Cost Savings Comparison Success Story

Save with the Moffitt Cost Calculator

Natural Ventilation incurs no energy costs or maintenance costs. Switching to a natural system can help your facility save hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, with significant cost savings over time. Putting a real dollar value to the promise of “savings” makes it real. One company chose Natural Ventilation for their project based on the million dollar savings they saw by using the Moffitt Cost Calculator.

A Chinese company was planning a new copper tube mill in southern Alabama. The engineering plans listed a required ventilation air flow rate of 6,600,000 CFM, but no particular equipment was specified. Cost was the main criteria. The company requested proposals to find the best ventilation option.

One proposal listed a bid for 220 rooftop exhaust fans at 1100 total horse power. The projected cost would be about $4.5 million. Management was leaning towards this option because fans were a known quantity. They are also an “off-the-shelf” solution, so everyone knows how they work and the costs are clear. When a customer buys fans, they know what to expect. However, anyone that works in a plant knows how often fans break and that they require routine maintenance.

Costs Savings Graph

The Moffitt proposal showed something a little different. It suggested two large, 4′ throat MoffittVent™ natural ventilators. These ventilators would move the required CFM through natural gravity ventilation. The MoffittVent™ lets warm air escape naturally. It has no moving parts and does not use electricity. This is always a surprise to exhaust fan users.

The science behind natural ventilation was intriguing, but they still were not convinced. The maintenance costs savings were appealing, but not appealing enough. The prospect of having only two roof penetrations instead of 200 was also persuasive, but still not persuasive enough. They were, however, very interested in the sizable operating cost savings. That’s when we directed them to the Cost Calculator.

The Moffitt Cost Calculator showed while the initial expense of a natural system would be higher, it would be saving money in just two years. In three years, the calculator showed that the non-powered natural ventilators would save over $750,000 in operating costs, and in four years it will save another $1.5 million. The customer could now see that instead of costing 25% more, the natural system now costed roughly 50% less.

Cost Savings Chart

A cost savings of that magnitude made all the difference, and the cost calculator helped the team realize it. By bringing the savings to live in a clear, colorful graph, the customer was able to see the monetary benefits of Natural Ventilation several years into the future.

Now built and in operation, for the past few years, this plant is now feeling the benefits of Natural Ventilation. Both in the plant temperature and in the energy bills (which some would augment by choosing to learn more about other options on the market).

See how much you can save by using the Moffitt Cost Calculator today. If you aren’t great with money then utilizing the expertise of people who know how to help with saving money, budgeting strategies, etc. is a huge benefit to your finances. You can also keep on top of your money on the go, by downloading a budget app that can help you keep everything in check when out and about.