PalmSHIELD’s Louvered Screening Benefits

You probably know that PalmSHIELD’s louvered mechanical equipment screening provides excellent ventilation and helps improve a work area’s aesthetics. Did you also know that it helps provide protection from the elements? Our screening has been engineered to meet ASCE 7-16 and IBC standards on wind loads. Buy why is this important in the first place? According to FEMA’s report on rooftop equipment in high-wind regions, “Observations after the 2017 hurricanes have once again shown that rooftop equipment is often damaged during high winds. Damaged equipment can impair the operation of the facility, and the equipment can detach and become damaging wind-borne debris. In addition, water can enter the facility where equipment was displaced or damaged.” And in a recent study by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety and the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers it was found that “fully enclosed screen wall configurations do lower wind loads on the equipment it protects.”

Mechanical equipment screening designed to meet the wind load codes set forth by the IBC and ASCE7-16 helps protect expensive mechanical equipment. This has the potential to save projects from needless additional expenses and difficulties associated that come with the unexpected loss of equipment. Associated costs with an unusable building include:

Revenue lost due to the closure
Fixed expenses, such as rent and utility costs for the unusable location
Expenses of operating from a temporary location
Advertising to announce a new temporary location
Interruption in production

So, when designing projects, architects need assurance that the screening will be able to stand up to a region’s wind load. For this reason, we encourage not using non-engineered systems and instead choosing PalmSHIELD’s louvered rooftop mechanical equipment screen! Free specifications, engineering documents, and CAD drawings are available on our website to help make the designing process of your next project easier.