SAVING ENERGY IN GLASS LAMINATION 

While a laminating line rarely is the largest energy consumer in your factory, modern technology brings significant savings. 

The easiest way to save energy in the laminating process is to replace a traditional infrared heater furnace with a full convection furnace. Glass processors typically report energy savings of at least 50% after a furnace modernization. With today’s energy prices, this can easily amount to tens of thousands of euros in annual energy savings.
 

FULL CONVECTION VS RADIATION

Since closed-loop convection minimizes energy losses in the process, full convection-based furnaces use much less energy than radiation-based furnaces.

  • Total energy consumption is typically reduced by half 
  • Connected power is typically reduced by half with a smaller footprint
  • Idle power consumption is significantly reduced

CUTTING DOWN ENERGY COSTS

  • Processing efficiency: Is your production process as efficient as possible? Even when your line is idling, there are multiple devices running, such as washing machines, cleanroom air conditioning, furnace and others. By optimizing your production flow to reach higher capacity, you'll also lower energy consumption per processed square meter.
  • Cleanroom air conditioning: Make sure temperature and humidity are within the limits set by your interlayer supplier. Keeping your cleanroom significantly cooler than necessary may be a good way to save energy.
  • Autoclaving: Make sure to load your autoclave as efficiently as possible while still leaving enough room for good air flow.
  • Washing machine: Check your water temperature. Can you still achieve good washing quality with slightly colder water?
     

WHAT IS A PROL-ZONE UPGRADE?

ProL-zone is a quick and easy way to replace an outdated laminating line heating chamber to gain energy savings – without acquiring a completely new line. 

  • Upgrade instead of replacing your entire line
  • Can be installed on any brand of laminating line on the market with a downtime of only a couple of days 
  • Based on closed-loop full convection technology, ProL-zone requires lower process temperatures for greater savings 
  • Meet the latest market demands for high quality, capacity, Low-E processing and energy efficiency
     

CASE EXAMPLE: GLASEKSPERTEN

ProL-zone heating chamber upgrade for the existing 5-year-old line

  • 30% reduction in waste 
  • Re-autoclaving from 13% to 4%
  • 40% higher throughput with Low-E glass
  • 50% reduction in energy consumption
  • Reduction of PVB thickness from 1.14 to 0.76 mm
  • No need for the clamping used before the upgrade
  • Recipe-free process

Reference stories

Independent Glass, UK

“The entire upgrade project with Glaston’s ProL-zone went very smoothly. We’ve now been able to increase our laminating capacity, run the line with flexibility and ease – and lower our energy consumption.” 

Read more

Jaakko-Tuote, Finland

“The idea of investing in Glaston’s ProL-zone laminating furnace started as an R&D project for us. The goal for us is to raise capacity and improve our lamination line’s energy efficiency. We’re starting a demanding safety glass project and will use ProL-zone for that.”

Read more

BUYER’S GUIDE

This guide is a must-read for all of you considering a laminating line acquisition. It includes everything from lamination basics to common pitfalls in laminating projects. Avoid the mistakes of others and make your own project successful.

Read more