Energy Surveys

No two bodyshops are the same so the energy survey relies on the experience of our trained staff to look for the opportunities that exist in every working environment to make worthwhile energy savings. Areas looked at include the following:

Spraybooth Burner System

Existing spraybooths may be old and whilst state of the art when fitted they may have indirect gas-fired burners, which means that combustion takes place inside a heat exchanger, with up to 25% of heat generated lost via the extract flue. If this si the case they can be converted to a direct-gas fired burner system which reduces gas consumption by up to 25% whilst improving heat up times and giving a more accurate temperature response. This can also also improve airflows as fan back pressure is reduced

Booth Control System

Older booths are specified with a variable speed control system which can affect the booths set up and in some cases they will not perform properly because of this. We can overhaul these to improve fan performance and booth airflows and once set up correctly the booth will have a fully automated energy saving standby mode, saving up to £2,000 per year.

In some case we have found that the extract fan is running at full load even when the booth is in standby mode, with the inlet fan running at part speed meaning that the booth is burning large volumes of gas unnecessarily. Again with a simple improvement the system can be adjusted to operate correctly, meaning energy costs of a commercial booth can drop from approx £4.70/hr to 80p/hr when in standby mode, and a passenger car booth from £2.80/hr to 50p/hr. This could conservatively equate to over £3000/year saving.

Energy Management

Booths are often left running IN SPRAY MODE when empty or no work is taking place, they are at their least efficient in spray mode as all heat is immediately evacuated through extract ducting also lights are often permanently left on.(see below) Even a standard passenger vehicle booth costs approx £2.40/hour to run in spray mode. The solution is to fit an Energy Management and Clearance system with automated eco shutdown system which makes large energy savings. These are HSE preferred systems for clearance indication. Occupancy sensor turns off lights when booth is vacant

Spraybooth and Workshop Lighting

The lighting levels are read giving a Lux reading many car manufacturers specify a required minimum 1000 Lux in approved bodyshop spraybooths. Lighting can be upgraded to in excess of 1000 Lux and higher with smart controls to ensure lighting is only on when the booth or existing workbays are in use, this again offers considerable energy savings. Workshop Lighting is often old and hugely inefficient to have 10, 50 or 100 fluorescent or halide lights can potentially have running costs in excess of £10,000/year. The Solution is to install ClusterLite Energy-saving lighting which will Improve lighting levels, colour stability with a high lumen maintenance. This can Reduce workshop lighting costs by up to 60%

Improving Drying Performance

Improving drying time saves energy and speeds up efficiency there are several ways to do this in the bodyshop and all avenues are explored in the survey.

Workshop Heating

Older heating systems such as oil fired or paraffin is expensive often a better solution is radiant heating with reduced running costs savings of up to 60%. They have an even heat coverage at low level with more controllability. Systems can be easily controlled to provide varying zoned temperatures and operating times another benefit is minimal heat loss through the roof of the building.

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