ENGINEERED energy and temperature control solutions provider, Aggreko, is urging construction managers to revise their cooling strategies following warnings from scientists that extreme weather could be in store in the coming months.
Global sea temperatures of 21°C were reported last month – the second highest on record for the month of April – with scientists now pointing to another El Niño warming cycle that could intensify extreme weather.
With a long hot summer potentially in store, Chris Smith, head of temperature control at Aggreko, says the construction industry should review its cooling infrastructure now.
“We need only look back at 2024 to see what El Niño might have in store for us this year,” he said. “Summer temperatures regularly exceeded 30°C, placing immense pressure on construction cooling infrastructure and even leading to full-blown equipment failure in worst-case scenarios.
“The reality is, current cooling strategies simply aren’t designed to deal with this kind of weather, or to operate in these temperature ranges. For this reason, now is the time to start reviewing current cooling infrastructure to assess whether it’s still fit for purpose, so the right measures can be brought in ahead of time.
“The main thing to look out for is ageing assets, as these are at the greatest risk of lower efficiency, overheating, and failure. Engaging with a specialist temperature control partner can help implement temporary cooling and industrial HVAC solutions to bridge gaps during equipment failures, manage seasonal demand peaks, and provide N+1 redundancy for greater operational resilience.”
Aggreko’s 2025 report, Building in Resilience: Weather Proofing European Construction in a Changing Climate, revealed that 71% of UK construction managers surveyed had faced major delays due to extreme weather conditions.
Hybridised packages consisting of battery energy storage systems (BESS) and temporary chillers or cold storage units are becoming increasingly popular.
Chris added, “While we’ll have to wait and see what the summer has planned for us, now is nonetheless a prime time to re-evaluate cooling strategies and identify where efficiency gains can be made. Procuring temporary cooling from a third-party specialist not only allows access to the latest, high-efficiency technology, but also opens the door to a number of creative solutions, such a hybridisation, which just aren’t feasible in-house.”
