Cut costs and carbon emissions from process heating

Industrial process heating is a major contributor to energy costs and UK carbon emissions.

SMEs can reduce the impact by operating heat systems more efficiently and eventually replacing them with lower carbon options.

Get started
Measure and monitor
Do maintenance checks
Change operations
Retrofit existing equipment
Invest in new equipment
Apply for the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund
Get support and learn more from case studies

Get started

The use of ‘process heat’ includes any heat or steam used directly for production and manufacturing processes.

Usually, process heat considered separately from ‘building heat’ systems that warm the air temperature of your entire premises.

You should start by optimising existing systems, as replacing heating equipment is costly.

This includes:

Measuring the energy used specifically for process heat.
Making sure equipment is well maintained.
Optimising heating operations and control systems.
Recovering waste heat for other uses.

Invest in more efficient, lower carbon options if equipment is out of date and needs replacing or retrofitting.

These include heating systems that:

are powered by electricity or recovered waste heat rather than fossil fuels
are ‘hydrogen ready’ or use lower carbon fuels
generate combined heat and power (CHP)

Measure and monitor

The US Department of Energy estimates that businesses can save 5% to 15% on process heating costs through low cost operational improvements.

Start by measuring the energy use of process heating equipment separately from other building systems.

Appliances that use electricity or fossil fuels can be ‘submetered’ to find out how much energy they use specifically.

This helps with:

getting a baseline to measure against in the future
working out what share of energy use is for production
identifying reductions in system performance

Submeters can be connected to online monitoring systems that provide real time data and visualisations of usage.

More sophisticated thermal sensors can also provide continuous data on heating levels and help find operational improvements.

Use the Green Economy website to find businesses that can install submeters and monitoring systems.

Do maintenance checks

Simple maintenance checks can identify issues that cause heating systems to run less efficiently. Fixing them can lower demand for heat and reduce energy bills.

If you have a heat monitoring system, use it to identify areas that are not performing well.

You can also conduct a basic walkaround to inspect for:

damaged insulation
clogged or ripped air filters
air or steam leaks
worn or broken seals

Speak to staff in charge of running and maintaining equipment. Based on your findings and their feedback, start or enhance a planned maintenance programme that’s right for your business.

Change operations

Changing operations can lead to significant savings in your heating plant and machinery.

This can include:

changing schedules so equipment runs for less time at higher capacity
looking at alternatives to drying such as presses or centrifuges
making sure that oven doors stay closed as often as possible
reducing excessive preheating periods and recovering waste heat

Check the Carbon Trust guide to manufacturing energy savings for more detailed advice on heating processes.

Retrofit existing equipment

Add on to your existing plant and machinery before buying new systems. Buying new heating equipment is costly.

Simple ideas for new equipment include:

fitting air curtains on to continuous ovens to prevent heat leakage
installing insulation around hot liquid tanks and pipework
fitting tanks with lids to reduce evaporation and reducing warm up time

Waste heat recovery systems can also increase the value of existing equipment and provide ‘free’ heat to other applications.

Potential heat sources include:

ventilation system extracts
boiler flue gases
air compressors
high temperature exhaust from furnaces, kilns, ovens and dryers

Check the Carbon Trust guide to manufacturing energy savings for more detailed advice on heat recovery.

Invest in new equipment

You should consider lower carbon options when fossil fuel-powered heating equipment is due to be replaced.

Lower carbon options ensure compliance with future net zero legislation and lower your emissions profile.

You might also be eligible to claim tax relief under the Annual Investment Allowance. The limit of the allowance is £1M up until 31 March 2023.

Energy input costs for lower carbon systems is generally higher. However, lower carbon systems can still payback through efficiency improvements.

Lower carbon options include:

switching to alternative fuels such as hydrogen, biomass or electrification
using electricity instead
systems that run on gas but can be converted to hydrogen later on
combined heat and power (CHP) systems, provided they are ‘hydrogen-ready’ to avoid locking in natural gas

Use the government’s Energy Technology List to identify energy efficient plant and machinery.

You can also check MakeUK’s net zero roadmap to get more detailed guidance on the readiness of heat decarbonisation technology.

Apply for the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF)

Businesses with high energy use from industrial processes can apply for the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF). The scheme is designed to run until 2028 and is available across the UK.

The IETF provides matching funding for every business for various efficiency measures. How much funding you might get will depend on the type of funding and size of your business.

Funds are available for:

- feasibility or engineering studies
- improving energy efficiency for an industrial process
- reducing emissions caused by an industrial process

Phase 3 of the IETF is open for new applications, supporting industry to cut their energy bills and carbon emissions through investing in energy efficiency and low carbon technologies. For queries about the IETF, contact IETF@beis.gov.uk.

Scotland has a similar IETF scheme. If your site is based in Scotland, you can apply for the Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (SIETF), or contact them at IETF@gov.scot.