UV Curing worked example

Thermal Oven vs UV Cure Payback with uv cell installed cost of 60,000 $: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop uv cell installed cost to 60,000 $, then walk the calculation through step by step. Compare a UV cure cell's installed cost against the energy + floor-space + cycle-time savings vs a thermal cure oven on the same product.

The inputs for this scenario

  • UV cell installed cost: 60,000 $ (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 120,000)
  • Annual savings vs thermal oven: 48,000 $ / yr (held at the documented default)
  • Annual UV operating cost: 3,500 $ / yr (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Net annual savings = annual thermal savings − annual UV operating cost.
  • Years to payback works out to 1.35 years to payback at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Net annual savings works out to 44,500 $ / yr at these inputs.
  • UV cell installed cost works out to 60,000 $ at these inputs.
  • Five year net works out to 162,500 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where uv cell installed cost sits at 120,000 $ and the headline result is 2.7 years to payback, this scenario comes in 50% below the baseline at 1.35 years to payback.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to uv cell installed cost, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. It is an undiscounted payback and assumes UV chemistry can match the product requirements; substrates needing through-cure or pigmented depths may not be UV-curable, which the calculator cannot judge.

Results at a glance

  • Years to payback: 1.35 years to payback (headline result)
  • Net annual savings: 44,500 $ / yr
  • UV cell installed cost: 60,000 $
  • Five year net: 162,500 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Thermal Oven vs UV Cure Payback calculator, set uv cell installed cost to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.