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Industrial Infra-red Heating
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Introduction There are large numbers of electric contraflow ovens in use which mainly use metal-sheath long wave infra-red emitters. By performing a simple, low-cost conversion to medium-wave infra-red using a system developed by Infra-red and proven by East Midlands Electricity, oven efficiency can be improved by at least 30%. |
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Oven
Conversion |
The metal-sheathed emitters are directly replaced by fast response medium-wave “cassettes” mounted on insulated reflector panels. The cassette arrays have the same power rating and wiring configuration as the original emitters. The existing wiring and controls can be used without upgrading the electrical supply, keeping the conversion cost to a minimum. All or a selected few of the oven zones can be converted to optimise process requirements. Conversion involves minimum disruption and can be carried out in just a few hours of downtime. |
How it Works
Convective (hot-air) loss is the main source of inefficiency in contraflow type ovens. Medium-wave infra-red delivers much more radiant energy to the products being heated than the long-wave equivalent, consequently, less convective heat is produced and the overall efficiency is improved.
Benefits
The benefits of conversion can be realised as either greater throughput for no increase in energy costs, or reduced energy costs for the same throughput.
Exact performance gains depend on the product, but based on recent tests, reductions in processing time of at least 30 % can be expected.
Response time (heat-up time) of the replacement system is around 30 seconds compared to 5 minutes for the original long-wave emitters. This allows more energy to be saved by switching off during even short production breaks, or by using automatic product detection.
Efficiency Trials
Two sections of a three-metre contraflow has been converted to fast response medium-wave for feasibility tests. Trials carried out using the oven on a variety of products have repeatedly demonstrated the improved performance over long wave.
