Wabtec – Heating control for a more sustainable rail network

Wabtec, a global leader in rail technology, wanted to improve energy efficiency at its Burton site as part of their wider sustainability goals. Our energy control solution delivered centralised control, full visibility, and 28% energy savings, achieving system payback in just 14 months.

Industry

Transportation

Key goals

Sustainability goals

28 %

Savings delivered

Month payback period

Context

Wabtec is committed to sustainable freight and passenger transport, continually working to reduce the environmental impact of its operations.

As part of the site visit and following discussions with Wabtec we are able to identify the following situation and challenges:

There was a boiler providing central heating and two suspended warm ait blowers on the shop floor.
That reducing onsite consumption would be welcome and being able to demonstrate that that reduction was essential.
A tariff increase was due next year and cost savings to combat this would be very impactful.
The business was targeting cost savings and looking to improve the bottom line.
There was no existing central point of control for heating or any configuration.
Heaters were located close to roller shutter doors with heating typically left on when doors were open.
There was no visibility over the usage of heaters at site.
All heaters were on smart com controllers, with no local temperature sensors for where the heat was distributed.

Solution

We carried out a detailed site survey to understand how heating was used across the building and identify where control improvements could have the greatest impact.

We installed our energy control system, connecting all heaters to a central control unit with both on-site and remote access. Each heating zone was fitted with a local temperature sensor to accurately monitor heat distribution, supported by an external sensor to adjust pre-heat times and enable weather compensation throughout the year.

To address heat loss, door sensors were installed near shutter doors, automatically pausing heating when doors were left open and resuming operation once closed.

Impact

The new system gave Wabtec full visibility over their site’s heating performance, with advanced control and data insights driving both cost and energy reductions.

The installation achieved a 28% energy saving, surpassing the initial forecast of 25%, and delivered full payback within 14 months.

By combining smart control with real-time data, Wabtec strengthened its position as an industry leader in sustainable operations – cutting waste without compromising comfort or productivity.