May 2021 – Poligrat’s Energy Scouts in Hungary reduce energy costs for lighting and compressed air

POLIGRAT Magyarország Kft., located in Aszód, around 40 kilometers northeast of Budapest (Hungary), employs around 20 people and primarily refines stainless steel surfaces using various technical processes. Through so-called electropolishing, chemical polishing, passivation and also pickling, components and products made of metal are given special functional and decorative properties. The client base is diverse – customers primarily come from the chemical, pharmaceutical and food industries, but also the automotive and medical sector, as well as from mechanical engineering.

Energy-saving classic applied in the company
The four Energy Scouts Máté Ecker, Nikoletta Király, Mária Kovács and András Kovács identified two approaches to energy saving that are almost energy efficiency project classics: lighting and compressed air technology. They are classics, because many companies discover optimization potential in these fields and investments pay off rather quickly.

In terms of lighting, the Energy Scouts replaced some outdated fluorescent lamps with nine light-intense LED spotlights and installed motion sensors in rooms with low daily use. This saves electricity in operation and at the same time increases workplace safety in rooms with less use.

The Energy Scouts also checked the compressed air system intensively for leaks and eliminated them. Pressure losses, which usually keep energy-hungry compressors running longer, are now minimized. During the analysis, an inadequately functioning water separator of a compressor was also replaced, which is now working optimally again.

Amortization after seven months
With one-time investment costs of about € 2,800 and annual savings of about € 4,100, the practical project pays off for the company after only seven months.

Inspired by the good results, the Energy Scouts started an initiative to switch to a four-day week with ten working hours each, which has further advantages. The costs for heating and electricity can be reduced by up to 10% and the employees’ commutes are reduced by 20%.

Lighting

Compressed Air Systems

  • Industry sector: Other metalworking industry
  • Energy source: Electrical Energy
  • Energy saving potential: 67 MWh/a
  • CO2 saving potential: 17 t CO2 /a
  • Potential cost reduction: 4,094 €/a
  • Investment costs: 2,812 €
  • Payback period: approx. 7 months
The lighting before - conventional mercury vapour lamps (©Poligrat)
Energy Scouts measuring and documenting the light intensity (©Poligrat)
The lighting afterwards - energy-saving LED hall floodlights (©Poligrat)
Energy Scouts locating leaks in the compressed air lines (©Poligrat)