HVLS fans and air conditioning solve different problems. HVLS fans move air to support comfort where people work; air conditioning removes heat and, when designed and operated for it, moisture. Choose between them by defining the conditions your warehouse must maintain, not by comparing the purchase price of a fan with the price of a cooling system.
A warehouse manager may ask for “better cooling” while describing several separate needs: a stagnant packing area, uncomfortable picking aisles, temperature-sensitive goods, or humid air entering through loading doors. Those needs do not automatically require the same equipment. A useful comparison starts with the problem and ends with a measurable result.