RICHMOND, Ky. — Laundry managers are charged with dealing with many operational tasks, including managing their facility’s overhead costs.
According to David Chadsey, then-managing director at Laundry-Consulting.com, utilities are among the highest costs in many laundry facilities, second only to labor.
In an Association for Linen Management (ALM) webinar titled Managing Laundry Utility Costs, Chadsey analyzed the “primary utilities” many laundries use and pay for, including water, sewer, gas and electricity, and explored the factors behind these rising costs, as well as how managers can better handle their usage.
“Understanding these costs [and] what contributes to these costs allows us to be better managers and to be more successful in our operations,” he says.
MANAGING GAS COSTS
According to Chadsey, gas usage in the industry is typically based on the segment served, a facility’s product mix and its geographic location, and that a laundry manager’s goal for the number of Btu per pound of linen processed should be around 1,500-2,000.
Direct-contact water heaters, wastewater heat recovery systems, stack economizers and tunnel-system centrifugal extractors are just some examples of the technology managers can invest in to manage thermal energy costs, according to Chadsey.
He also stresses the importance of properly loading dryers to save on this utility.
“The dryer is designed for a certain amount of [air] flow through the goods. If your dryer is not loaded to the right capacity, instead of the air having to flow through the goods, the air flows around the goods, and it’s very inefficient, so it’s very important to make sure you’re doing the right load sizes in your dryers,” says Chadsey.
Ensuring that the maximum amount of water is extracted from a washload is also key.
“Extraction efficiency is important because that’s the amount of water we’re going to get out of our goods before we have to use our thermal energy to get rid of that water,” says Chadsey.
“It’s a lot less expensive to spin it than it is to heat it.”
Among other practices, he also stresses the importance of maintenance tasks, like ensuring that hot-water piping is insulated, and that steam traps are properly maintained.
“Steam traps really should be maintained yearly to make sure they’re only opening up to allow the water through and not the raw steam through. You want to capture all of that raw steam for the work that we want it do.”
MANAGING ELECTRICITY COSTS
Historically, electricity is the “lowest primary utility cost” of laundry operations, according to Chadsey. On average, laundry plant electrical usage is 0.1 kWh per pound of linen processed.
There are various technologies managers can look into, like off-grid co-generation options; inverter drive motors on equipment such as washer-extractors; and new lighting technology, with subsidies available on lighting using 50-60% less electricity, according to Chadsey.
When it comes to managing electricity costs, he also stresses the “grandparent mentality.”
“If you’re not using it, shut it off,” he says.
IMPORTANCE OF BENCHMARKING
Looking at internal and external benchmarks established by peers in the industry can be another tool in helping to manage and save money on utility costs, Chadsey explains.
“Unless you know where you are, it is impossible to know where you are going.”
Miss Part 1? You can read it HERE.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Matt Poe at [email protected].