A dry cleaners has heat from presses, irons and tumblers, and a solvent process that belongs to a specialist extraction and machine design. Comfort cooling can serve the counter and the finishing area where people stand. It must not recirculate process air through the comfort coil, and this page does not design that extraction. Keep the indoor unit in the occupied air, clear of the plant exhaust. An F-gas certified company installs the comfort refrigerant circuit only.
Press heat where the finisher stands
Pressing stations are hot, radiant and occupied for a full shift. A split can make that standing zone more reasonable. It cannot make a buck press cool. Tell the cooling survey that the process exists so they do not site a cassette in it. Include press heat in the people-zone load.
The glazed counter and the hotter finishing rail
The customer counter is often a small glazed front with a door. The finishing area is hotter and further back. They may need different indoors if a door or a rack wall divides them.
Staff comfort is an HSE workplace temperature question: reasonable comfort, no legal maximum, with radiant heat from presses described honestly. Customers are in and out. Design for the people who finish garments all day.
Ducts, tanks and a coil that must keep its own air
Rear yards already hold ducts, tanks and condensers from the cleaning plant. The comfort outdoor unit needs its own airflow and a coil that will not sit in a solvent or lint exhaust. Service access has to remain for both trades.
Condensate, landlord consent and a dedicated electrical circuit are the usual shop items. Do not tee the cooling electrics off a machine isolator. Filter access in a finishing area has to be possible among rails without a ladder over a hot press. An F-gas certified company installs the comfort system alone.
Frequently asked questions
Can air conditioning extract solvent fumes?
No. This page does not design extraction, and a comfort split must not be used as one. Process air stays with the specialist system. The split only cools occupied air that is clear of that process.
Will cooling fix the heat at the presses?
It can improve the air where the finisher stands. It will not remove radiant heat from the press itself. Put that heat in the load and keep the unit out of the process exhaust.
Should the solvent machine room be on the same system?
No. Do not open a solvent machine room onto the comfort coil to share the cool. Cool the counter and finishing area as occupied rooms.
Will this page set solvent extract rates?
No. This page will not set extract rates, solvent limits or machine-room ventilation. Those stay with the plant supplier and whoever is competent for that system.
Can a finer filter sit in the process air?
No. If process air can reach the return, move the unit or fix the capture. Do not paper over it with a filter upgrade.
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How this guide was prepared
This guide was written by the Local AC Installers Editorial Team. We compare official guidance, legislation and established consumer information, separate general information from project-specific advice, and show publication dates and sources. We do not accept installer accreditation claims at face value.