Closer inspection showed where savings could be made

• Domestic appliance-maker shaved € 14 000 off energy bill in first year
• Paid back its energy-efficiency measures in four months 

General Domestic Appliances Ltd. is a manufacturer of cookers based in Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, the UK. As part of a continuous programme to improve quality and energy efficiency in the factory, the company decided to look at the energy consumption of its wet fume extraction plant, which extracts waste vitreous enamel from four paint booths.

Some of the paint booths were not in constant use and were closed off by a mechanical shutter. However, a 132 kW fan used to extract the waste enamel was still running at a constant speed, wasting energy and money.

An energy appraisal of the plant showed that the speed of the fan could be reduced by 20 %, bringing a 56 % reduction in power from 118 kW to 51 kW, and saving over 440 000 kWh a year.

Key results

The measure, which included a one-off investment of € 4 700 in a new drive, managed to shave € 14 000 off the company's energy bill for the wet extraction plant in the first year. The gains in energy efficiency offset the setup costs in only four months!