http://www.washideas.com/2010/05/wash-ideas-weekly-45-what-happens-in-vegas/

The car wash industry is evolving right in front of us. Looking back at events that took place within the car wash world in 2009, it is becoming increasingly clear that there are three trends that will be shaping 2010 and beyond. Together, these three trends point to a New Way to Operate in which operational efficiency and operational effectiveness will be more valued by operators than ever before and the traditional notion of looking to In-bay and tunnel equipment for answers will be supplanted by cost containment strategies and products, strategic relationships for growth and profitability, and remote, contextual metrics that help owners and managers make better, real time business decisions.  Here are the three trends that are creating the New Way to Operate and what they mean to you:  follow this link for the complete article > new-way-operate-article

Feature Article in America’s Car Care Business Magazine OCTOBER issue discusses how real-time wash monitoring and alarming is helping progressive operators  achieve real-time equipment status information to improve up time, run better quality, save money and manage multiple stores. 

Follow this link for the entire article  www.americascarcare.com/database/dms/acc1009w64.pdf

“We’ve retrofitted all our washes and we won’t build a wash without one,” declared Chip Hackett , owner of four exterior express Ultr a Car Wash locations in the Atl anta, Georgia, area. Clearly, Chip Hackett is hooked on VFDs—Variable Frequency Drives. “We got into the business five years ago. We focused on building the business, but we’ve been focusing lately on the expense side. We got the soaps and water under control, but the big gaping hole was in electricity and power management.” 

Follow this link to read the entire article  http://www.washtrends.com/WashTrendsFall2009/index.html

Never before have consumers been as intelligent and savvy as they are today. They know what they want, when they want it and more importantly they want it conveniently. As a result, businesses in every industry focus as much of their time planning the delivery of their products as they do actually developing the product or service itself. The latest trend in providing convenient service has turned to automatic payment terminals. In the constant race to optimize profits and stay ahead of grow­ing competition in the marketplace, every car washer wants to reduce costs and increase revenue. In particular, there is increasing pressure to optimize labor perfor­mance while at the same time maintaining or improving customer service.

Many car wash owners have already realized that they can accomplish these goals by implementing automatic payment terminals the same way other industries have like banks adding ATM’s and video stores, fast food restaurants airports and grocery stores all offering self-service checkout.  According to Professional Carwashing & Detailing magazine’s 2008 Conveyer Benchmarking Report, full-service and flex-service operators reported 57% of their customers pay with a credit or pre-paid card, which resulted in over 21% of operators utilizing automatic payment terminals on their site.   These car washers are on the leading edge of a national retail trend; “Market Study: North American Self-Checkout Systems,” a 2007 study by the IHL Consulting Group, which states that 98 percent of respondents have used self checkout, almost 50 percent have used it more than five times in the previous year, and 72 percent have readily accepted the technology in the market­place without any negative connotations.  But some car wash owners require more information to help them determine whether or not an automatic payment terminal is right for their car wash.  In this article, we will highlight five reasons car washers should take advantage of self pay technologies to achieve significant business benefits. 

Follow the link below for the complete article - http://www.americascarcare.com/database/dms/ACC0809W56.pdf

In June , Moo Moo Car Wash opened its second location in the past 9 months in the Columbus, Ohio marketplace.  The new store, in the suburb of Pickerington, improved upon the original design on Broad St in several areas like signage using LED fixtures and value engineering on the building.  However, the most significant improvement was the incorporation of Smart Start Electrical controls which has delivered a 30% energy savings per car. 

Smart Start is the application of intelligent motor control for car wash to achieve smart operating conditions using advanced technology; only spend money to make money.

For Moo Moo Car Wash, all of the 3 phase loads (except for McNeil Wash equipment) were incorporated into a single custom Motor Control Center enclosure.  This design saved the owner thousands of dollars in acquisition costs and installation costs.  Since most all of the motor controls were placed into one cabinet, the owner avoided paying for multiple enclosures, disconnects, main circuit breakers etc.  All of the controls leveraged a single enclosure and amortized the costs across more loads.  Additionally, the owner avoided the cost of mounting and pulling wire to multiple cabinets -  not to mention saving precious back room wall space.  Using some fancy footwork, the MCC was placed close enough to the Main Distribution Panel to avoid the need for its own disconnect saving another thousand dollars.  “For new sites, using a custom MCC to house all of the three phase loads is definitely the way to go.  For our next site, we are thinking of taking it a step further and having Smart Start provide a single panel which combines the MDP and MCC for an even more efficient power configuration;” said John Roush one of the owners.

Read entire article - New Car Wash Saves 30% on Energy moo-moo-article1

DSIRE is a comprehensive source of information on these programs > see resource center Other Materials >  Local and Federal Energy Incentive Programs www.dsireusa.org

Below is an example program offered in Austin, Texas which explicitly reference VFDs for motors:

“Austin Energy offers incentives for its commercial customers to increase the energy efficiency of their facilities through their Commercial Rebate Program. Rebates are available for qualified HVAC equipment, ceiling/roof insulation and reflective coating, chillers, custom technologies, energy recovery ventilators, lighting equipment, motors, solar technologies, variable frequency drives, and window treatments.  
 
Interested businesses must first fill out a Participation Request Form. An Austin Energy Representative will then contact the business to schedule an initial assessment of the facility, during which, project related documentation, applications and additional energy saving opportunities will be discussed. A Rebate Application accompanied by the required technical documentation on the proposed equipment must then be submitted before any new equipment is installed. Austin Energy will then perform a preliminary inspection of the existing equipment, followed by a final inspection after the work is complete.

Based on our case study findings, it is likely that the entire investment is VFDs from CMI would be reimbursable from Austin Energy.  Get educated on incentives or rebates that may be available in your community.  You never know, your investment to save thousands of dollars per year may be FREE!