Benefit Your Bottom Line with Energy Incentives on New Welding Power Sources
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Businesses considering an upgrade to welding equipment in an effort to increase profitability and cut operating costs can take advantage of the additional advantage these incentives provide — for an even greater impact on the bottom line.
Improving energy efficiency and reducing costs are important priorities for most businesses — especially as more operations set increasingly rigorous efficiency targets in an effort to “go green.”
For businesses that use welding machines — either in the shop or in the field — replacing older welding power sources with new technology is one way to improve energy efficiency and find cost savings that can have a significant impact on the bottom line. Just as with many other technologies — from cars to refrigerators to televisions — new welding equipment brings significant benefits compared to older machines, such as increased power efficiency and improved quality.
While making the investment in new welding power sources provides a financial payback over time thanks to improved energy efficiency and productivity gains, there is additional good news: Many states and utilities offer a financial incentive for businesses that purchase new welding machines. This means businesses can reap the efficiency, productivity and quality benefits provided by a transition to newer, more energy-efficient equipment, while also earning a financial incentive on the purchase.
Taking advantage of these offers can benefit the bottom line and add up to significant savings — especially for operations with a large fleet of welders that are not as power efficient as new power sources.
Incentives can save hundreds
The available energy incentives can help businesses and manufacturers accelerate the replacement of older welding machines with newer ones that are more energy-efficient. States and utilities offer this type of program because supporting the purchase of newer, more efficient equipment is more cost-effective than adding capacity to the utility grid.
The incentive programs vary by state and by utility company, so it’s a good idea to check on the offers available in your region. In some cases, it can mean hundreds of dollars or more per machine in financial incentives or rebates.
For example, Energy Trust of Oregon offers an incentive to industrial, municipal and agricultural customers of certain utilities in the state that provides $1,200 per welding power source. Among the qualifying criteria in that program: the machine must operate at least 2,000 hours per year; less than 26 welding machines are being replaced; and welder size must be between 200 amps and 650 amps.
Utility rates vary by state, so the expected savings will vary based on those rates. One power consumption estimate shows annual power cost savings of $47.05 per machine, based on testing with 600 hours of arc time per year. Based on this test, if a manufacturer replaced 20 older machines with new welding power sources, it would result in annual energy savings of $941. Larger machines would offer an ever greater energy savings payback.
Benefits for quality and performance
In addition to the lower up-front costs that rebates and incentive programs can provide, a transition to newer welding technology can also pay off in numerous other benefits, including greater energy efficiency and improved quality and productivity. Swapping out old machines for newer technology can typically save a company up to $200 in energy costs per year, per machine.
What was state-of-the-art 10 years ago may bear little resemblance to welding equipment now and the advantages that new machines offer. Today’s welding power sources provide benefits that can help shorten prep time, increase deposition rates, decrease operator training time and reduce weld defects and necessary rework.
Another benefit of newer welding technology is the ability to automatically gather welding intelligence data as an optional enhancement. The portfolio of tools available range from basic dashboard reporting of weld parameters to real-time operator feedback. These enhancements can help welding operations quickly detect weld defects, identify missed welds and achieve full traceability — benefits that help businesses improve quality and productivity and manage costs.
In addition to the proven return on investment in the form of energy savings, new welding power sources also provide consistent arc starts and stops, and smooth, stable arc performance that is more forgiving to variations — which can result in improved weld quality. The stable arc also means minimal spatter, for reduced time needed for cleanup. Plus, these results are achievable with fewer controls to set on the machine, for greater ease of use.
New welding power sources can also offer more portability and space savings, due to their smaller size and weight.
Get the power to save
Today’s state-of-the-art welding machines operate so efficiently that they easily create payback and return on investment through energy savings. In addition, they produce high-quality weld beads, and provide the flexibility of offering multiprocess welding capabilities while being easy to learn and use.
On top of these benefits, most states offer financial incentives to businesses that update their welding equipment to newer, more energy-efficient machines. Businesses considering an upgrade to welding equipment in an effort to increase profitability and cut operating costs can take advantage of the additional advantage these incentives provide — for an even greater impact on the bottom line.