Andersen Extrusion Plant Case Study

Initial System: The Andersen Windows extrusion plant is a manufacturing plant for window frames. NewMech was hired to design and install mechanical systems for both building climate control and industrial processes. Industrial systems included compressed air, industrial waste, and process cooling.

Options: NewMech Facility Solutions personnel approached Andersen Windows with potential energy saving improvements to the baseline system. The following improvements were made based on our analysis of the potential modifications.

• Dry coolers were installed parallel to the chillers for process cooling to obtain low cost cooling during spring, fall, and winter.
• Heat recovery equipment was installed on the compressed air system. Recovered heat was used for process space heating.
• Variable frequency drives were installed on the process cooling loop pumps.
• A building automation control system was installed to control both process and building climate control equipment.
• Industrial waste stream was run in a separate system to reduce waste from the plant.
• Process makeup air was provided by staged units to match air to process demands.

Results: NewMech Facility Solutions procured $ 17,700 in rebates from the improvements for the project. The total improvement costs after rebates was $167,300. The payback on high efficiency equipment and controls was 2.1 years. Below is a summary of the overall savings on the project.