It’s common knowledge in the manufacturing world that energy bills rise in winter. One of the main reasons for this – a seasonal increased demand for natural gas that drives up prices – we unfortunately can’t change. We can, however, take steps to winterize our facilities for greater energy efficiency in manufacturing.
To help you cut down on your energy bills during the colder months, we’re sharing our top tips for winter energy saving tips for manufacturing plants. This advice, straight from the heat recovery experts at PRE-heat, will set you up for energy savings for years to come.
Optimize Your Heat Exchangers
As an industry leader perfectly positioned to design and install a heat exchanger system tailored to your manufacturing plant, this is where PRE-heat shines. Our heat recovery systems capture exhaust air, heat it, and reuse it in other areas of your production process that need hot air. This significantly reduces heating costs. In fact, our waste heat recovery units pay for themselves within five years and recover up to 70% of exhausted energy.
We highlight the heat exchanger models we produce and the wide variety of industries we work with in a previous blog. We highly recommend giving it a read if you’re new to heat exchanger systems and would like to learn more.
Calibrate Your Heating Systems
We recommend setting and maintaining one temperature on your thermostat throughout the work day as opposed to adjusting it throughout the day. Frequent fluctuations will add up on your energy bill. Plus, the production process benefits from a consistent temperature as it helps to ensure a consistent product composition, texture and appearance.
After work hours, it’s wise to lower your thermostat because production is halted, and since workers aren’t present there’s no need to align with OSHA temperature recommendations (68-76°F). We recommend using a programmable thermostat to lower the temperature by about 10°F overnight; going lower than this will likely cause a surge of energy usage the following morning as your heating system returns your facility’s temperature to the desired daytime temperature.
Also, check on your furnaces and boilers and make sure they receive regular maintenance. Poorly performing furnaces and boilers will drive up your bills. Well maintained equipment will boost efficiency and lower bills.
Seal Your Building Envelope
Your building’s envelope consists of everything that separates the interior from the exterior: the foundation, floors, walls, windows, doors, and roof. It’s crucial to ensure you have a tight seal on your building envelope when the winter months arrive and cold air starts to creep in. Insulate all areas of your building envelope, even small window gaps and pipe penetrations, to keep the cold air out and the hot air in. To prevent cold air entering at your loading dock, install a dock seal or dock shelter.
Fine-Tune Your Compressed Air Systems
When was the last time you inspected your compressed air system? A leaky system will perform suboptimally year-round, but hazards are even worse in winter. Moisture freezing will quickly expand cracks in the system, cold air can stiffen parts and components which will lead to additional leaks, and an overall reduction in dryer efficiency will create more condensation. By swiftly repairing leaks and properly insulating your compressed air systems, your system will perform as desired and use less energy.
Bonus tip: place your air pipes in warmer areas of your facility to lessen your compressor’s workload.
Streamline Your Ventilation Systems
If you’re still using constant exhaust ventilation (CAV), it’s time to transition to demand controlled ventilation (DCV). CSV runs at a fixed rate that is difficult to control and oftentimes wasteful. DCV, on the other hand, uses sensors to increase airflow when needed and decrease airflow when it’s not needed. This sensing ability promotes optimal energy efficiency.
Furthermore, make sure you have enough ceiling fans to lower hot air that rises. Circulating that warm air reduces the strain on your heating system.
Monitor Your Energy Usage
The best way to implement an efficient heating strategy is to know your facility inside and out. We recommend tracking your energy usage patterns; identifying spikes and locating the cause will make it clear to you what solutions are needed – especially in winter. Take thermal imaging scans of your plant to get a visual map of heat loss areas. Doing this during the coldest time of year will give you the clearest picture of where cold air is leaking in.
Partner with PRE-heat
PRE-heat has been innovating the heat exchanger industry for four decades. We specialize in designing and producing custom heat exchangers that are tailored to each client’s specific needs. Whatever industry you work in and whatever heating issues you face, PRE-heat is ready to get to work and cut your energy costs.
Contact us to start your project or reach out to our sales team at sales@pre-heat.com and (920) 564-6876.
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