Saving Energy: Know-How Matters

Saving energy and energy efficiency are two important instruments for reducing production costs. The reason: Energy that is saved is still the cheapest energy. With energy prices on the rise, optimizing energy consumption becomes more and more important. 

Examples of this also include extraction plants, where energy requirements and energy consumption can be significantly optimized through the right plant concept and the consistent design of individual components such as fans and filters. The pipe network is enormously important, especially with respect to its layout, dimensioning and the choice of molded parts. 

The art of energy efficiency lies in the process of optimizing current production processes. For the most part, the potential for saving energy with existing equipment is overlooked at first glance. The prerequisite here is a thorough knowledge of the processes involved and the necessary know-how to analyze the situation in order to implement the required measures. 

In an example from this year, Scheuch performed testing at a well-known Austrian manufacturer of wooden floor panels to determine if extraction performance at the production machinery was still adequate with a reduction in airflow volume. The goal was to reduce fan energy costs by reducing the quantities of air. 

At little expense, simulations were performed using different volumes of air to determine what performance level was still adequate for an efficient extraction effect. After a three-month period in which the operator monitored the results, no significant differences to previous results were found with respect to machine soiling, increased cleaning expenditures, tool soiling and quality of the final product. As a result, the two plants were permanently converted based on this outcome. The results were quite noteworthy: The decrease in power consumption predicted by Scheuch exactly matched the actually measured reduction. 

Cost savings for the operator were so impressive that Scheuch was commissioned to convert five additional plants in the same manner. Overall, energy savings per year in Euros amount to a six-figure sum. These potential savings can be generated without significant effort or expense.