What belongs in the oven savings figure?

Every continuing oven cost the UV cell removes: fuel or electricity, exhaust and make-up air, building cooling, maintenance, floor space and cure-time work in progress.

Why add a discount rate?

Payback asks how long money is at risk; NPV asks whether the project creates value at the cost of capital. The two usually disagree.

Will my parts cure under UV?

That is the first question and not a cost one. Thick, filled, pigmented or shadowed parts that an oven handles may not cure under a lamp.

Why does NPV equal net cash at a zero rate?

A zero rate counts a year-five dollar as a dollar today, so five level cash flows sum to five times one of them. That is the undiscounted convention.

UV Curing calculator

Oven vs UV Cure Payback Calculator: Payback and Discounted NPV

Appraise an oven-to-UV conversion on the payback everyone quotes and the discounted value finance will apply. Enter installed cost, annual oven savings, UV running cost and your discount rate.

What this calculator does

Simple payback and discounted NPV for replacing a thermal cure oven with a UV cell.

Formula used

Net annual savings = annual oven savings − annual UV operating cost
Years to payback = installed cost ÷ net annual savings
Five-year net cash = net annual savings × 5 − installed cost
Five-year ROI = five-year net cash ÷ installed cost × 100
Five-year NPV = net annual savings × annuity factor − installed cost

Inputs explained

UV Cell Installed Cost: Everything spent before the first good part, including integration.
Annual Savings vs Oven: Everything the oven costs that the UV cell does not.
Annual UV Operating Cost: Electricity, lamps or arrays, cooling and any nitrogen.
Discount Rate: Your cost of capital. Zero reproduces the undiscounted figures.

How to use the result

Best suited to screening an oven replacement before engineering, presenting a case that faces a hurdle rate, showing what undiscounted payback hides.
Assumes the parts cure under UV; thick, filled or shadowed parts may not. Ignores tax, depreciation, grants and rebates, which can be substantial. Prices no throughput gain, and faster cure often removes a bottleneck.

Current U.S. benchmarks

As of 2026-10-02, the U.S. prime lending rate is 7.00% (Federal Reserve via FRED). Equipment loans and lines of credit typically price at prime plus a spread, so use your actual borrowing rate when you have it.

Common questions

What belongs in the oven savings figure? Every continuing oven cost the UV cell removes: fuel or electricity, exhaust and make-up air, building cooling, maintenance, floor space and cure-time work in progress.
Why add a discount rate? Payback asks how long money is at risk; NPV asks whether the project creates value at the cost of capital. The two usually disagree.
Will my parts cure under UV? That is the first question and not a cost one. Thick, filled, pigmented or shadowed parts that an oven handles may not cure under a lamp.
Why does NPV equal net cash at a zero rate? A zero rate counts a year-five dollar as a dollar today, so five level cash flows sum to five times one of them. That is the undiscounted convention.

Last reviewed 2026-10-05.