Specialty Films, Membranes & Barrier Materials worked example

Drying Energy with drying oven connected load of 6 kW: a worked example in specialty films, membranes & barrier materials

This worked example runs the drying energy numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: drying oven connected load of 6 kW instead of the typical 12 kW. Estimate drying energy for specialty films, membranes and barrier materials using production-ready inputs so teams can budget energy cost, compare equipment settings, or include electricity in the quote.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Drying oven connected load: 6 kW (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 12)
  • Drying oven runtime: 8 hr (held at the documented default)
  • Blended electricity rate: 0.12 $ / kWh (held at the documented default)
  • Coated web length or rolls dried during runtime: 1,000 units (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Total drying energy cost = drying energy connected load × drying energy runtime × blended electricity rate.
  • Drying energy used works out to 48 kWh at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Total drying energy cost works out to 5.76 $ at these inputs.
  • Energy cost per kWh works out to 0.01 $ / piece at these inputs.
  • Hourly drying energy cost works out to 0.72 $ / hr at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where drying oven connected load sits at 12 kW and the headline result is 96 kWh, this scenario comes in 50% below the baseline at 48 kWh.
  • Use it when costing a coating formulation, evaluating line-speed changes, or comparing the energy of air, IR, and hybrid drying approaches. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.

Results at a glance

  • Drying energy used: 48 kWh (headline result)
  • Total drying energy cost: 5.76 $
  • Energy cost per kWh: 0.01 $ / piece
  • Hourly drying energy cost: 0.72 $ / hr

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Drying Energy calculator, set drying oven connected load to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.