Maintenance Zurich 2026: Why shortwave infrared heaters and evaporative coolers make sense in Swiss halls

Every year, Maintenance Zurich brings together maintenance and facility management experts from Switzerland and the surrounding Alpine region. One topic that is becoming increasingly important but is often considered too late is the indoor climate in workshops, maintenance halls, and service areas. Large hall volumes, frequently opened doors for vehicle and machinery movements, and changing workstations make conventional heating and cooling particularly inefficient here—exactly where our solutions come in.

Heat where the work is done, not where the air is

In maintenance halls and workshops, work is rarely carried out in one fixed location: vehicles, machines, and equipment are serviced at changing stations, doors are opened for deliveries or maneuvering, and ceiling heights are often considerable. Conventional warm-air heating mainly heats the air beneath the hall roof, where nobody is working. Our shortwave TEL Forza infrared heaters target the workstations directly, for example above vehicle lifts, test benches, or assembly workstations:

• No warm-up time: immediately ready for use again whenever doors are opened for vehicles entering or leaving
• Targeted rather than area-wide heating: heat exactly where maintenance teams are actually working
• Efficient even in halls with high ceilings: ideal for vehicle halls, test benches, and workshops with high ceilings
• Output levels from 1.5 to 12 kW: suitable sizing from small repair stations to large maintenance halls

Cooling in summer: evaporative cooling instead of conventional air conditioning

In summer, the challenge is reversed: workshops and maintenance halls heat up significantly due to machine heat, welding and testing work, and solar radiation. Conventional compressor-based cooling is often neither economical nor technically practical in the mostly open, large-volume hall structures. Our mobile adiabatic evaporative coolers from the OKM Series offer an efficient alternative:

• Significantly lower electricity consumption than conventional compressor-based cooling, because only water is evaporated instead of operating a refrigerant circuit
• Mobile use: flexibly positioned at changing workstations, for example directly beside vehicle lifts or testing areas
• No closed system required: also works with open doors and permeable hall structures, as are typical in workshops
• Can be combined with fresh-air supply: provides cooling and air exchange at the same time, which is particularly relevant when working with emissions or odors

Particularly effective in Switzerland’s energy mix

Switzerland already covers around 64 percent of its energy consumption from renewable sources, primarily hydropower. Combined with this energy base, our infrared heaters and evaporative coolers can be operated with particularly low emissions. Since our shortwave infrared heaters work directly at the workstation without warm-up time and the OKM evaporative coolers require significantly less electricity than conventional compressor-based cooling, the hall’s total energy demand is noticeably reduced—an advantage that is particularly apparent in Switzerland’s electricity mix, with its high share of renewable energy.

Also available for ATEX zones

Potentially explosive atmospheres can also arise in maintenance halls and workshops due to solvents, painting work, or fuels. For use in such areas, we also offer infrared heaters for ATEX zones 2 and 22 on request. Please contact us directly if required; together with you, we will assess which version is suitable for your zone classification.

A year-round solution from a single source

Whether winter hall heating with TEL Forza or summer cooling with the OKM Series, both systems are specially designed for large, open spaces such as those typically found in maintenance halls, workshops, and technical operating areas. For facility managers and maintenance managers in Switzerland, this means a year-round climate solution from a single source—efficient, low-emission, and without compromising on investment costs.