The new Advanced Analytics Smart AC module of Dürr can lower annual energy costs of paint shops by approximately €30,000.
The German engineering company Dürr
has recently announced that it has launched the Advanced Analytics Smart AC module integrated into its DXQequipment.analytics software, allowing paint shops to enhance flexibility and speed in temperature and humidity control for supply air systems.
Supply air systems are an essential part of the automotive coating booths, ensuring the correct temperature and humidity for obtaining high-quality surfaces. Moreover, they create comfortable working conditions and the optimal climate for storing paints. However, air conditioning is highly energy-intensive – because incoming outside air flowing must be continuously treated.
The new solution of Dürr makes air conditioning much less resource intensive: a supply air system with a capacity of 350,000 m3/h equipped with the DXQ software can lower annual energy costs by approximately €30,000, regardless of the climatic conditions at the location.
“Until now, air conditioning has accounted for around one-third of the total energy consumption of a paint shop. In order to reduce it, Dürr has enhanced its DXQequipment.analytics software with an intelligent control system that enables operators to optimise energy and operating costs for the first time,” has stated Jens Häcker, the vice-president of the Digital Factory at Dürr.
Traditionally, supply air systems have been set to fixed setpoint values that maintain safe margin from critical limits for the paint application, often leading to unnecessary heating or cooling. The Advanced Analytics Smart AC module calculates an energy-optimised range for temperature and humidity based on the specific system and the local climate conditions. The minimum and maximum values define the setpoint range, which is displayed as a ‘control window.’ The larger the window, the less energy is required to control the heating, cooling and water input. An intuitive user interface provides operators with real time insights into all relevant data, ensuring end-to-end process transparency. The overview displays current consumption values of the conditioning modules, setpoint values and trends for booth conditions.
“Our digital solution, with its optimised control strategy, enables precise and efficient regulation of supply air systems within a defined range. Instead of conditioning air to a fixed temperature, such as of 23 °C, the system can flexibly adjust between 21 °C and 25 °C – reducing consumption while maintaining consistently high coating quality,” has explained Häcker.