Manufacturing Plant Cuts Heating Costs by 50%; Increases Cooling Capcity for Same Electrical Cost
DANA Corporation, Gordonsville, TN

This 70,000 square foot auto parts manufacturing plant in central Tennessee was experiencing reduced productivity due to excessive heat and humidity during the summer months.

The problem got so bad, that they decided to add an air conditioning system to this facility. During this process, they also decided to replace an aging heating system.

Before the change was made in the fall of 2000, the facility was ventilated with exhaust fans in the summer and heated with ceiling mounted unit heaters.

In October 2000, a Powrmatic Thermal Economizer (TE) system was installed. The system consisted of one 100-ton DX cooling unit and one 100-ton DX cooling and gas heating unit.

After the first heating season, the Facilities Engineer did a review of the heating costs and found that the Powrmatic Thermal Economizer system had cut their gas usage by 50% from the previous year.

After the first cooling season ended, the Facilities Engineer made another study of their electrical consumption. He wanted to calculate how much his electrical usage had risen to air condition the facility. To his amazement he found that not only was there no increase in electrical consumption there was actually a slight decrease in consumption from the prior year when it was only ventilated.

Reasons for choosing a Powrmatic Thermal Economizer System

• Lowest Installed Cost
  1. No added structural costs
  2. No duct work
  3. Quick and easy installation
  4. Reduced electrical installation cost
• Warranty
  1. 20 years on the heatexchanger
  2. 5 years on the motors
  3. 2 year on all other electrical parts
• Little or no disruption to manufacturing process during installation
• System efficiency
• Humidity and condensation control

Results of Dana Corporation's Powrmatic TE System Installation

• Cut heating costs by 50%
• No increase in electrical consumption versus ventilation
• Improved productivity, improved attendance and better employee morale

Conclusions

In the process of successfully improving employee relations this manufacturer lowered all of its utility costs by installing a Powrmatic heating and cooling system.

Many facilities might be able to add air conditioning with little or no increase in utility cost. New facilities can add air conditioning at little extra expense when ventilation system is deleted from the project and then experience similar results as shown in this case study.

Learn more about the Powrmatic Thermal Economizer.