Every time Glenhaze opened its factory doors, it wasn’t just the latest consignment of innovative packaging that left the building. As the doors rolled up, the heat rolled out.
And so did the pounds and pennies as the Bathgate company found its energy bills continuing to rise.
Operations manager Lynn Johnstone said:
“We had a few issues that we really had to overcome, so for me the job was to ensure that we had the right environment for our staff, that we could lower our costs and also reduce our carbon emissions.”
Glenhaze designs and manufactures packaging solutions for the drinks industry and cosmetics sector from its modern, purpose-built and award-winning factory.
Lynn approached our team and we provided the company with a free assessment of its premises. It was found that 75% of the gas consumption on site was for heating the two 60kW suspended space heaters in the production area. The annual gas bill was more than £10,000.
It was calculated that by swapping the existing space heaters to gas-fired radiant heaters, energy consumption would be cut by 41% and there would be an annual saving of more than £2,000. The switch to radiant heating has also lowered the company’s carbon emissions by more than 11 tonnes.
The £14,000 investment was funded with an eight-year interest-free Scottish Government SME Loan that came with 30% cashback.
The benefit of using radiant heaters rather than space heaters is that the heat generated warms people rather than the surrounding air. This, in turn, means that when the roller doors are opened for loads going in or out, the loss of personal warmth is minimised. Four new heaters with two controllers mean that heat is now always supplied where it is required, rather than needlessly heating an entire building.
Lynn said:
“The problem that we had was basically the rising cost for the heating within the factory. We have a large open factory floor with workspaces with varying requirements.
“We also have opening roller shutters in the warehouse space that connects to the factory floor. So, when we opened the doors for loading and unloading with our old and inefficient space heaters, we could heat the air but as soon as the door opened, we’d lost it.
“So, for us, the solution seemed to work best with radiant heating. This allowed us to get direct heating on the areas where it is required.
“This then means we are no longer running our heating day in, day out, switching it on hours in the morning before they come in to heat the factory space. Now we are able to see the benefits and can heat just as they come in in the morning.
“When I was given this project, I had no prior understanding or knowledge of heating systems on the scale that was required for Glenhaze. So, without the support, I just wouldn’t have known where to start.
“There have been bumps in the road, changes along the way, but the service has been there the whole way through to help and guide me.”
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