Appliances, HVAC & White Goods Manufacturing worked example

White Goods Automation Payback Calculator with automation investment of 225,000 $: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop automation investment to 225,000 $, then walk the calculation through step by step. Calculate payback period for appliance automation from investment, annual savings, and annual support cost.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Automation investment: 225,000 $ (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 450,000)
  • Annual labor, scrap, and capacity savings: 165,000 $ / yr (held at the documented default)
  • Annual automation support cost: 28,000 $ / yr (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Net annual automation savings = annual labor, scrap, and capacity savings - annual automation support cost.
  • White goods automation payback period works out to 1.64 yr at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Net annual automation savings works out to 137,000 $ / yr at these inputs.
  • Automation investment works out to 225,000 $ at these inputs.
  • Five-year net automation value works out to 460,000 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where automation investment sits at 450,000 $ and the headline result is 3.28 yr, this scenario comes in 50% below the baseline at 1.64 yr.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to automation investment, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. It is an undiscounted screen that holds savings flat and excludes financing, model-changeover retooling, and ramp-up scrap, so validate it against your line's volume assumptions.

Results at a glance

  • White goods automation payback period: 1.64 yr (headline result)
  • Net annual automation savings: 137,000 $ / yr
  • Automation investment: 225,000 $
  • Five-year net automation value: 460,000 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live White Goods Automation Payback Calculator calculator, set automation investment to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.