Commercial laundry heat-loss · ASTM C680

Where a laundry loses heat — and what it costs

Updated 22 June 2026 · ASTM C680 / ISO 12241 method

Walk the hot side of your laundry, select the equipment you run, and see the energy and CO₂ comparison add up live. Add your own commercial rate and installed cost only when you want to test payback.

Surface ≤45 °C touch-safe Up to 96% heat-loss cut Commercial rates blank ASTM C680 method
Reference scope
130.3 m²
identified hot surfaces
Equipment groups
3
dryers · ironers · steam
Energy saved
854 MWh
fuel not burned / yr
CO₂ comparison
173 t
0.202 t/MWh-fuel
Tumbler dryers
84–120 °C
6 gas-fired units in the reference scope
Bare vs insulated, 5 views →
Flatwork ironers
~66 °C
Large removable roof-panel area
Bare vs insulated, 5 views →
Steam services
100–180 °C
Doors, valves and feed-water equipment
The boiler house, 6 views →

Reference model: anonymised UK commercial-laundry scope across steam services, 6 gas-fired tumbler dryers and 2 flatwork ironers. The 130.3 m² physical scope and temperature inputs are retained; tariff, installed cost and payback are not assumed.

Where your laundry loses heat

Walk the hot side — by area

Open each area to see the equipment and the savings removable insulation delivers. Ready for the full picture? Build a remote whole-laundry calculator — last card, no site visit.

Build a remote heat-loss calculator for your whole laundry. Select the equipment you run, adjust its area, temperature and quantity, and the panel shows annual energy and CO₂. Commercial value and payback appear only after you add your own rate and installed cost.

Assumptions: · hot-side hours per ASTM C680 defaults

Get a tailored assessment for your laundry

Tell us what you'd like us to look at — we reply with a project quote and a PDF breakdown of kW, MWh/year and CO₂. Payback is then calculated from your rate and quoted cost.

What would you like us to look at?
Tumbler dryers Flatwork ironers Steam services Steam / condensate lines Whole site

Gas-fired tumbler dryers run whenever the plant runs — their top burner + heat-exchanger surfaces run ~115 °C, with the back to ~120 °C. We provide modular removable insulation for that equipment, with access for sight-glass frames and dampers, and leaving burner intakes and controls clear.

A flatwork-ironer roof is a large, continuously hot surface (~66 °C) radiating into the hall. The roof is built from lift-off panels — we insulate each panel individually, so the insulation lifts with the panel for maintenance and refits exactly. Access remains available.

The boiler house runs hottest. Bare doors, burner flanges, economizer chambers, manholes, valves and feed-water pumps have high measured surface temperatures and steady losses, so they should be ranked by area, temperature and operating hours.

Interactive boiler heat-explorer. See the Cochran steam boiler in 3D — bare vs insulated, six views — and the savings across every fitting. Open the tool →

Put a number on a single item

Pick any hot surface, enter its size and temperature, and see the energy and CO₂ comparison. Add your own energy rate and installed cost when a payback test is required. ASTM C680 method, no sign-up. Not a laundry? Run the whole-plant industrial heat-loss & CO₂ calculator.

Open the calculator →
Why Inzonex

Engineered to fit, fasten and serve

Three details that set Inzonex modular insulation apart on laundry hot surfaces — and why it keeps performing year after year. Product & tech specs →

Easy installation

Snap-button fastening

Stainless snap buttons fasten and release each cover by hand — no tools, no fixings drilled into the dryer or ironer. Covers go on fast and unclip in seconds for routine access, damper checks or inspection, then snap back exactly.

Serviceable · reliable

Panel-matched & replaceable core

On ironers each roof panel is insulated individually so it lifts with the panel; the cover unzips so the mineral-wool core lifts out for washing or renewal. The shell stays in service — only the core is replaced.

Modular & form-fitting

Follows the equipment's shape

Modular sections wrap the exact geometry of dryer bodies and boiler fittings — minimising creases where water, lint or chemicals could pool. The clean, tailored finish also drops radiant heat into a hot, humid hall.

Methodology & buyer questions

Laundry heat-loss — FAQ

How much heat does an uninsulated laundry lose?
An industrial laundry loses tens of kilowatts continuously from bare boiler doors and valves, the tops of tumbler dryers (burner and heat-exchanger surfaces) and the roofs of flatwork ironers. On the canonical model used here (ISO 12241, convection + radiation, lightly-ventilated hall) a bare dryer top at ~115 °C loses ≈1,300 W/m², an ironer roof at ~66 °C ≈590 W/m². Removable insulation cuts each by ~95%.
What temperatures are the main laundry surfaces?
Steam boiler doors and fittings run 120–190 °C; gas-fired tumbler dryers run hot — top burner/heat-exchanger ~115 °C, back ~120 °C, sides ~100 °C, front ~84 °C; flatwork-ironer tops ~66 °C; feed-water and condensate lines ~90–102 °C. The surface temperature drives the loss — each is modelled at its real operating temperature.
Which equipment is worth assessing first?
Start with the hottest, longest-running exposed surfaces: dryer burner and heat-exchanger sections, large ironer roof panels, and bare steam-service components. Rank them by measured temperature, exposed area and annual operating hours rather than by an assumed payback.
How is laundry insulation payback calculated?
The calculator first estimates annual fuel energy avoided. Payback is shown only after you enter an energy rate and installed project cost. No default tariff, project cost or typical payback is assumed.
How do you insulate a flatwork ironer when the roof must lift for maintenance?
The ironer roof is usually built from lift-off panels. We insulate each panel individually, so the insulation lifts together with its panel for maintenance access and refits exactly. No access is lost and the hot roof stops radiating into the hall.
Can you insulate gas-fired tumbler dryers safely?
Yes. We cover the hot top burner and heat-exchanger surfaces, the back and the upper side panels — templated around bolts, sight-glass frames, dampers, brackets and flue stubs. Burner air intakes, controls and access points are left clear. The cover surface stays below 45 °C, reducing burn risk in tight dryer aisles.
How is Inzonex different from ready-made covers?
Inzonex Modular Insulation is engineered per item. Each cover is templated to the exact geometry (boiler doors, valves, dryer bodies, ironer roof panels, irregular fittings) — the complex shapes that ready-made covers are not made for. Stainless snap-button fasteners close it by hand: no tools, no fixings drilled into the equipment. The form-fitting build follows the surface, so there are minimal folds where water, lint or chemicals could collect. The insulating core (PAROC stone wool) is independently replaceable; the outer shell is silicone (standard) or PTFE. The result looks tailored — not a sack, and unclips for cleaning and inspection.
Does insulating hot surfaces lower the laundry hall temperature?
Yes. Less radiant and convective heat enters the hall from dryer tops, ironer roofs and the boiler house, so the ambient temperature falls — a real comfort gain in a hot, humid laundry — on top of the touch-safe ≤45 °C cover surface.
Which inputs are site-specific?
Surface temperature, exposed area, quantity, annual operating hours, boiler or heat-source efficiency, fuel carbon factor, energy rate and installed cost are site-specific. The physical planning defaults are editable and commercial inputs are blank.
Want the maths? Every figure comes from the same ASTM C680 / ISO 12241 model — read the full methodology →
Method & evidence
Published by Inzonex. Heat-loss calculations follow the documented ASTM C680 / ISO 12241 method; see PowerAtlas and the research record at DOI 10.31224/7444. Machine-specific figures are engineering estimates unless the page explicitly identifies measured case data.