Heat Treatment, Furnaces & Thermal Processing worked example

Furnace Payback with installed furnace investment of 625,000 $: a worked example

What does the result look like when installed furnace investment reaches 625,000 $? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. Use it when a furnace capital request needs a simple payback check before procurement, maintenance, or finance review.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Installed furnace investment: 625,000 $ (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 250,000)
  • Annual heat treat savings: 90,000 $ / yr (unchanged)
  • Annual support cost: 15,000 $ / yr (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Net annual furnace savings = annual heat treat savings - annual support cost) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 8.33 yr for furnace payback period, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 75,000 $ / yr for net annual furnace savings.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 625,000 $ for installed furnace investment.
  • At this operating point the engine returns -250,000 $ for five year net benefit.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where installed furnace investment sits at 250,000 $ and the headline result is 3.33 yr, this scenario comes in 150% above the baseline at 8.33 yr.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when installed furnace investment is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. It is a simple undiscounted payback: it ignores the time value of money, energy price escalation, and salvage value, so treat it as a screening number rather than a full NPV.

Results at a glance

  • Furnace payback period: 8.33 yr (headline result)
  • Net annual furnace savings: 75,000 $ / yr
  • Installed furnace investment: 625,000 $
  • Five year net benefit: -250,000 $

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Furnace Payback calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.