Many industrial facilities use process heating, for a variety of operations. Direct process heating (not including steam systems) accounts for about one-fourth of total industrial energy use. Opportunities to improve efficiency in this area include:
- Optimize burner air to fuel ratios
- Maintain clean heat transfer surfaces
- Install furnace pressure controllers
- Install waste heat recovery systems
- Preheat combustion air
- Reduce air infiltration in furnaces
- Reduce radiation losses from heating equipment
DOE's Advanced Manufacturing Office offers a free process heating assessment and survey tool (PHAST) to identify the most cost-effective options for improving process heating.