The new one pays off. Renting the new hall heating saves Dexion energy and €45,000 in heating costs.

The old warm air blowers became too expensive

The production halls and warehouses at Dexion's Laubach site had been heated with hot air blowers for around 40 years. However, the efficiency of the old heating system was measurably decreasing. In addition, its operation was causing excessive costs. The need to replace the old system with modern heating technology had been under consideration for some time. When hall heating specialist KÜBLER launched its new HeizWerk heating service in 2017, the decision was clear. The opportunity to use an energy-efficient and cost-saving infrared heating system without having to invest and depreciate the system was the deciding factor for Dexion to implement the refurbishment measure immediately.

Renting heat solves the investment problem

The name HeizWerk stands for a new and comprehensive range of services. KÜBLER bundles its highly efficient infrared systems, the digitalization of the heating process (WÄRME 4.01) and its expertise in engineering and system operation in a single service package. This is very convenient for the customer, as the high costs, e.g. for investment, depreciation, system control, maintenance, etc. are completely eliminated. Instead, a fixed rental price is agreed. And in most cases, as with Dexion, money is saved. This is because the heating costs of the new heating system, guaranteed by KÜBLER, are usually significantly lower than those of the old system, even with the rental model.

The new heating system at Dexion is highly efficient

Dexion installed infrared heaters from the high-performance OPTIMA plus range. They ensure a comfortable and clean working environment in the 8,500 m² steel production hall. Dexion: "We would not have been able to meet the requirements for thermal comfort in our hall situation any other way." The heating principle of these infrared heaters is similar to that of the sun - very pleasant for people because the heat transfer generates virtually no warm air that could cause draughts or dust turbulence. This is also the decisive advantage for the efficiency of infrared heat in high hall spaces. This is because no warm air cushions are formed which, for physical reasons, could rise below the hall roof and fizzle out there unused. Thanks to this efficiency advantage, Dexion was able to achieve total primary energy savings of over 62 %.

Intelligent control technology makes further savings potential available

The monitoring, i.e. the permanent supervision of the new heating system, is carried out by KÜBLER - via the energy and heat management system E.M.M.A.². This name stands for Energy Monitoring & Management Application. This powerful tool also provides the consumption analyses and documentation that Dexion needs for internal quality management and for audits in accordance with ISO 50001 and ISO 14001. The transparency provided by the E.M.M.A. energy management system has enormous advantages in day-to-day operations. For example, Dexion was given important savings tips for regulating switch-on and switch-off times. However, relevant savings potential can also be uncovered in areas that go beyond pure heating operation. In Laubach, these were high energy losses due to excessively long door opening times - a phenomenon that is a problem in many production halls and warehouses and can be controlled using specially developed software modules such as TorOff or TorOff plus.

Dexion wanted to take over the actual control of the system itself. Two digital control systems from the new and multi-patented CELESTRA line were installed especially for this purpose. The production hall was divided into 10 heating zones. They can now be individually controlled and regulated in a very simple and self-explanatory manner, depending on the shift operation and heat requirement. For Dexion, this offers unprecedented flexibility to adapt the heating process to different workloads and to be able to intervene at any time.

The modernization of the hall heating system: a complete success for Dexion

The entire modernization project took place during ongoing production operations. Despite this, the new energy-efficient infrared heating system went into operation on schedule, allowing the full 2018 / 2019 heating period to be used. Dexion is highly satisfied with the new heating solution: "The modernization of our hall heating system was a complete success." After all, the results of the first operating season exceeded all expectations: Final energy consumption in the steel production hall has been reduced by 57 %. In the same period, the electricity consumption of the heating-related components was reduced by almost 96 %. A total of 62 % of primary energy was saved. The decision to modernize the heating system with HeizWerk has also paid off financially for Dexion: The warehouse logistics specialist recorded cost savings of over €45,000 in the very first year of operation after renting. The conclusion at Dexion: "The rental model has solved our heating problem. For us, HeizWerk is the pragmatic and economical answer to the question of modernizing the hall heating system."

1) WÄRME 4.0 - the digital hall heating system. Awarded the Rhineland-Palatinate Innovation Prize in 2018

2) E.M.M.A. is a module of the CELESTRA digital control system and a component of KÜBLER's innovative WÄRME 4.0 digitalization and networking strategy.