. Maintaining the quality of stored candy, as it turned out, is much more difficult than keeping people comfortable! For trick-or-treaters to get high quality candy months after it may have been produced, manufacturers have to store it in conditions that have very little fluctuation in temperature or humidity levels. To ensure these levels were properly controlled, the manufacturer indicated that they would install equipment to measure temperature and humidity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Armed with a complete understanding of the manufacturer’s needs, NuTemp began selecting the appropriate equipment from its’ rental fleet. The first selection was the air-handling units. By planning for colder than normal air temperatures the number of air handlers and hence the cost was minimized. For proper control of the humidity in the building a desiccant dehumidifier was included. Finally, an air-cooled, packaged water chiller was selected to supply the air handlers the required chilled water.

To minimize installation cost and intrusion of the equipment into the storage area the air handlers were installed inside the building along one of the exterior walls. The chiller was positioned outside the wall in a parking lot, with the chilled water pumped via hose to the air handlers. The warehouse did not have ductwork for air distribution, so flexible perforated ducts were suspended above the level of the stacked candy.

Upon completing installation, NuTemp employees started the equipment and instructed warehouse personnel on its operation. After the desired temperature and humidity levels were achieved, the candy was brought in. Over time the monitoring instruments showed that both temperature and humidity were maintained within much closer tolerances than specified. The system operated successfully May through October and trick-or-treaters were able to enjoy their Halloween candy just as in years past.