OBTAINABLE SAVINGS
1. Calculation of savings
The use of infra-red electromagnetic medium waves which
transmit energy by irradiation (which heat only the painted
part of the vehicle) leads to the savings described below.
With a traditional booth transmitting heat by
convection all 80-120 m 2(depending on dimensions) of the
booth must be heated, even if the painted part is limited.
The dispersion of energy is evident besides loss of time.
Drying the vehicle paint immediately after repair with the
traditional system (i.e. by convection), using spray booths
the cost of each drying can be estimated at at least Euro
7,75 – 10,33.
The cost is independent of the part of the vehicle being
dried, and as most repair work is made up of partial
painting the waste of energy is evident.
Using the above described system the consumption can be thus
calculated:
Electric energy consumption = max (if all catalytic panels
are used) = 5 kW for a max of 15 min (pre-heating phase)
with an estimated cost of Euro 0,15.
The intrinsic safety of our drying method makes it
unnecessary to keep the booth ventilation on during drying
with notable energy saving.
LPG gas consumption = about 2 Kg/hr i.e. approx. cost Euro
1.80/hr.
Considering that the average working time is less than 30
min, we can affirm that the total cost does not exceed Euro
1,29.
In conclusion the saving obtained is on average at least
Euro 8,00 for each job, which makes it possible to amortise
the investment, besides allowing for a notable time saving
and improvement in work quality.
2. Calculaton of savings in ETP (Equivalent Tons of
Petroleum/investment sum)
For the calculation we take into consideration a medium
sized car body shop which carries out about 600 jobs a
year.
Consumption in Kcal. with the traditional method using a
burner, for example LPG.
Consumption is about 220.000 Kcal/h
Bearing in mind that 45 min. is necessary for each
drying job we obtain a total annual consumption of about
99,000,000 Kcal.
Using infra-red technology we consume about 3,000 Kcal/h
(at a pressure of 25 mbar) for each panel.
Activating on average 4 panels for each job for an
average time of 20 min. we have a total consumption of
2,400,000 Kcal for the same annual number of jobs.
In this way the following energy saving obtained is:
99,000,000 – 2,400,000 = 92,600,000 Kcal/year = 9.66 Etp/year
Dividing the total amount obtained by 45, which is the
thousands of Euro invested, we obtain the amount of:
Annual Etp x investment in Euro = 0.21
The amount is much greater than the minimum required for
the concession of funds aimed at obtaining energy saving
(for example the Umbria region requires an energy saving
superior to 0.06 Etp/year per unit of investment).
