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Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator - Guide to the laundries sector Each year the UK industrial laundries sector processes approximately 743,651 tonnes of mainly hotel linen and towels, work wear and linen and garments for the health sector across 134 sites. The energy required to process the product is 1,254 GWh, equivalent to emissions of approximately 281,500 tonnes of CO2 per year (tCO2).

Executive summary The Carbon Trust Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator (IEEA) was launched in 2008 with the objective to

identify and accelerate the take up of innovations by industry to reduce CO2 emissions. The programme is split

into three stages, Investigation and Solution Identification (Stage 1), Implementation (Stage 2) and Replication

(Stage 3). This report presents the findings from Stage 1 of the IEEA for the laundries sector.

Each year the UK laundries sector processes approximately 743,651 tonnes of mainly hotel linen and towels,

work wear and linen and garments for the health sector across 134 sites. To deal with this requires an energy

consumption of 1,254 GWh, which equates to emissions of approximately 281,500 tonnes of CO2 per year

(tCO2)1.

The sector has made significant improvements in its energy performance between 2008 and 2010, with an

improvement of 7% being made against its Climate Change Agreement targets.

The Carbon trust has been working closely with the sector in 2010 and 2011 to understand the energy use in the

laundry process and then to identify opportunities capable of making a step change in energy efficiency. The

initial engagement and investigation sought to identify potential innovative opportunities across the laundry

through the washing, drying and finishing processes.

The monitoring strategy was devised to provide understanding of the separate laundry processes and provide an

insight to how they were related and what the savings potential was. This programme was supplemented by

engaging with the sector and its supply chain to develop a prioritised list of opportunities for carbon reduction.

The overall maximum carbon saving potential for the sector through both good practice actions and future

innovation is estimated to be 26% or 74,500 tCO2/yr. The good practice element of this, which includes

measures that are well documented, mature and can be implemented by the sector without future Carbon Trust

intervention, can deliver around 9% carbon savings (26,000 tonnes pa). Other more innovative opportunities offer

the remaining carbon saving potential identified (48,000 tonnes pa). The level of carbon savings that are actually

achieved will depend on how many measures the sector implements.

1 Data supplied by the Textile Services Association for the year to September 2010

Laundries Sector Guide 2

Innovative opportunities for significant carbon emission reduction applicable across the sector fall into six distinct

areas, which are shown below along with the cost to deploy each on a single trial site and the total sector level

savings possible assuming maximum sector-wide take up:

Table 1 Innovative Opportunities

Challenge Area

Demonstration

Project Cost

(£)

Sector Savings

Annual Carbon Dioxide

Savings

(tCO2)

Annual Cost Savings

(£)

Industry process

Model

£125,000 8,433 £1,130,000

Heat management

incorporating CHP

£500,000k - £800,000k 14,600 £934,000

Polyester based towels £50,000 - £100,000 10,000 £1,683,000

Up rating low grade

heat using MVR

£100,000 - £200,000 5,600 £1,000,000

Retrofit temperature

and humidity controls

£50,000 -£100,000 6,480 £210,000

Diamond electrode

(low temperature)

washing

£150,000 8,138 £1,200,000

The next steps are for the project teams to be put together and to either work as a partnership or secure third

party funding to help provide the resource and support to fully understand and exploit the potential offered by

these innovations.


Table of contents Executive summary .................................................................................................. 1

1 Background to Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator ................................. 5

1.1 Report overview ................................................................................................................. 5

2 Background to the laundries sector .................................................................. 7

2.1 Sector overview ................................................................................................................. 7

2.2. Laundry process ................................................................................................................ 9

2.3. Laundries sector supply chain ......................................................................................... 11

2.4. Energy consumption and carbon emissions for the sector .............................................. 11

2.5. Impact of carbon legislation ............................................................................................. 16

2.6. Progress on improving energy performance ................................................................... 17

2.7. Business drivers and barriers .......................................................................................... 18

2.8. International perspective .................................................................................................. 18

3 Methodology ...................................................................................................... 22

3.1. Overview of the process .................................................................................................. 22

3.2. Energy costs .................................................................................................................... 23

3.3. Monitoring Strategy .......................................................................................................... 24

3.4. Sector engagement ......................................................................................................... 25

4 Key findings ....................................................................................................... 26

4.1 Monitoring strategy .......................................................................................................... 26

4.2 Site energy audit .............................................................................................................. 26

4.3 Gas consumption audits .................................................................................................. 27

4.4 Steam consumption audits .............................................................................................. 28

4.5 Process audits ................................................................................................................. 28

4.6 Steam ironer .................................................................................................................... 29

4.7 Gas fired tumble dryer ..................................................................................................... 30

4.8 Tunnel finisher ................................................................................................................. 31

4.9 Plant operation ................................................................................................................. 32

4.10 Continuous batch washer ................................................................................................ 33

4.11 Ironer operation................................................................................................................ 34

4.12 Finisher operation ............................................................................................................ 36

4.13 Continuous towel washer and washer extractor .............................................................. 37

5 Best practice opportunities .............................................................................. 38

5.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 38

5.2. Best practice opportunities .............................................................................................. 43


6 Opportunities for innovation ............................................................................ 45

6.1 Opportunities for innovation ............................................................................................. 45

Appendices ............................................................................................................. 56

Appendix A: Energy survey extracts .................................................................... 57

Appendix B: Sector survey .................................................................................... 60

Appendix C: Potential sites for metering ............................................................. 63

Appendix D: Installed metering ............................................................................. 64

Appendix E: Schedule of headline engagement activities .................................. 65

Appendix F: Monitoring equipment schedule ...................................................... 67


1 Background to Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator

1.1 Report overview

The IEEA aims to deliver a step change in reduction in industrial process emissions by accelerating innovation

within processes and the uptake of low carbon technologies.

Industry is responsible for 25% of the UK‟s total CO2 emissions. The Carbon Trust‟s experience supports the

view of the Committee on Climate Change, which indicated that savings of 4-6 mtCO2 (up to 4% of current

emissions) should be realistically achievable in industry with appropriate interventions2

.

The Carbon Trust believes that CO2 savings far beyond those set in current policy targets are possible by

working more directly with organisations to clarify the opportunities. The impact of policy can also be accelerated

and increased if industry sectors are helped to understand their energy use and informed how to make significant

changes in a short timeframe, rather than gradually reduce their emissions over time. Furthermore, direct

intervention can help embed a culture of innovation and good energy management, resulting in a greater long-

term impact.

Significant CO2 reductions in industry are possible by working with those medium-sized industry sectors that are

outside of the EU ETS scheme but are affected by either Climate Change Agreements (CCAs) or the Carbon

Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme. These industries are moderately energy intensive and,

in total, account for 84mtCO2 emissions per year.

The Carbon Trust currently works with industry by supporting companies to reduce their carbon emissions. The

approach is applied across a range of industries but does not offer detailed advice on sector-specific

manufacturing processes. More energy intensive industries frequently cite the fact that survey recommendations

do not address the bulk of their energy use as a reason for not implementing them. Between 50% and 90% of a

site‟s energy consumption could typically be used by a sector-specific manufacturing process.

In addition, the Carbon Trust Applied Research Scheme has supported the development of a number of industry-

related technologies. This scheme is offered in response to applications for support, rather than targeting specific

technologies.

Recognising the challenge of reducing CO2 emissions from industry, and the carbon reduction potential of

sector-specific manufacturing processes, the Carbon Trust looked at how it could best engage with industry to

significantly increase the rate of carbon reduction beyond that delivered by carbon surveys. As a result, the IEEA

was launched as a pilot in 2008. It focuses on identifying and addressing the reasons why opportunities to reduce

2 Committee on Climate Change, December 2008


emissions in industrial processes are not put into action. There is close collaboration with industrial sectors to

identify low carbon innovations that go beyond “good practice” and that require support for their implementation

and roll out. To achieve this, the IEEA is split into three distinct stages summarised below:

Figure 1 Overview of IEEA Stages

Examination of specific processes in depth to understand energy use and interfaces with other systems

This involves collecting information from: operators, equipment

manufacturers and the actual equipment in use at a representative group of

sites.

The opportunities identified at this stage fall in to 3 themes:

Product Strategy: Concerning the raw materials, product mix and the

supply chain

Processes: How processes configuration could be improved

Equipment upgrades or new technologies replace existing items

Gathering evidence to support a business case for implementing

energy-efficiency opportunities

In this stage projects are funded to demonstrate and deploy innovative low

carbon technologies in the areas identified in stage 1.

The aim of each project is to provide the evidence for the whole sector to

implement changes.

Promoting the uptake of our demonstrated solutions, in partnership with

the relevant trade associations

In the final stage, the results of Stage 2 are disseminated widely to the whole

sector to encourage other sector companies to deploy the technologies.

This includes the development of business cases and site visits to help

facilitate wide replication.

To date the IEEA has worked with 14 sectors:

Aggregates

Animal Feed

Plastic Bottle Blow Moulding

Bakeries

Brewing

Brick Manufacture

Catering

Confectionary

Dairies

Laundries

Maltsters

Microelectronics

Paper

Metalforming


2 Background to the laundries sector

2.1 Sector overview

The Textile Services Association is the trade association representing the laundry industry in the UK. The sector

is an enthusiastic, collaborative and open sector with the sites and companies willing to work together and share

data; as a result they have become active participants in this IEEA.

The sector consists of 134 sites, dominated by two main companies, Johnsons Apparelmaster and the Sunlight

Group, who together make up almost half of the sector, with 19 and 40 sites respectively. The rest of the sector

consists of some smaller groups with large and medium sized laundries, followed by some large independents

and then some independent small and medium sized facilities. The sector has in place a Climate Change

Agreement.

Table 2 UK Industrial Laundy SItes

Processor Number of Sites in UK

Processor Number of Sites in UK

The Sunlight Service Group 40 Synergy Health (UK) Ltd 3

Johnsons Apparelmaster 19 Fenland Laundries Ltd 3

Blue Dragon Hillingdon 1 White Knight Laundry Services Ltd 2

Professional Linen Services 1 Initial Washroom Solutions 2

Shortridge Ltd 2 Central Laundry 1

Ashbon Laundry 1 Faversham Laundry 1

Petersfield, Rushes Road 1 Lucinda's Laundry Ltd 1

Tibard Laundry Services Ltd 1 Telford Laundry Limited 1

Isa Lea 1 County Textile Services Ltd, 1

Bourne Textile Services Ltd 1 Robinson Services Laundry Division 1

Fishers Services Ltd 5 Star County Textile Services Ltd 1

Imperial Laundry 1 Dyfed Cleaning Services Ltd 2

TRS (Wales) Ltd 1 Belmont Laundry 1

H2O Linen Services 1 Cathkin Clean Scotland Ltd 1


Bates of London 1 Paragon 5

Blackpool Laundry Co Ltd 1 London Linen 2

PHS Group 2 CLEAN Linen Services Ltd 5

Afonwen Laundry Limited 2 Northfields 1

Mister P 1 Mersey Towel Service (Laundry) Ltd 1

Eastern Counties Laundry 4 Abbey Glen Ltd 1

Lilliput (Dunmurry) 1 Camplings Ltd 1

Ellesmere Linen Hire 1 Cherry Hinton Road 1

Whites Textile Services Ltd 1 Belmont Laundry 1

OCS Group UK Limited 6 Cathkin Clean Scotland Ltd 1

Jacksons, Weir Street 1 Aqua Laundry 1

The laundry sector offers two main services to clients:

1. Contract laundry/textile rental. We estimate that 90% of the sector‟s energy consumption is used in

this service which can be divided into flatware (towels and linen); workwear and health. Rental is offered

as part of a customer solution this involves the life cycle management of the garment. The rental part

of the business, as opposed to customer owned items represents about 80% of the market, textile rental

will include:

o Corporate image wear for the service industry

o Workwear for high-care sectors

o Protective clothing

o General-purpose workwear

o Bed linen and patients' clothing for hospitals

o Surgical textiles for the operating theatre

o Hospitality linen for hotels, restaurants and cafes

o Washroom textile towels

o Dust control mats

2. Dry cleaning. About 10% of the sector‟s energy consumption is used for dry cleaning. Dry cleaning is a

shrinking market as textiles and the washing process are refined to make this process increasing

obsolete and as a result plays little part in this study.

With 90% of the sector‟s energy consumed in laundries the project focused largely on the main processes within

them, these are highlighted in bold in the generic process diagram below:

Figure 2 Simplified Laundry Process Diagram

Storage Weighing Washing Extraction

Dispatch Packing Finishing Drying


The major process costs to the industry are for water, labour and energy

2.2. Laundry process

The laundry process goes from collecting the soiled garment from the client, washing, drying and finishing and

returning back to the client, before the process starts again.

Figure 3 Detailed Laundry Process Diagram

2.2.1. Weighing and classification

The process starts with the laundry entering site and being sorted and classified by item type and level of soiling.

The product is then weighed to the required load and is moved on to the washing process.

An important part of the laundry process is ensuring the correct batch weights are put into the process, as lower

weights lead to a reduction in efficiencies. If the batch is overweight then wash quality can be compromised

leading to higher rewash rates.

The batch loads are also assessed for level of soiling and fabric to ensure they are subject to the correct wash

programme to once again ensure the pieces are washed as efficiently as possible.

This is an area of the process that all sections of the laundry industry are aware, meaning there is a focus on

getting each batch correctly weighed and classified as the benefits of this are well known.


2.2.2. Washing process

Items are washed in either a Continuous Tunnel Washer (CTW) or a washer extractor.

A CTW is likely to be used in the larger laundries and are basically a large diameter cylinder which is separated

into compartments via a screw arrangement. Weighed batches are moved through each compartment by the

screw, with each section providing a set task (prewash, wash, rinse, etc.), with heat and detergent added where

necessary. After a set period of time the screw rotates and moves the batch onto the next compartment.

The water is introduced at one end (rinse) and flows through the cylinder in the opposite direction to the product

flow, till it exits at the front end, where usually the heat and water are recovered. Differing batches can have

different cycles applied to them to ensure the most appropriate wash is given to that type of batch. The batch

size is dependent on the machine and can be between 25kg and 120 kg.

Process times will vary depending on the level of soiling of the product; for example hotel linen will be processed

in a shorter time than workwear.

At the end of the CTW the batch is then de-watered, usually by means of a hydro-extraction press, which turns

the batch into a cylindrical cake. With CTW‟s that launder workwear there is usually a centrifuge instead of the

press due to the potential for cracking buttons or for buttons damaging the press membrane.

A washer extractor is similar to a domestic washing machine and is loaded according to weight capacity; the

garments will follow the set programme, which usually includes a spin function at the end for moisture removal.

Heat and detergent are added to the operation as and when required.

2.2.3. Drying process

Following the washing process the product will be moved onto the drying operation and transferred either

automatically or manually to a tumble dryer. The dryer will either use steam or, increasingly, use direct heat

from a gas burner.

For linen, the dryers are also used to condition the fabric and break up the cake which has come out of the press

and thus prepare the linen for the ironers.

For workwear the dryers are used to remove moisture from the garment, but they will not completely dry it to

allow the finishing process to operate successfully.

Heat recovery is rare from the drying process due to the amount of lint in the air stream which may block heat

exchangers or be expensive to filter.

2.2.4. Finishing operations

There are two finishing operations, ironers for linen and tunnel finishers for workwear. Both work to a similar

principle of finishing the item whilst damp to allow the creases to be removed.

2.2.4.1. Tunnel finishers

The tunnel finishers are used predominately in workwear plants, where their role is to complete the drying and

remove any creases from the garment. Garments are hung from hangers and continuously pass through the

finishing tunnel, which can be heated by steam of directly with a gas burner.

The tunnel finisher is divided into three zones; the first zone involves steam injection to allow the fabric to relax

and encourage the creases to drop out; the second zone involves warm humid air to smooth the crease out and

hot dry air in the final zone removes moisture. On exiting the tunnel the garment will be dry and crease free.

2.2.4.2. Ironers

The ironer usually consist of an automatic feed and folder, the ironer will remove creases from flat items such as

sheets, pillowcases and table linen.


Ironers are steam or gas heated, both have their own benefits but the move is towards direct gas ironers. The

ironers work by using padded rollers which press the items against a heated bed to remove the creases and dry

the product to finish it.

It is the view of the industry that the ironers and the finishing process have not improved greatly over the last 20

years, as other parts of the process have improved. It is thought that ironers are high energy users which have

experienced little innovation over the past 20 years.

2.2.5. Folding and packing

As the product exits the finishing process it will be folded either automatically or manually. The product is then

usually put on a conveyor line and wrapped in film and sent through a conventional long wave infra-red shrink

wrapping tunnel.

Following this it is taken to dispatch and returned to the client.

2.3. Laundries sector supply chain

The supply chain for the laundries sector covers three main areas: detergent, equipment and fabric. The key

suppliers are all European based and there is a thriving market in second hand equipment which seems to

service the smaller laundries.

Table 3 Equipment Suppliers

Company Based in UK Agent or Factory Technology

Kannegiesser Germany Agent Equipment

Jensen Group Switzerland Agent Equipment

Cherrytree UK Factory Equipment

Ecolab USA Agent Detergent / Chemicals

Christeyns Belgium Agent Detergent / Chemicals

Richard Haworth UK Factory Fabric

Hilden UK Factory Fabric

Aqua Therm UK Factory Heat Recovery

The suppliers have been engaged and included in this programme from the outset, as the sector works very

closely with its suppliers and there is a good degree of dialogue and experimentation that goes on already.

The suppliers are constantly striving to improve their products year on year in partnership with the laundries and

obviously in competition with each other, they are well placed to provide some of the innovations that are

identified in this project however innovators from outside the sector have also been identified and engaged in the

programme.

2.4. Energy consumption and carbon emissions for the sector

2.4.1. Sector emissions

The table below summarises the annual energy consumption for the sector, this information comes from the

Milestone 5 (December 2009 – November 2010) Climate Change Levy returns.


Table 4 Annual Energy Consumption within the Laundry Sector

Energy Type Energy Use, kWh Emissions, tonnes CO2

Electricity 121,806,311 65,410

Natural Gas 1,049,204,162 194,103

LPG 4,901,891 1,049

Gas Oil / Fuel Oil 78,403,360 20,876

Totals 1,254,315,725 281,438

The table shows that significantly more fuel is used in the sector than electricity, approximately 10:1 ratio as is

highlighted in the pie chart below.

Figure 4 Laundries Sector Energy Consumption3

The pie chart below showing the emissions split, shows that significantly more CO2 emissions result from fuels

as opposed to electricity, although it should be noted that the electricity proportion has grown. Consequently fuel

use has been the primary focus of this accelerator programme and it is where the majority of the findings and

recommendations are. However, electricity savings will be an additional benefit from a number of the

recommendations made, with the sector already well aware of the savings possible from the use of variable

speed drives. The Carbon Trust Sector guide (CTV040) - Energy saving opportunities in Laundries, provides

details of a number of ideas that will give electricity saving.

3 Figures derived from Laundries sector Climate Change Levy Milestone 5 submissions


Figure 5 Laundries Sector Carbon Emissions Split

The total laundry throughput in the UK is 743,651 tonnes4 , this gives the average specific energy consumption of

1687 kWh/tonne (using delivered energy), with the split for electricity and fuel shown below.

Table 5 Specific Energy Consumption

Energy Type SEC, kWh/tonne

Electricity 163.79

Fuel 1,522.90

TOTAL 1,686.69

Figure 5 below shows a plot of electricity and fuel against production highlighting a very close relationship

between production and energy consumption.

4 Figures from Climate Change Levy Milestone 5 submissions


Figure 6 Laundries Sector Annual Energy Consumption vs. Production

Both electrical and heat energy are essential for the laundering process, the electricity requirement will be

determined by the amount of automation in a facility and by the efficiency of its technology, including the use of

variable speed drives.

The average electricity requirement for the sector is 163 kWh/tonne. Figure 7 shows the wide variation between

sites, the sites with the higher electricity SEC tend to be the ones with greater automation. Some variation occurs

also due to the differing nature of the products processed: workwear, flatware and health products.


Figure 7 Electricity Specific Energy Consumption

Fuel and in particular natural gas is used in the major processes and is consumed in much greater quantities

than electricity. Workwear and health sites generally consume more energy than a flatware site due to the more

stringent washing standards and the fact that, on the whole, the products are more heavily soiled.

Figure 8 Fuel Specific Energy Consumption


The histogram below highlights the number of sites and their SEC. It also shows that the smaller sites are the

least efficient, with those producing less than 2,000 tonnes per annum generally having a higher SEC.

Figure 9 Site Specific Energy Consumption

2.5. Impact of carbon legislation

The Climate Change Levy (CCL) is a charge on non-domestic energy bills for electricity, natural gas, LPG and

coal. In 2009 the Textile Services Association secured a sector exemption under the energy intensive criteria

from the CCL. The umbrella agreement was signed in autumn 2009 with the sector agreeing to an energy

performance target of 7.5% in milestone 5 (the laundries sector first target period) against a 2007/2008 base

year. This target needs to be achieved or carbon allowances need to be purchased if the target is missed, in

order to maintain the exemption. The agreement for the laundries sector at present only covers a discount on

the CCL applied to electricity, as state aids issues need to be resolved before a discount on other fuels is applied.

The sector responded positively to the structure and discipline of the Agreement mechanism, working

collaboratively at every stage to meet the target. A joint energy summit was held in February 2010 to benchmark

best practice which for the first time brought competitors together to discuss ways in which best practice could be

spread and to consider which energy savings investments would secure the greatest savings.

The impact of Climate Change Agreements on the sector has been beneficial in terms of cooperation throughout

the sector. Individual, sites having a target to reach and having to consider how their actions will impact on their

energy performance has also been valuable. Sites are now using energy management techniques of varying

complexity to track energy consumption and performance against targets and this has ensured carbon has

moved further up the management agenda and the need to reduce it has been further highlighted.

The laundries companies‟ participation in the Carbon Reduction Commitment will depend on their organisational

structure, their level of CCA coverage and their energy consumption.

The laundries sector has no sites covered by EU ETS.


2.6. Progress on improving energy performance

The sector has always had a healthy interest in energy efficiency, with this being primarily driven by cost control,

as energy is one of the major process costs. Since the laundry sector gained an exemption from the Climate

Change Levy a more intense focus has been given to energy reduction.

This need for compliance to their Climate Change Agreement and the rising spectre of the Carbon Reduction

Commitment had given a new impetus to energy saving. The sector, as a whole, achieved over a 7% reduction in

the first CCA target period they faced, this reduction was achieved by improving existing operations as opposed

to site rationalisation.

A sector guide “Energy saving opportunities in laundries” (CTV040) was published in 2009 and was heavily

publicised by the Textile Services Association, with laundries comparing their own operation against the

publication.

Laundries understand the importance of areas such as work classification, weighing, maximising hydro extraction

and minimising tumble dryer usage and a lot of work has been done in these areas to ensure any benefits are

reaped.

The sector Climate Change Agreement has also provided a focus for energy saving within the sector, with more

laundries introducing basic energy management systems to understand their performance against target and to

assist in planning measures that will help them achieve their targets. The use of energy management

techniques was introduced, with more use and visibility of sector benchmarks and laundry type performance to

allow sites to understand their position, what is achievable and to help share best practice.

The vast majority of sites in the sector feel they are pretty good in terms of energy efficiency but all realise there

is still more to do. Most sites have adopted or are installing variable speed drives. The recovery of heat from the

washing process is well understood and is carried out, certainly at the larger sites. Heat recovery from the wash

process is a common energy saving operation that is regularly monitored and assessed.

There has been investment in new equipment and new technology that will help reduce energy consumption, with

new models of dryers being more efficient than their predecessors. There has also been some switching of fuels

with direct gas fired dryers and ironers becoming more common in the industry, although this has not been fully

quantified, industry experience is highlighting an energy reduction.

There is a move to fit energy efficient lighting when investing in their facilities, with a small number of sites fitting

LED fittings.

The sector also works closely with its supply chain and in particular its chemical suppliers to optimise the laundry

process, with energy reduction now being discussed alongside wash quality and water consumption.

The fact that energy is a significant cost within the sector has also helped laundries understand the importance of

energy saving from a cost viewpoint and also from an environmental one and has driven a number of initiatives to

achieve this.

The sector is also constantly exploring ways in which efficiencies can be gained. Laundry equipment and

detergent suppliers are regularly developing variations and improvements of pieces of equipment and chemicals

used to reduce or recover the energy used within the process. Suppliers are very active and work closely with

the laundries in trialling new technologies, with the vast majority of the new equipment or chemicals delivering an

energy saving, with the primary saving being a reduction in water usage and consequently the amount of water

that needs heating.


2.7. Business drivers and barriers

The drivers and barriers were explored thoroughly in our sector engagement activities.

The laundry sector, in particular textile rental, is extremely competitive, with the main drivers being price and

service quality. The current economic situation means the market is even more price sensitive, couple this with

the increasing price of cotton and the sector is heavily focussed on reducing costs by making operations and

procurement more efficient. This means that energy and ultimately carbon efficiency are of increasing interest to

the industry.

Drivers

Typical carbon emissions for an industrial laundry are in the region of 2,100 tCO2 per annum, with carbon

emissions being split in the ratio 25%/75% for electricity and fuel (fuel being natural gas, LPG and fuel oil).

Assuming energy costs of 7.5 p/kWh and 2.5 p/kWh for electricity and natural gas and 6.5 p/kWh and 6p/kWh for

LPG and fuel oil respectively, annual energy costs for energy use would be in the region of £300,000 for a typical

laundry. So reducing energy costs is a major sector driver.

Compliance to Climate Change Agreement targets is also a major driver, as it is a scheme the laundry sector has

embraced and is committed to meet its obligations. The incentive is to meet targets and so be exempt from the

levy.

Corporate responsibility and reputation are also key drivers for carbon reduction. For example, Johnsons has

achieving ISO14001 and Sunlight has gained the Carbon Trust Standard.

Barriers

Cost effectiveness: Any implementation of new innovations will need to have a good return on investment, as

the sector is currently demanding a 2 year payback, which is at present being strictly adhered to.

Operability: If any technology contains uncertainty regarding the impact on machine operability this would be

a major barrier to its adoption. However the converse also holds: any technology that both reduces energy

consumption and improves operability would offer additional benefits and be very attractive to the sector.

Operational Costs: The sector is under severe pressure on margins. So, while low carbon technologies

should reduce operational costs this should not be accompanied by increases in maintenance costs for the

equipment installed.

Business Case. This will need to be robust, i.e. savings must be deliverable and all financial savings and

costs included. The sector would like to see all potential benefits captured, e.g. could a carbon reduction

measure also help deliver productivity improvements or reduce maintenance requirements.

2.8. International perspective

There is a large degree of innovation and learning that is brought into the UK from the international market and in

particular Europe. This transfer of knowledge is primarily due to the fact that the major suppliers of both

equipment and detergent are all European based.

The process capacity of individual laundry facilities is fairly similar. However the European laundry market tends

to have a larger number of laundries operating on a single shift basis, with the UK tending to operate centralised

facilities with a multi shift operation. The main reason for this difference in operating hours is mainly due to the

fact that labour costs are higher on the continent.

Innovation is usually driven by the European market, with the technology transferring across to the UK when

market conditions dictate; it is unusual for a product to be designed purely for the UK market although this does

happen.

Between the UK and European markets there is also a difference in the building of new laundry facilities. In

Europe we see more new builds due to cheaper land and build cost: typical total build cost is estimated to be


50% cheaper in Europe. Also in the UK, most developments are on industrial estates made for warehousing and

not enough services are available for a laundry. The UK also has smaller site footprints for laundries compared

to Europe; if we take rough comparison the European laundry would have 50% more floor space.

The European Textile Services Association

The European Textile Services Association (ETSA) provides a link across Europe giving a mechanism for

discussing issues, innovation and the market. It promotes the textile rental sector across Europe and its

involvement covers four main aims:

Regulatory affairs:

o inform members about relevant European legislation and industry standards

o Inform legislators about the textile rental sector

o promote best industry practices

Research:

o sponsor studies to demonstrate the benefits of textile services

Communication:

o establish wider communication between industry professionals

Education:

o communicate the quality and professionalism of textile rental services.

SMILES Project

SMILES (Sustainable Measures for Industrial Laundry Expansion Strategies) is a project that looks at innovation

and best practice for small and medium sized companies covering a number of factors including energy

efficiency.

The project will investigate, further develop and implement 16 new sustainable technologies for water and energy

savings and CO2 reduction of EU industrial laundries.

The evaluators of the European Commission (EC) for this project have stated that project SMILES:

a) has a very high relevance for the objectives of the European Community

b) is excellent by its good and clear focus on scientific and technological issues

c) is well balanced in expertise.

The participants in the SMILES project are listed below.

Participant name Country

FBT Belgium

URBH France

SPP Poland

CCS-MT Slovenia

CCE-ITD Croatia

Hogeschool Gent Belgium

Schieke BVBA Belgium

CTTN-IREN France


wfk-CTRI Germany

ITEK-UM Slovenia

TTF-UZ Croatia

PROMIKRON 3 Netherlands

Stomerij Zeekant Netherlands

Kreussler & Co Germany

ACT Netherlands

The purpose of SMILES is to design the Smart Laundry-2015 through research, further development and

adaptation of 16 sustainable key technologies listed below.

1. Water reduction 9. Lowered CO2 emissions

2. Water reuse / membranes 10. Energy buffers

3. Water disinfection 11. Chemicals reduction

4. Supercritical gasification 12. Cleavable detergents and additives

5. Low Temperature Washing with adequate hygiene 13. Electrochemical bleaching

6. Direct gas heated laundries (steamless industrial

laundry)

14. Ultrasonic cleaning

7. Textile drying techniques 15. Textile hygiene

8. Combined Heat Power 16. Synthesis for SMART LAUNDRY-2015

The EU-27 industrial laundry sector, has 11.000 establishments (more than 90% SMEs), washes 2.7 billion kg of

soiled textiles (wet weight), employs 168,000 workers and utilized 42 million m3 of wash water and 16,666 GWh

of energy per year. It generates similar quantities of waste water to be treated, and substantial CO2 emissions

(3.8 million tonnes CO2/year).

The programme provides focused and coordinated research to develop and improve innovative technologies

which will greatly enhance the performance of the industrial EU laundry sector.

The overall project target is the full implementation of the 16 key technologies of Smart Laundry-2015 that hopes

to reduce the annual water consumptions by at least 10.4 million m3 (30% water savings), the energy

consumptions by 7,638 GWh (45% energy savings) and the overall CO2 emissions by 2.3 million tons CO2 (60%

CO2 reduction) at 100% market penetration in all EU Member States in the year 20155 .

The objectives of the SMILES project are:

The development and design the Smart Laundry-2015 resulting in lower water and energy usage and CO2

emissions

To communicate and disseminate the research findings and the design of the Smart Laundry-2015 to the

participants, key commercial equipment suppliers and early adopting SME end-users in the EU-27

5 Information from SMILES project website


To implement the project results of the Smart Laundry-2015 in the EU-27 through training and demonstration

projects.

Leonardo DaVinci Programme

'Leonardo da Vinci‟ is the European Community's vocational training programme. It aims improve the quality of

training provision, develop the skills and mobility of the workforce, stimulate innovation and enhance the

competitiveness of European industry'.

The Leonardo Advance programme offers online training on the sustainability of industrial laundering processes

and is aimed primarily at laundry managers, quality and technical managers of laundries and apprentices as

well6.

6 http://www.laundry-sustainability.eu/en/

http://www.laundry-sustainability.eu/en/


3 Methodology

3.1. Overview of the process

The objective of stage 1 of the IEEA work was to identify technological opportunities to deliver carbon savings

through innovation in the laundry process. To assist in this process a generic energy consumption model was

developed for a typical flatwear laundry utilising both gas and steam dryers.

The model also assumes that heat recovery is installed on the wash process.

Figure 10 Sankey Diagram for Flatwear Laundry

The energy balance helped shape the monitoring for the programme, with the bulk of the energy used in the

finishing or ironing processes. As well as being the most energy intensive these processes haven‟t evolved for

20 years and a detailed investigation into them would be one of the most useful parts of the programme.


3.2. Energy costs

An average laundry processing 6,000 tonnes of product per year would see an energy cost of approximately

£300,000 per annum.

The total sector energy cost is approaching £40,500,000, with the split between electricity and fuel types shown

in the table below.

Table 6 Sector Energy Use

Energy Type Sector Energy

Consumption

(kWh)

Sector

Energy Cost

(£)

Electricity 121,806,311 9,135,473

Natural Gas 1,049,204,163 26,230.104

LPG 4,901,891 318,623

Fuel Oil / Gas Oil 78,403,360 4,704,202

Total 1,254,315,725 40.388.402

The energy cost ratio is shown in the pie chart below, with the cost of electricity to fuel ratio of 4:1 in favour of the

fuel; this compares to a ratio of 10:1 in terms of energy consumption.

Figure 11 Energy Costs Split


3.3. Monitoring Strategy

3.3.1. Metering Objectives

It was decided that monitoring would be carried out at three upper quartile sites that would give representative

coverage across the differing sectors of the laundries industry namely flatware, workwear and health.

The monitoring was designed to give an insight into the washing, drying and finishing processes. It would also

give detailed information on the ironers and tunnel finishers which we deemed to be large energy users which

had been innovated little in the last 20 years.

The metering gave us the energy split across the three key process areas and for three different laundry product

sites of flatware, workwear and health. It allowed for an accurate energy balance to be derived.

3.3.2. Participating sites and monitoring requirements

In order to understand the energy consumption of the laundry process and its “black boxes” and to help

understand how new technologies can be applied and their likely effect, three sites were selected for detailed

monitoring of energy and, in some cases, process parameters.

Following discussions with the Textile Services Association, the individual companies and the Carbon Trust three

sites were selected. The sites‟ position in terms of SEC is shown on the graph below.

Figure 12 Specific Energy Consumption v Production

The selection criteria used to assess all 13 volunteer sites is included in Appendix C:

The metering installed across the three sites is highlighted in Appendix D. The schedule shows there is a

mixture of permanent meters being used to monitor the various processes in detail, usually reading every two

minutes, together with some spot tests on the exhausts. The data gleaned from these meters was married with

site recorded production data to enable a detailed picture of the process to be built.

The rationale and objectives for the metering installed at the three sites is detailed below:


Flatwear Laundry 1 The focus at this site was to look at total site usage and monitor the ironer

in detail (one of the industries black boxes). Monitoring the ironer will

allow a large user and little innovated process to be understood.

From the monitoring installed it was also possible to understand the energy

split within a laundry.

The exhaust from the ironers was also monitored.

Workwear Laundry 1 Here we looked at the tunnel finishers, which once again are a major

energy user, to allow this process to be understood. The towel washer on

site was monitored as well as this operation is basically a complete laundry

process and it is hoped that any innovation identified here can be

quantified and scaled up and replicated in a full size laundry.

The exhaust from the tunnel finisher was monitored also.

Site energy consumption was monitored.

Flatwear Laundry 2 This sites consumption was logged and the washing process (CTW‟s) was

monitored to help understand the process, understand the effects of low

temperature washing and assess the novel use of flash steam within the

operation. The impact of product scheduling and selecting the right

programme was also investigated.

From the sites we are monitoring we were able to fully understand the energy aspect of the laundry process and

allow specific investigation into areas where innovation is expected, as well as giving an insight into the industry‟s

“black boxes”.

Further sites offered cooperation and data to the programme and this included a number of small and medium

sized laundries. These were used as reference sites for comparisons to be made across sectors and give good

understanding of cross sector potential. It also meant we had active engagement from all sizes and types of

laundry.

3.4. Sector engagement

The project progressed with a good degree of support and participation from the sector and its supply chain, in

particular from Murray Simpson the Chief Executive of the Textile Services Association.

There were initial meetings with the Carbon Trust and Trade Association to verify and modify, as necessary, the

project plan and the reporting milestones and also to confirm the scope of the project. The meeting with the

Trade Association was used to plan the interaction with the sector and its supply chain and helped with the early

selection of suitable pilot sites for monitoring and data gathering. A schedule of the headline engagement

activities with suppliers and sites is given in Appendix E.

To ensure sector involvement a series of workshops have been held to keep the sector involved, up to date and

to ensure wide participation. Site visits to a variety of laundry types were made and discussions and visits with

suppliers were carried out as well. Presentations were made to a number of different groups including the

National Laundries Group who represent a number of the smaller laundries, with it being important to ensure

these sites had the opportunity to contribute and understand the aims and progress of this accelerator

programme.

The views of a number of “sector specialists” were also sought to provide a balanced overarching view of the

sector and the factors impacting on it.


4 Key findings

4.1 Monitoring strategy

Utility metering and monitoring equipment has been installed at three laundry sites on a variety of plant. This was

to enable equipment energy balances to be assembled to allow an assessment of energy use, wastage and

potential savings to be made. In addition the monitoring was designed to facilitate an evaluation of the

effectiveness plant operation and the potential for the application of best practice measures. The metering

schedule is detailed in Appendix F.

Sufficient data has been obtained to undertake energy consumption audits for the flat wear laundry 1 and the

work wear site. Detailed specific plant energy balances have been undertaken for the following equipment

utilising the installed meter information:

Ironer – steam, flat wear laundry site 1

Tunnel finisher – gas fired, work wear laundry site

Process plant energy balances have also been calculated for the following equipment using existing on site data

and survey observations:

Tumble dryer – gas fired , flat wear laundry 1

Continuous washing plant (with waste water heat recovery - steam, flat wear laundry 1

It was planned to undertake detailed energy audits of following equipment:

Continuous towel washer – steam , work wear laundry

Batch washer extractor – steam, work wear laundry

Continuous washing plant (with waste water heat and flash steam recovery, flat wear laundry 2.

However it has not been possible to obtain good quality data from the relevant steam metering.

4.2 Site energy audit

The energy audits presented in the following sections have been assembled from data from meter installations,

spot condition measurements, historic readings and site observations at the host sites.

The split between electricity and gas usage at the flat wear site 1 and work wear site is shown in Figure13. In

both cases it can be seen that natural gas consumption is significant greater than electricity usage. This is to be

expected since gas is used for the primary energy intensive processes of washing, drying and finishing. These

processes are likely to have the greatest potential for the application of technologies that could make a step

change reduction in the use of energy in laundries. Electricity is used primarily by laundries for drive motors, air


compressors and services such as lighting. The technologies for achieving energy savings in these areas are

already well established. The higher proportion of electricity use at the work wear laundry is likely to be due a

greater product handling associated with sorting, folding and batch washing of the product.

Figure 13 Energy Audit for Flat and Work Wear Laundries

4.3 Gas consumption audits

Gas usage audits for the flat wear site 1 and the work wear laundries are detailed in Figure 14. The majority of

the gas is used by the steam boilers at the flat wear laundry. This site has a large number of steam fed ironers

which are using a significant quantity of energy. The gas use at the work wear site is more evenly spread, with

the dryers and tunnel finishers responsible for significant energy consumption.

Figure 14 Gas Consumption Audit for Flat and Work Wear Laundries


4.4 Steam consumption audits

Steam consumption audits for the major process plant at the flat wear site 1 and work wear laundries are detailed

in Figures 15. The flat wear laundry steam consumption is dominated by the ironers which are clearly a major

focus for energy saving opportunities. Steam is used primarily by the various washing plant at the work wear

laundry.

Figure 15 Steam Consumption Audit for Flat and Work Wear Laundries

4.5 Process audits

Continuous Washing Plant with Waste Water Heat Recovery

A heat energy audit was constructed for a continuous washing plant at the flat wear laundry using historic water

and production data and average process conditions. Plant conditions were:

Average loads 16 per hour

Load weight 100 kg

Operation 16 hours per day

Heat recovery Ceramic filters

Recovered water temperature 50oC (approx.)

Operational temperature 70oC (approx.)

Average water use 1.9 m3 per hour

The results of the audit are presented in Figure 16. The site has a waste water heat recovery plant and this has

reduced the washer energy consumption by approximately 50%. Overall the plant has a very high specific energy

performance with more than 90% of the energy input being used to heat the washing water or the pieces

themselves. The recovery of waste heat from the effluent of continuous washing plant is established technology,

but clearly it adds significant value and should be utilised wherever possible. Further thermal energy savings are

unlikely on this type of plant unless low temperature washing can be developed successfully.


Figure 16 Energy Audit for Continuous Washing Plant with Waste Water Heat Recovery

4.6 Steam ironer

A detailed thermal energy audit of a steam ironer was undertaken at flat wear laundry 1 using the installed

metering and available production data. Operational parameters for the audit were:

Steam roller drums 3

Production type Pillow cases

Production rate 4800 pieces per hour

Pillow case dry weight 102 g

Pillow case moisture content in 50%

Pillow case moisture content out 5 to 7 %

Exhaust duct temperature 87oC

Exhaust gas humidity 23%

Electricity demand 8 kW

The results of the audit are displayed in Figure 17 and show that approximately 60% of the steam energy is used

usefully to evaporate moisture and heat pillow cases. This compares favourably with tumble dryers which have a

specific efficiency of only approximately 30%. More than one third of the steam energy supplied to the ironer is

lost through the exhaust flue and is a potentially significant source of waste heat. Potential uses for recovered

heat will need to be identified, but could include preheating of drying and finishing plant and hot water generation.

The value of recovered heat could be improved if it was upgraded by using heat pump or vapour recompression

technology.

The ironer energy use is directly related to the quantity of water removed during the process. The maximum

quantity of water should be removed by mechanical de-watering prior to entry into the ironer. This is limited by

the mechanical de-watering design and also decreasing ironing quality if the initial water content is too low.

However the water content of the pieces to be ironed should be reduced to the practical minimum.


It is also important that the ironing process is controlled so that the pieces are not over dried. If over drying

occurs the fabric will merely take up the moisture again from the environment.

Ironers use a significant quantity of thermal energy and there is potential for recovering flash steam from the

drum heating to washing processes.

Figure 17 Steam Ironer Energy Audit

4.7 Gas fired tumble dryer

A heat energy audit was constructed for the gas fired drying plants at flat wear laundry 1 using historic water and

production data and average process conditions. Plant conditions were:

Average loading (over 16 hour day) 945 kg

Product Primarily towels

Moisture content in 30 to 40%

Moisture content out 5-7% (approx.)

The useful energy input to the dryer, to heat the towels and evaporate water, has been calculated at only 30% of

the input energy. The biggest use of energy is to heat the air used for drying, which is then lost to atmosphere

through the plant exhaust vents. There is potential for recovery a proportion of this energy, particularly if it could

be upgraded by using heat pumps or mechanical vapour re-compression. The recovered heat could be used to

pre-heat drying air or to generate hot water for washing plant.

A large proportion of the drying equipment currently in use across the sector has only basic control which sets the

residence time of particular wear in the plant to achieve the water reduction required. There is risk of over drying

wear with this type of control because no measurement of the actual humidity or temperature levels within the

process is being made. There is significant potential for energy savings from the application of more

sophisticated control strategies incorporating humidity and temperature control.

The use of fabrics which retain less water would also significantly reduce the energy required for drying.


Figure 18 Energy audit for Gas Fired Drying Plant

4.8 Tunnel finisher

A detailed thermal energy audit of a tunnel finisher was undertaken at the work wear laundry using the installed

metering and available production data. The finisher uses steam to relax and heat the fabric prior to gas fired

drying sections. Operational parameters for the audit were:

Production type Food industry work wear

Maximum production rate 1,500 pieces per hour

Typical production rate 45,000 pieces per week

Typical piece weight 0.5 to 0.6 kg

Moisture content of piece in 25%

Moisture content of piece out 5 to 7 %

Exhaust duct temperature (stage 1) 90oC approx.

Exhaust duct temperature (stage2) 70oC approx.

Electricity demand 19 Kw


Figure 19 Energy Audit for Gas Fired Tunnel Finisher with Steam Injection

The Useful energy supplied to the finisher, used to heat the cloth and evaporate water, amounts to nearly 50% of

the total supplied. This gives an overall efficiency for the finisher similar to that of the ironer audited at the flat

wear site. The highest energy loss is heat in the air passing out of the finisher exhaust. Thus the audit confirms

that a significant amount of energy could be saved if some of this heat could be recovered.

4.9 Plant operation

Total Laundry Steam Use

In order to determine the variation in steam load of a complete laundry the consumption of a flat wear site was

monitored for an extended period. A sample of this data is presented in figure 20. This shows the variation on a

two minute interval basis across a week. The laundry was operating two shifts during weekdays and a single shift

at weekends.

The steam use is fairly consistent through the normal production periods, although there is a significant spike in

consumption at start-up. This is to be expected when starting equipment from cold, although care should be

exercises to avoid boiler problems with such a large instantaneous load.

The base load steam consumption of the laundry is around 40% of the normal production load. Clearly it is

important that this is minimised since this steam use is not directly associated with production. Equipment should

not be left hot when not in use if at all possible.


Figure 20 Variation in Total Steam Use of Flat Wear Laundry

4.10 Continuous batch washer

The continuous batch washers at the flat wear site 2 have an energy recovery system which returns sensible

heat from the waste to feed water. The temperature of the waste and feed water for a washer at the site over a

typical day is shown in figure 21. It can be seen that a high proportion of the heat energy is recovered from the

waste water with feed water temperatures generally being maintained in the range 40 to 50oC. Additional energy

is recovered from ironer flash steam which is used to supplement the heating of the wash water. The use of

steam for wash water heating has thus been minimised at the site with recovered energy supplying more than

50% of the required heat.

The use of heat recovery techniques on laundry washing plant is a well-developed technology and should be

applied to all plant where high water temperatures are required.

The electricity use of the washing plant is also shown in figure 21. The data is shown at 15 minutes interval and

so the average demand of the plant is approximately 12 kW while operating. Virtually no electrical energy is being

used during production down time.


Figure 21 Feed and Drain Water Temperature plus electricity use for Continuous Batch Washer over a 24 hour

Period

4.11 Ironer operation

The hourly steam and electricity consumption plus production (pieces) for a hotel laundry site 1 over a 24 hour

period is shown in Figure 22. The night shut down period when zero production is recorded can clearly been

seen. However the steam use of the ironer continues into the period after production stops. This is an obvious

waste of steam and efforts should be made to ensure that steam heating of the unit is stopped as production

ceases.

The ironer also begins to use steam again long before the production starts. Some warm up time will be required

to bring the ironer up to an acceptable operating temperature. However this time should be minimised so that the

working temperature is reached just before the planned start.

The use of electricity on the ironer more closely matches the production profile, although some is used prior to

production starts after the shutdown. This indicates that main ironer drives are switched on earlier than actually

required.


Figure 22 Flat Wear Hotel Laundry Ironer Hourly Steam and Electricity Consumption and Production over 24

Hour Period

Significant variations in the steam use per piece processed can be seen over the working day, as highlighted in

figure 23. This is because of different piece size being processed and utilisation of the ironer bed. It is important

to maintain a high utilisation of the ironer bed for efficient operation. Lower bed utilisation is more likely when

processing smaller pieces when there are more gaps between wear.

Figure 23 Variation in Steam Use per Piece on Flat Wear Ironer over 24 Hours


Figure 24 shows the variation in the ironer exhaust temperature over a day. It can be seen that the unit is

operational for an extended period of approximately 18 hours with a number of small production breaks.

The average operational temperature of the exhaust is approximately 75oC. Heat recovery from the exhaust gas

stream could be attractive particularly if its heat content could be raised by using heat pumps or mechanical

vapour re-compression

Figure 24 Flat Wear Laundry Ironer Exhaust temperature over a 24 Hour Period

4.12 Finisher operation

The monitored finishing plant at the work wear laundry has a direct steam injection stage for fabric conditioning

and a two stage gas fired drying section. The plant is operated typically from 6 to 12 hours a day depending on

production requirements. Energy consumption data for typical day is shown in figure 25. It is dominated by gas

use with only a small consumption of electricity for the plant drives. The gas use shows significant variation with

production rate and fabric weight. The electricity use is fairly consistent.

The monitored exhaust conditions for typical 24 hour period are shown in figure 26. The first stage of the drying

section generally has exhaust temperatures of between 90 to 100oC with the second stage slightly cooler. There

is a significant amount of heat present in these exhausts and there is potential for recovery, particularly if the heat

content can be upgraded.

Figure 25 Finisher Energy Consumption over 24 Hour Period


The finisher was generally operated sensibly with minimum warm up times and high utilisation. However this may

not be the case at other less efficiently run sites.

Figure 26 Finisher Exhaust Conditions over 24 Hour Period

4.13 Continuous towel washer and washer extractor

The electricity use of a continuous towel washing plant and a conventional washer extractor was monitored at the

work wear site. Both plants are operating single shift and are steam heated. A typical day of 15 minute interval

data is presented in figure 27. The towel washer has an average electrical demand of 4 kW and has significant

production breaks. The washer extractor is operated for extended periods during the working day and has an

average electrical demand of approximately 16 kW.

Figure 27 Electricity Consumption of Continuous Towel washer and Washer Extractor over Typical 24 hour

Period


5 Best practice opportunities

5.1 Introduction

Carbon saving and energy efficiency opportunities that can be applied to the laundries sector have been

identified from a variety of sources throughout the course of this accelerator programme. Best practice

opportunities have been identified through a number of sources:

Analysis of the monitoring that has been undertaken as part of Stage 1 of the Accelerator project

The accelerator sector workshops

Site visits in support of the programme to a variety of laundries of all sizes and product types and subsequent

discussion with laundry operators working at all levels within their organisation

Discussion and engagement with the supply chain and with “industry experts”

A literature review of the international research community to determine the key areas of focus

A sector questionnaire to gauge the sector attitude and take up of energy efficient technologies.

There are also numerous industry energy efficiency guides which have been published in the last 20-30 years,

the most recent Carbon Trust guide being CTV040 „Energy Saving Opportunities in Laundries‟ published in2009,

and these remain available within the industry for reference to guide users in implementation. A list of relevant

guides is provided in the appendices.

Primarily these identify the best operational procedures, equipment specification and control measures to limit

energy consumption in utilities conversion, distribution and laundering processing.

Significant technical development by equipment manufacturers over recent years has also enhanced the

potential for resource efficiency and improving productivity, with laundry operators working closely with their

suppliers to ensure efficient operation and spread best practice.

Similarly, improved quality standards and management techniques have played a major part in developing the

efficiency culture now commonly found in laundries.

Energy surveys are a good way of identifying energy reduction opportunities on sites, typical laundry survey data

from two sites has been used as the basis to demonstrate energy reduction opportunities through implementing

proven best practices, the key results from these surveys are shown in the Appendix.

Climate Change Agreements have had a positive impact on the sector with significant savings being made since

base year (2007/2008) highlighted in the table below showing the improvement achieved between their CCA

base year (2007/2008) and the laundries sector‟s first reporting period (Milestone 5). The majority of these

savings will be through adopting best practice and process optimisation as opposed to any major technology

changes.


Table 7 Sector Energy Savings Achieved

Energy Type SEC, kWh/tonne

CCA Milestone 5 data

(Dec 09 – Nov 10)

SEC, kWh/tonne

CCA Base Year data

(2007 – 2008)

Saving

(%)

Electricity 164 170 3.5%

Fuel 1,523 1,686 9.5%

TOTAL 1,687 1,836 8%

The idea that process optimisation is happening is further strengthened by a comparison of a plot and trendline

comparison of production and annual energy consumption.

The graph below shows the plot of annual electricity and fuel consumption against production, for 2007/2008,

with a strong relationship shown between the two, with R2 values of 0.86 and 0.82 for fuel and electricity

respectively.

It is believed that economies of scale would have only played a minor part in this improvement. This would only

be a benefit if the process is worked harder for longer giving a reduced level of overhead when compared to

production due to longer running hours and less start- ups. It would also make heat recovery from the process

easier to do.

Figure 28 Energy Consumption v Production (2007/2008 data)

When this plot is revised for data submitted for Climate Change Agreements (CCA) reporting in milestone 5, this

position has improved. The relationship between annual fuel and electricity consumption and production has

strengthened with R2 values shown in the graph below of 0.94 and 0.927 for fuel and electricity. respectively.


This tightening of the scatter shows that improvements in process control have been made and a significant

proportion of this will be due to the adoption of best practice. This highlights that the sector has made a lot of

headway in becoming more energy efficient, this sentiment is apparent in the sector questionnaire, but what is

also recognised is that fact there is still more to do.

Figure 29: Energy Consumption vs. Production (2009/2010 data)

5.1.1. Best practice questionnaire

A questionnaire was circulated to around the sector and this achieved a response rate covering 40% of the sites

within the sector and over 50% of the sectors overall production.

The objective of the questionnaire was to gain an appreciation of the sectors attitude towards energy efficiency

and gauge the extent to which best practice had been adopted across the sector.

The results of the questionnaire show the sector feels it is being reasonably energy efficient, but there was a

unanimous view that there was still scope for improvement. The main areas of further known energy saving

potential were associated with steam generation and distribution and in additional heat recovery. The main


barriers to the sites becoming more energy efficient is dominated by the availability of capital and the cost of new

equipment and the fact that laundries are now struggling to find any further use for recovered heat.

Other factors affecting the take up of best practice and energy efficiency technologies centred around changes in

paybacks required, with these now being in the 2-3 year bracket, and it was noted on a number of responses

that “the time horizon is becoming stricter”.

Regarding the use of energy monitoring and targeting systems that this was generally used by larger multi-site

operators, with it being shown that 75% of the sector having benchmarked their performance against an industry

standard or a competitors performance.

The level of take up of current energy efficient technologies was also explored, with the results in the table below.


Energy Efficient Technology

Average Sector Take Up

Variable speed drives (VSD),

Energy efficient motors

Low temperature washing

Product classification, weighing and sorting

Renewables (e.g. Wind turbines, solar, biomass)

Improved process control

Use of temperature and/or humidity control within the drying process

Finishing process operated fully loaded/covered

Use of VSD compressors

Improved burner technology

Heat recovery from wash process

Heat recovery from drying

process

Heat recovery from

finishing process

Adoption of LED lighting

Flash steam recovery

Hydro-extraction press

optimisation

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%


5.2. Best practice opportunities

There are a number of generic opportunities to reduce energy use in an industrial laundry that are implicit to its

operation and these relate to process control, systems, material steam generation and its use. These

opportunities are all readily available and have been implemented and proven within the sector, or widely used in

similar sectors and include:

Table 8 Best Practice Opportunities

Process Area Best Practice Opportunity

Boiler plant and associated

equipment

Utilise oxygen trim to optimise combustion process

Install flue-stack economiser/ heat recovery,

Use modulating burner control

Ensure regular blow-down of boiler

Flash steam/condensate heat recovery preferably with integral heat

exchanger returning direct to boiler feed inlet.

Steam generation and

distribution

Balance supply and demand, understand systems operational

requirements concerning equipment demand, productivity and

performance

Remove all redundant pipe-work and ensure all steam distribution lines

are correctly drained and insulated,

Select the correct steam traps for the application and maintain as a

priority,

Have the ability for individual machine isolation.

Hot water generation and

distribution

Insulation of tanks and lines with temperature control to suit the

process.

Compressed air generation Management and reduction of compressed air leakage rates

More efficient compressor plants, including variable speed drives

Understanding pressure, equipment demand and performance.

Laundry Processing

Piece counting and ensuring correct weights for machine loading

Correct sorting and classification of products

Ensuring correct wash programme is followed

Switch off policy for relevant equipment

Measure processing quality to ensure minimal re-wash targets

As part of our engagement programme we have put together the top ten tips that the sector believe are

fundamental starting points for an energy efficiency programme.

FUNDAMENTAL OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS (Top 10 Tips)

1) Operator training of how to efficiently operate equipment

2) Engineer training on how the process should be set up

3) Optimum equipment set-up


4) Exact sorting and segregation of work into the correct load sizes to ensure optimum processing using the

minimum utilities, time and chemicals to achieve the correct quality with minimal rewash.

5) Implement the correct rewash/rework procedures to ensure minimal waste

6) Ensure an efficient work balance between washing and finishing

7) The complete and prompt utilisation of finishing equipment (ironers, presses and tumble dryers) to make the

best use of the residual heat in washed loads.

8) Eliminate waiting time to maintain continuous processing with equipment always fully utilised and never

idling.

9) Maintain work throughput productivity records, hourly and post these visibly as a target

10) Realistic quality control.

5.2.1. Best practice summary

Measures detailed in the table below are fairly straightforward for the sector to implement and show good

practice opportunities that are well documented.

Table 9 Summary of Best Practice Opportunity Benefits

Overall we estimate that the good practice opportunities highlighted could deliver an approximate average saving

of 9% which equates to a carbon reduction of 26,300 tCO2.

Two sample surveys one small and one medium sized laundry give an indication of the opportunities and savings

available at an individual site level and are included Appendix B.


6 Opportunities for innovation

6.1 Opportunities for innovation

Following workshop 2, the sector agreed ten areas for investigation that should be pursued further. Following

further consultation with the supply chain a further five were added to the list for discussion and appraisal at

workshop 3 in order for a shortened list to be decided upon for further investigation and potential

recommendation for Stage 2 of the programme. The list discussed at the workshop is shown in the table below.

Table 10 Suggested Areas for Innovation

The sentiment from the workshop as to which areas should be pursued resulted in four projects being strongly

favoured with a further three relatively well favoured. As a result it was decided to prepare a business case for

seven opportunities:


Diamond Electrode Washing using boron diopods

Laundry heat management change incorporating CHP

Switch to polyester based towels

Development of an industry process model

Upgrading low grade heat using MVR/heat pumps

Retrofitting humidity/temperature controls on tumble dryers

Utilising microwave technology in the drying process

A summary of the initial findings into the business case is shown in the table below.

Table 11 Summary of Innovation Benefits

Challenge

Forecast cost of

Demonstration

project

Maximum

Sector CO2

Savings

Technology

cost when

mature

Estimated

Payback

1 Industry process Model £125,000 8,433 tCO2 Approx.

£20,000 per

site

3 years

2 Heat management

incorporating CHP

£500,000k –

£800,000k

14,600 tCO2 £750,000 per

installation

4 years

3 Polyester based towels £50,000 - £100,000 10,000 tCO2 TBC TBC

4 Up rating low grade

heat using MVR

£100,000 -£200,000 5,600 tCO2 £100,000 –

£200,000

3.5 years

5 Retrofit temperature

and humidity controls

£50,000 -£100,000 1,296tCO2 £5,000 per

installation

6.5 years

6 Diamond electrode (low

temperature) washing

£150,000 8,138tCO2 £20,000 –

£50,000 per

installation

2.90 years

6.1.1 Industry process model

The development of an industry process model was one of the favoured options with the group able to see the

benefits of such a model and how it could be applied within their sector and organisation to help identify and

spread best practice, encourage innovation and to help further understand and explore the variances and

parameters of the laundry process.

With the laundry process basically having three sub processes of washing, drying and finishing there are a lot of

factors that can influence performance and one of the benefits of a model would be the ability to understand what

would happen to the drying and finishing processes if the wash temperature was reduced.

The model would also allow for data to be stored from the various participating sites to enable accurate

benchmarking data to be available for all parts of the process and not just the laundry operation as a whole.

Having access to this level of data would allow individual operations to be benchmarked and best practice or

technological innovation to be identified.

Any such model would also help foster innovation, where different innovation scenarios could be played out to

gain an initial view of their complexity and impact to help understand their viability prior to any further investment.

It is anticipated that any such model would have applications across the sector, for laundries of all sizes, with

differing costs to gather the requisite data from the sites to fuel the model. The model would give more

representative results as more laundries participate in its use and contribute to its data bank.


There would also be costs involved in developing the model initially and ensuring it gives a representative view of

the process and can cope with all the variables from differing technologies to different fabrics.

Industry Process Model

Technology maturity and need for support

The development of industry process models has been carried out in other sectors. The key issue for the sector is to gather enough data to be able to develop and test the model and establish suitable benchmarks for the process and its various parts. The outputs delivered by the model would need to be delivered in a way that the sector or individual companies could work with. Trials on the impact of modelling should be carried out to determine its effectiveness and the savings that can be expected and how replicable it could be.

Overview of Next Stage

A demonstration project should be carried out in the UK to determine the practicalities of this project (particularly gathering the large amount of detailed data), the usefulness of any outputs and the savings potential.

Cost of demonstration project and possible structure

The estimated cost for running a demonstration project at commercial scale would be expected to be in the region of £125,000.

Typical activities to be completed for a demonstration project would include:

Gathering of representative data to develop and prove model

Development of software to provide the model platform and site interface

Proving trials to provide credibility and assurance over models outputs

Develop useful reporting framework

Understand ease for replication and mass adoption

Promote findings from work

Annual Carbon saving potential

Maximum – 8,433 tCO2

Assuming an average reduction of 3% of current emissions.

Market penetration 50% in 10 years

Project persistence High – 10 years

Lifetime CO2 saving (based on 50% take-up over 10 years)

42,165 tCO2

Sector energy saving £1,13m per year

Cost of technology (once mature)

£20,000 average per site

Payback Average 2.5 years

Barriers to Adoption

The level of data collection required from laundries and its associated cost.

Creating widespread adoption of the model throughout the sector to develop a significant data set.

Developing a model which will keep pace with technology developments.

6.1.2 Heat management incorporating Combined Heat and Power

Advances in the technology of utilising the low grade heat generated by a CHP plant can now be applied to

laundries; this significantly improves the project economics and in certain parts of the market makes CHP a

viable option. This has been done successfully in laundries in mainland Europe.

The integration of a CHP with a laundry site would require a bespoke design in all cases. However the general

principals are;

Gas fired engine used as prime mover


All electricity generated would be used on site

Steam would be generated by engine exhaust for use in ironers and finishers

Heat from engine cooling would be stored in a hot water accumulator which would supply energy to

continuous batch washers, washer extractors and to a dryer preheat system.

It is likely that the best sites for successful adoption of CHP would be the very largest sites with high utilisation.

There are 10 sites which process more than 14,000 tonnes a year in the sector. If CHP plants were installed at

these sites annual emissions savings of approximately 73,000 tonnes CO2 could be achieved.

The sector has showed interest in the potential energy savings that could be achieved but it will require

demonstration of a successful project at a UK laundry. A demonstration project could be undertaken by a CHP

supplier and a laundry site to prove the plant technical feasibility and economics. However the capital costs of

CHP plants installations are high, estimated at £750,000 for a suitable site. It may be possible to involve a

contract energy management provider in the demonstration project. They could arrange for capital financing of

the project and supply the expertise for operating the plant.

Combined Heat and Power (CHP)


CHP is a mature technology in a number of sectors in the UK. It has also been applied successfully at a number of laundries in main land Europe, but has yet to be used at a UK site. The key issue for the sector is to establish whether CHP can be applied economically to a UK laundry. This would best be achieved through a demonstration project undertaken at a UK site. The demonstration project would need to be at a commercial scale and over sufficient period to demonstrate the benefits.


A demonstration project should be developed at a UK laundry at a commercial scale. This should focus on demonstrating that the technology is a suitable match for a UK laundry heat use profile and project economics. A suitable consortium for developing this opportunity would be a CHP supplier working with a contract energy management company and a suitable laundry company.


The estimated cost for running a demonstration project at commercial scale would be expected to be in the region of £500,000 - £800,000 depending on the actual work to be undertaken. Typical activities to be completed for a demonstration project would include:

Assessment of current plant – to establish site heat loads and energy

utilisation profiles

Design and costing of CHP plant

Development of project monitoring strategy.

Operation to prove plant reliability and economics.

On-going operation to confirm plant performance over an extended period

Promote findings from work

Annual carbon saving potential





73,000

Sector energy saving £934,000 per year


£500,000 to £1,00,0000 (average £750,000)



Combined Heat and Power (CHP)


You have already taken this out in your adoption model.

Forward energy price predictions for the UK may adversely affect project economics.

The supply chain may not put in sufficient market resources to exploit the developed technology.

It may prove difficult to raise the necessary capital for wide scale adoption.

6.1.3 Switch to polyester based towels

The processing of cotton towels through laundries is particularly energy intensive. This is primarily because the

thick cotton fabric absorbs a large amount of water during the washing process which then has to be driven off in

relatively inefficient tumble dryers. For some time fabric and towel manufacturers have been working on putting

polyester into the towel fabric weave reducing the weight and amount of water it absorbs. However most

laundered towels are used in the hotel industry and there has been some concern from this sector as to

perception of towels with polyester by guests. The workshop revealed significant support for the project if the

customer reservations could be overcome.

Towels make up approximately 40% of the product processed by the sector. It is anticipated that towels with

polyester could in principal be utilised by all towel laundries. If this was possible annual emission savings from

reduced thermal energy use are estimated at 10,000 tonnes CO2. These savings are based on towel with a 30%

reduction in weight over those in current wide spread use. Further energy savings in site electricity use are likely

since the lighter product will require less motive energy and higher plant utilisations per piece may be achieved.

These energy savings have not been quantified at this stage.

The development of a demonstration project incorporating extensive testing and market research should prove

the acceptability of the product change and overcome the key barriers and concerns.

Use of Polyester in Towels


The increased use of polyester in towels has been looked at for a number of years. However there has always been a significant amount of resistance from the major laundry customers because the potential effect on end user experience. Trials need to be undertaken as part of a demonstration project to test this assertion, prove towel durability, and that energy savings can be achieved.


A demonstration project needs to be established to prove that new towel material is acceptable to customers and projected energy savings can be achieved. A suitable collaboration would be between a towel manufacturer, laundry and hotel customer.



Developing a suitable fabric and towel product. This is thought to have

been largely achieved already.

Designing suitable test programme for new towels in commercial laundry

Monitor energy savings achieved when processing new towels through

laundry.

Condition monitoring of towels during trials to assess durability.

Undertaking market research on suitability for customers and end users.

Promoting findings from work.

Annual carbon saving Maximum – 10,000 tCO2


potential Have assumed towel will hold 30% less moisture, and assumed it will not affect the washing process, but will impact on the drying process with 30% less moisture to remove.


Project persistence High (towels will be replaced on regular basis as before, trials needed to assess new towel life)

Lifetime CO2 saving (based on 75 % take-up over 10 years)

50,000 tCO2

Sector energy saving £1,683,000 per year


New towels no more expensive

Payback N/A


The new towel material may prove to be unacceptable to customers and/or end users.

The projected energy savings are not achieved.

The new towels prove to be less durable.

6.1.4 Up rating low grade heat using mechanical vapour recompression (heat pumps)

It has been identified that significant quantities of heat are lost through laundry dryer and finisher/ ironer exhaust

ducts. It is generally been considered by the industry that the recovery of heat from these exhausts streams

would not be economic, primarily because;

There would be no suitable heat sink to recover the energy to because laundries generally have a surplus of

low grade heat.

The exhaust streams are at only moderate temperature

The complexity of heat recovery installation

The diversity of laundry plant

The monitoring results and sector feedback identified that these barriers may be overcome if the waste heat

could be upgraded to a higher temperature that would make its utilisation more effective. This could be most

effectively achieved by applying heat pump technology, which is already well established in other sectors such as

chemicals. Two types of heat pump technology could potential be utilised;

Closed Cycle Heat Pumps – A working fluid, totally isolated from the process stream, picks up heat from the

dryer or finisher exhaust and is then compressed to a higher pressure and temperature. It is then condensed

and gives up heat to the recovery stream.

Mechanical Vapour Recompression (MVR) – The exhaust stream itself would be compressed to a higher

pressure and temperature and then condensed to give off heat which would be recovered.

There is an additional electricity demand associated with the operation of the pump or compressor however the

coefficient of performance is high for this type of plant and far more heat energy can be recovered than electricity

expended. The recovered heat would most likely be used to preheat the drying or finishing process, but could be

used to generate hot water.

It is considered that this technology would be most successfully applied to larger laundries with higher utilisation.

These sites generate high quantities of waste heat over long operating hours. If the technology could be applied

to the 24 UK laundries with an annual production rate of over 8,000 tonnes a year, annual emission savings are

estimated at 5,600 tonnes of CO2. The average payback on capital would be approximately 3.5 years.

A key barrier to delivering the project across the sector is that the technology has yet to be used successfully in

laundries. This concern could be overcome if a commercial scale demonstration project was undertaken on a


suitable plant. This could be undertaken as a collaborative project between a laundry company and technology

supplier. Once the technology was proven with the sector it could be developed for adoption by other laundry

sites.

Upgrade and Recover Waste Heat Using Heat Pumps

Technology maturity and development needs.

The application of heat pump/ MVR technologies is well established in other sectors e.g. chemicals. The key issue for the laundry sector is to establish suitable technologies and confirm the financial benefit and carbon savings that can be delivered. It is recommended that projects would need to be at a commercial scale so that outputs can be considered representative to the industry.


A demonstration project should be established to determine the benefit of recovering upgraded waste heat in the sector. This would focus proving that the technology can work in a laundry and that the waste heat can be usefully recovered. A suitable consortium to take this forward would include a laundry company and technology supplier



Assessment of current oven installations to establish equipment

specification and operating practices

Designing and costing of proposed heat pump and heat recovery

installation.

Development of monitoring methodology and meter installation

Commissioning and phase 1 operation to optimise performance and

learning from optimisation

On-going operation to confirm performance both in energy saving,

operating reliability etc.

Defining of solution and process to roll out to other sites and/or sector

Promoting findings from work.



Assumed it is applicable to sites >8000tonnes production and have used a conservative COP for the MVR of 5




28,000 tCO2

Sector energy saving £1.0m per year - maximum


£100,000 – £200,000 (average £150,000)



The technology may prove to be too expensive to give a satisfactory payback except for plants that are very highly utilised.

It may prove to be difficult to utilise recovered heat effectively.

The supply chain may not put in sufficient market resources to exploit the developed technology.


6.1.5 Retrofitting temperature and humidity control of tumble dryers

The proposition to explore the impact of retrofitting temperature and humidity control to tumble dryers also

received support. The benefit of additional control would enable the drying process to be run at peak

optimisation, prevent any “over drying” and ensure only the required amount of energy is put into the dryers to

achieve the required results.

The fitting of additional control would lead to a reduction in energy usage; it has been assumed that it will save

8% of the dryer‟s energy consumption and lead to shorter cycle times.

Currently drying is controlled by varying the time spent at a fixed temperature which is set by experience; the use

of advanced controls will become more advantageous when mixed loads are sent through the dryer as the cycle

time and thus thermal requirement will vary.

Within the laundry sector new dryers are entering the market already fitted with this type of control, so it has been

assumed that only half the dryers used in the sector will have the need or potential to have additional control

fitted.

The cost of the required equipment and installation has been estimated at £5,000 per installation.

Temperature and Humidity Controls


The technology for controlling the drying process using temperature and humidity and retrofitting into existing tumble dryers exists and does happen. The need for support here is to prove the business case for installing these controls and thoroughly understanding the impact it has across all laundry types.

The savings that can be generated need to be understood for their use with laundries processing similar loads and those processing a variety of different load types.


A demonstration project should be established to estimate the benefit of these controls. The project should focus on ease of installation, savings and any increased maintenance costs. The impact of the controls on similar load types should also be understood.



Testing for prolonged periods on laundries processing similar loads and those processing a variety of loads. Loads may vary by weight, fabric and item type.

Substantial metering of the drying process to allow savings to be

calculated would need to be completed

Testing to understand any perceived impact on the rest of the laundry

process (finishing)

Understanding the ease for replication and adoption

Promoting findings from work


Maximum –1,296 tCO2

Have assumed 15% of energy used on dryers, with 50% of the dryers in the sector eligible for retrofitting and have assumed an 8% saving.




6,480 tCO2


Sector energy saving £210,000


£5,000 per installation (£1.3 m for the sector)



The laundry sector processes a large number of similar loads and it is whether or not a saving over timed saving can be made.

New tumble dryers entering the market will have this technology already fitted.

Can it be retrofitted easily into the control mechanism of all tumble dryers?

6.1.6 Diamond electrode washing

This can be used for both effluent treatment or cold water washing and disinfection. The principal process, is the

oxidation of a proprietary mix of simple electrolytes at the surface of the anode; secondary reactions generate

more stable intermediates such as peroxide, hypochlorite and ozone, which as well as cleaning at ambient

temperatures are able to attack a broad range of bacteria and viruses.

Initial trials of this technology have shown that washing at 25 C is possible, with initial benefits showing

Reduced Energy Costs

Reduced Chemical costs

Reduced Fibre Damage

Reduced Water Usage

Reduced Effluent Charges

This is new technology to the laundries sector and needs further testing to prove what is currently being trialled

and ensure it can be operated across the different types of laundry.

For the purposes of this report the business case has been developed comparing the installation of this

technology in laundries with and without heat recovery on their wash process. A rudimentary analysis of

returned sector questionnaires indicate that 80% of the sector has heat recovery installed, it has also been

assumed that this technology is suitable for workwear and flatwear only and have excluded any health/hospital

figures from this calculation. (It is envisaged that this technology will be suitable for both health and hospital

goods due to the disinfection effect produced).

For sites with good heat recovery systems, the energy savings will mainly come from the removal of the need for

a heat recovery system so significant savings can be made by removing the motive power needed to operate

these systems.

Diamond Electrode Washing


Diamond electrode technology is new to the laundry sector, the process needs testing and the results evaluating for a variety of laundry types to enable an assessment of its repeatability, impact on the product and the savings that can be generated. This should be done on washer extractors and continuous tunnel washers (CTW‟s), with comprehensive metering in place to fully understand the technologies potential.


The technology is new to the laundry sector rand proving that is works is one obvious factor. The impact on fabrics and the rest of the process should be understood; the demonstration project should cover tunnel washers and washer extractors and should also evaluate performance in flatwear and workwear operations.

Cost of demonstration The estimated cost for running a demonstration project at commercial scale


project and possible structure

would be expected to be in the region of £150,000 depending on the actual work to be undertaken. Typical activities to be completed for a demonstration project would include:

Testing for prolonged periods on washer extractor and Continuous

Tunnel Washer processes.

Testing on flatwear, workwear and hospital sites

Substantial metering of the wash process to allow savings to be

calculated

Testing to understand impact on the rest of the laundry process (drying

and finishing)

Analysing the effect of process on differing fabrics and their lifespan

Understanding ease for replication and adoption

Promoting findings from work


Maximum –8,138 tCO2

Assumed wash at 25 C and that 80% of sector will have heat recovery on their wash process




40,690 tCO2

Sector energy saving £1.2m


£20,000 -£50,000 per installation

Payback Average 2.90 years (on purely energy only, savings from reduced use of chemicals, lower water and effluent charges have not been taken into account).


The technology is new and unproven to the sector which may delay take up

Initial capital cost may prohibit some of the smaller laundries.

The impact it has on sites with full heat recovery need to be understood.


7…Next steps

The next step for the laundry sector is to consider collaboration. With Stage 2 funding no longer guaranteed the

sector and its supply chain must work together in order to form project teams to explore the potential of these

opportunities, co-ordinating and promoting this is maybe something the Textile Services Association should take

the lead on.

Regular dialogue should be maintained with the Carbon Trust to be kept aware of any possible funding streams

to assist in the development of these opportunities.


Appendices

Appendix A: Energy survey extract Appendix B: Sector survey Appendix C: Potential sites for metering Appendix D: Installed metering Appendix E: Schedule of headline engagement activities Appendix F: Monitoring equipment schedule


Appendix A: Energy survey extracts


Small laundry Carbon Trust opportunities site survey (report extract)

Priority: Recommendations

Estimated annual savings

Estimated

cost (£)

Payback

period

(years)

Calculations & assumptions

(£) CO2

(tonnes) (kWh)

1

Design and implement an Energy

Management Policy applicable across the

business

2,500 20 90,000 2,000 0.8 This is assumed to save approx. 5% energy cost, typical from previous similar models

£51090 x 0.05 = £2554 (rounded to £2500)

2

Generate a broad awareness of staff,

customers and neighbours of the commitment

to carbon reduction

0 0 0 0 0 This is fundamental to the success of 1 above and the costs/benefits are included therein.

3

Implement management controls for

processing, distribution and stock

management by monitoring and targeting

across the operation

2,500 20 90,000 1,000 0.4

An assumption only, to achieve 5% reduction in energy cost across the business with un-quantified benefits in all areas.

£51090 x 0.05 = £2554

4

Carry out a lighting survey and install low

energy lighting to improve the quality and

safety within all sections

1,200 8 14,000 5,000 4.2

An estimated cost which will have a relatively long payback term, but with immediate operational benefits. Expert survey and quotation required for high bay and operator specific lighting to replace currently poorly located aged fluorescent tubes.

25% reduction on present estimated consumption of 14000 kW is assumed on the basis of previous factory lighting surveys.

5

Survey the steam boiler controls, feed tank,

blow-down, steam distribution system and

condensate return; implement a steam trap

survey regime. Renew pipe lagging where

required.

5,000 42 199,000 4,000 0.8

A comprehensive survey and implementation will save > 10% in total energy for a relatively modest initial investment of £4k and subsequent annual service/replacement cost of £1k This will pay back within one year. The operating steam pressure is only 6 bar which is low compared to industry norm, but to change would be a major cost.

6

Design and implement condensate heat

recovery for closed circuit benefit or to pre-

heat process water

1,500 12 59,000 6,000 4

This initiative links to 5 above. The useful heat returned may be used to pre-heat boiler make up water and contribute to the savings identified. Alternatively, pre-heating of process water would provide additional benefits of reducing wash process cycle time and providing a more efficient transfer of the useful heat. A calorifier system would also provide a hot water heating source for the current redundant central heating system. For the latter a modest 3% energy saving is assumed.

TOTAL − 127,00 102 452,000 18,000 1.42 −


Medium laundry Carbon Trust opportunities survey (report extracts) including detailed recommendations which were provided as an additional part of the

consultative survey.

Priority: Recommendations

Estimated annual savings

Estimated

cost (£)

Payback

period

(years)

Calculations & assumptions

(£) CO2

(tonnes) (kWh)

1 Monitoring and targeting 12,694 73.6 343,653 1,000 0.08

This is essential to meet the requirements of the CCL exemption initiative. A target saving of 7.5% on kWh/tonne consumption between Dec 09 and Nov 10 compared with the 08/09 base line is required to be achieved. M&T in principle will achieve a 2% saving at minimal £1,000 cost which will cover training and administration.

2

Boiler

management/condensate

heat recovery

40,560 231.6 1,258,937 75,000 1.9 The installation of a FREME condensate return system will produce a minimum 8% saving based upon information from model installations. See further detail below.

3 Steam distribution 5,071 28.9 157,367 15,000 2.9

The steam distribution and condensate return circuitry was closely examined during the survey. Pipe sizing was deemed correct for the individual equipment demand and previous modifications to generate a defined ring circuit had improved distribution. A further modification to create a ring supply to and return from the Workwear section, tumblers and space heaters is recommended and detailed herein, saving approx. 1% in gas consumption alone.

4 Effluent heat recovery 35,000 200 1,086,956 120,000 3.4

This proposal is taken alone as an energy saving initiative and is based upon sound model data, however the costs are estimated. Effluent recycling which has only water saving attributes should be considered in conjunction with this proposal and such will improve the overall benefit.

TOTAL − 93,325 534.1 2,846,913 211,000 2.3 −


Appendix B: Sector survey

IEEA Laundries Sector – Questionnaire

Company Name:

Questionnaire Completed by: Email:

Date:

Question 1: State of energy efficiency

How energy efficient do you consider your operation?

Is there scope for improvement? Yes / No

Are there specific areas of your operation which have the greatest potential for energy saving?

Yes / No

If yes please give further detail:

What are the barriers to your organisation becoming more energy efficient?

What payback period do you accept for energy saving projects and has this changed over the last 5 years?

Question 2: Monitoring and Targeting / Metering

Do you have an Energy Monitoring and Targeting system? Yes / No

Have you benchmarked your process against competitors or an industry standard?

Yes / No

Question 3 : Energy Efficient Technologies

Current energy efficient

technologies available

to sector

Please complete the table below, by indicting on the bar your organisations percentage uptake of the technologies identified (100% means that nothing is left to do, with 0% meaning it has not been implemented at all); and please include any additional technologies you have implemented, are planned, have assessed and rejected or have identified but not yet exploited. If the technology is not relevant to you then please leave the bar blank.

Variable speed drives

(VSD),

Energy efficient motors

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%


Low temperature washing

Product classification,

weighing and sorting

Renewables (e.g. Wind

turbines, solar technology,

biomass)

Improved process control

Use of temperature and/or

humidity control within the

drying process

Finishing process

operated fully

loaded/covered

Use of VSD compressors

Improved burner

technology

Heat recovery from wash

process

Heat recovery from drying process

Heat recovery from finishing process

Adoption of LED lighting

Flash steam recovery

Hydro-extraction press optimisation

Additional Identified Technologies

Technology Comment

Question 4 : Potential for CHP

Has CHP been installed at your site? Yes / No

If “No”, what were the restricting factors

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%

0% 50% 100%


Response to the questionnaire covered 40% of the sites within the laundry sector.

Sector Questionnaire Results

Question 1.a how energy efficient do you see your operation? adequate

Question 1.b is there scope for improvement? Yes

Question 1.c.i.

are there specific areas of your operation which have the

greatest potential for energy saving? Yes

Question 1.c.ii. further detail?

condensing: evap. Water from dryers/ironers; boiler flue gasses;

manager/operator training; switch to gas

Question 1.e

what are the barriers to your organisation becoming more

energy efficient?

Availability of capital and cost of new equipment; attitude to

'production at all costs' without regard to energy efficiency; areas

of use for recovered heat.

Question 1.f.i. what payback period do you accept for energy saving projects? 2-3years

Question 1.f.ii. has this changed over the last 5 years? This time horizon has become stricter

Question 2.a Do you have an Energy Monitoring & Targeting system? Larger sies generally have one, smaller sites don't.

Question 2.b

Have you benchmarked your process against competitors or an

industry standard? 75% of sector have benchmarked their performance

Question 3. current energy efficient technologies available to sector? Average

variable speed drives 52%

energy efficient motors 33%

low temperature washers 58%

product classification, weighing and sorting 75%

renewables 3%

improved process control 27%

use of temperature and/or humidity control within the drying

process 28%

finishing process operated fully loaded/covered 33%

use of VSD compressors 10%

improved burner technology 53%

heat recovery from wash process 62%

heat recovery from drying process 47%

heat recovery from finishing process 2%

adoption of LED lighting 15%

flash steam recovery 62%

hydro-extraction press optimisation 47%

Question 4. potential for CHP Yes for larger sites

restricting factors?

cost/finance; availbility of alternative fuels. "gas can be used to

produce heat at 100% efficiency with condensing flues. If used in

CHP, the gas cannot be used at 100%. Therefore gas CHP is not

the best use of the gas"


Appendix C: Potential sites for metering

The highlighted sites in the table above are the sites which were selected for the metering programme.


Appendix D: Installed metering

Item Utility / Product Description Description of requirementsData

Interval

Site Flatw eat 1

1 Gas main Gas meter Existing half hour data from supplier if available( pulse may be available) 2 min

2 Electricity Main Electrical supply Existing half hour data from supplier if available 30 min

3 steam flow new meter to iron1 new 2 inch stem meter to be installed w ith pulsed output. 2 min

4 steam flow new meter to iron2 new 2 inch stem meter to be installed w ith pulsed output. 2 min

5 steam flow existing meter to f lat prod. pulsed output to be connected to metering system 2 min

6 steam flow existing meter to hospital prod pulsed output to be connected to metering system 2 min

7 gas existing meter to f lat production DOES NOT EXIST

8 gas existing meter to hospital prod pulsed output to be connected to metering system 2 min

9 electricity iron1 new nemo modbus electricity meter to be installed w ith CT-s 2 min

10 electricity iron2 new nemo modbus electricity meter to be installed w ith CT-s 2 min

11 humidity iron1 new relative humidity sensor to be f itted 0-100% RH = 4-20ma 2 min

12 temp iron1 new temp sensor f itted to exhaust duct range 0-100C = 4-20ma 2 min

13 exhaust f low iron1 MANNUAL PROBE TO GAIN DATA READINGS

14 humidity iron2 new relative humidity sensor to be f itted 0-100% RH = 4-20ma 2 min

15 temp iron2 new temp sensor f itted to exhaust duct range 0-100C = 4-20ma 2 min

16 exhaust f low iron2 MANNUAL PROBE TO GAIN DATA READINGS

Site Flatw ear 2

1 gas consumption Main Gas meter Existing half hour data from supplier if available( pulse available) 2 min

2 electricity consumption Main Electricity Meter Existing half hour data from supplier if available 30 min

3 electricity consumption "Trans 1" (CBW) new nemo electricity meter 2 min

4 steam flow "Trans 1" (CBW) DOES NOT EXIST

5 flash steam flow "Trans 1" (CBW) new 2 inch steam meter 2 min

6 w ater f low "Trans 1" (CBW) new 2 inch w ater meter 2 min

7 Trans1 w ater temperature in "Trans 1" (CBW) new temperature sensor 2 min

8 Trans2 w ater temperature out "Trans 1" (CBW) new temperature sensor 2 min

9 Trans1 press pressure "Trans 1" (CBW) Press new pressure transducer 2 min

10 Trans1 press Electricity "Trans 1" (CBW) Electricity 2 min

11 Trans1 press membrane pressure "Trans 1" (CBW) Press new pressure transducer 2 min

12 Steam flow machine 2 Machine 2 2 min

13 Steam flow machine 1 & 2 Machine 1 & 2 2 min

Site Workw ear 1

1 Main Gas Consumption main Gas meter Existing half hour data from supplier if available( pulse may be available)

2 Main Electricity Consumption Main Electrical supply Existing half hour data from supplier if available

3 electricity consumption Tunnel Finisher Supply Electricity Consumption Tunnel Finishers (Food) 2 min

4 Gas Tunnel Finisher Supply Gas Consumption Tunnel Finishers (Food) 2 min

5 Flow Tunnel Finisher Exhaust Exhaust air f low Tunnel Finishers (Food)

6 Temperature Tunnel Finisher Exhaust Exhaust Temperature Tunnel Finishers (Food) Stage 1 2 min

7 Humidty Tunnel Finisher Exhaust Exhaust humidity Tunnel Finishers (Food) Stage 1 2 min

8 electricity consumption Tow el Washer supply Electricity Consumption Tow el w asher 2 min

9 Gas Tow el Washer supply gas Consumption Tow el w asher (does not exist)

10 Steam Tow el Washer supply steam consumption tow el w asher 2 min

11 electricity consumption Washer Extractor supply Electricity consumption w asher extractor 250kg 2 min

12 Steam Washer Extractor supply steam consumption w asher extractor 250kg 2 min

13 Temperature Tunnel Finisher Exhaust Exhaust Temperature Tunnel Finishers (Food) Stage 1 2 min

14 Humidty Tunnel Finisher Exhaust Exhaust humidity Tunnel Finishers (Food) Stage 1 2 min


Appendix E: Schedule of headline engagement activities

Sector Workshop 1: Building the Collaboration and Identifying Key Suppliers.

This was an initial project meeting to engage the laundry sector through the Textile Services Association (TSA).

Prior to this meeting we provided background information on the project and the benefits it will bring to the sector.

We also spoke to the larger companies on a one to one basis to ensure they were fully engaged in the project

and used these meetings to progress the selection of the pilot sites with the TSA and the major laundry

companies. We had excellent commitment from the TSA to organising the workshops and using them to build a

collaborative response to the challenge of reducing CO2 emissions within the sector.

Date Engagement Activity Description

Sector kick off meeting plan interaction and identify key players.

Carbon Trust kick off meeting Develop plan, milestones and confirm project scope.

Data collection from sector Use site specific data to help gain initial understanding of process and sector

Ju

l-1

0 Discussion with TSA and sites Identification of suppliers and possible sites to be metered

Au

g-1

0 Laundry visits To assess potential to become a metered site and to understand process

Workshop 1 Workshop to engage with the sector and to identify key suppliers to be brought

into the programme

Laundry visits To assess potential to become a metering site and to understand process

Upper quartile laundry visits To understand large scale laundry process and gather views on potential and

ideas. Get site input for any suppliers which should be approached.

Oct-

10 Supplier visit Site visit with chemical supplier to understand their role and potential impact.

Workshop 2 Identifying opportunities that could deliver the step change

New Supplier Identification Following up recommendations from sites as to suppliers who should be

involved

Supplier telephone discussion Discussion with suppliers of input required

Visits to small/medium sized laundry

Presentation at NLG meeting Build engagement and gather views and input from smaller sized laundries

Site visits to small/medium sized laundries Understand process in a smaller laundry and gain their perspective and input

into the programme

Telephone discussion with non sector equipment suppliers discussions with non-laundry sector suppliers to allow different technologies

and ideas to be developed.

Telephone discussions with a variety of different sized

workwear and flatwear sites with non sector equipment

suppliers

Gather sector view and input into the programme, to help understand adoption of

best practice.

Supplier discussion Discussion with suppliers to explore possible projects they could bring to the

programme

Workshop 3 To decide on the opportunities that should be recommended for further

investigation.

Sector questionnaire Sent out to get a broad view on best practice and sector view on energy

efficiency

Ma

r-1

1S

ep

-10

No

v-1

0D

ec-1

0J

an

-11

Feb

-11

Ju

n-1

0


Sector Workshop 2: Opportunity Identification.

This sector workshop focussed on identifying technologies that have the potential to deliver a step change in the

carbon performance of the sector, this was done using the accelerator criteria to avoid concentrating on

technologies already adequately covered by the Carbon Trust in other programmes or that are already widely

deployed. The event had four main aims:

a) To brainstorm for energy efficiency ideas

b) To map the ideas onto process diagrams and energy balances of laundry processes to make an initial determination of their impact

c) To identify generic barriers to the development and adoption of innovations

d) To identify the development resources available to the sector, e.g. equipment manufacturers, cleaning product suppliers, Universities, etc.

A series of visits and phone calls were made to a number of laundry operators and suppliers who could not

attend the meeting to ensure we had a broad and representative view of the laundry sector.

Subsequently a list of potential opportunities was circulated to all attendees through the TSA and updated as

other ideas were uncovered through the life of the project. These opportunities formed the basis of workshop 3.

Sector Workshop 3: Project Recommendations.

A third workshop was arranged through the TSA to consult on the final recommendations and the barriers to their

development and adoption. The objectives of this workshop were to:

Present the insights the project has given into the energy efficiency of the laundry processes; using speakers

from host sites to make contributions

Present the prioritised list of the key opportunities and receive feedback on our recommendations for

development

Establish a consensus on the three to five recommended opportunities for Phase 2 of the accelerator

Highlight the barriers to the technologies being adopted and discuss possible solutions.


Appendix F: Monitoring equipment schedule

Site Equipment Metered Parameter Comments

Flat Wear

Laundry 1

Main site utility supplies Electricity & gas Historic readings only

Utility sub meters (limited main

areas)

Gas & steam

Ironers *2 Steam Good data

Electricity Good data

Exhaust vent temperature Good data

Exhaust vent humidity Not operational

Exhaust Flow Spot measurement

Production Good data

Work Wear

Laundry 1 or 2?

Main site utility supplies Electricity & gas Historic readings only

Tunnel finisher Gas Good data


Exhaust temperature Good data

Exhaust humidity Good data

Production Reasonable data

Continuous towel washer Steam Not operational


Batch washer /extractor Steam Not operational


Flat Wear

Laundry 2

Continuous Washing Plant Steam Not operational

Flash steam recovered Not operational

Water supply temperature Good data

Water drain temperature Good data

Extractor press electricity Good data

Extractor press pressure Good data


The Carbon Trust receives funding from Government including the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Department for Transport, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government and Invest Northern Ireland.

Whilst reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that the information contained within this publication is correct, the authors, the Carbon Trust, its agents, contractors and sub-contractors give no warranty and make no representation as to its accuracy and accept no liability for any errors or omissions.

Any trademarks, service marks or logos used in this publication, and copyright in it, are the property of the Carbon Trust or its licensors. Nothing in this publication shall be construed as granting any licence or right to use or reproduce any of the trademarks, service marks, logos, copyright or any proprietary information in any way without the Carbon Trust‟s prior written permission. The Carbon Trust enforces infringements of its intellectual property rights to the full extent permitted by law.

The Carbon Trust is a company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales under Company number 4190230 with its Registered Office at: 6th Floor, 5 New Street Square, London EC4A 3BF.

Published: August 2011

© The Carbon Trust 2011. All rights reserved. CTG064

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