The Challenge

A mid-size contractor needing to winterize a recreation facility under construction wanted to save money on temporary heating. The customer was already using WEDGE™ from United Rentals to remotely monitor jobsite temperatures. Sensors placed in key locations provided insight into real-time temperatures. Notifications alerted them when a predetermined temperature was exceeded and allowed them to manually turn off heaters to conserve fuel.

Interested in realizing additional fuel savings, they sought to test a heater equipped with SmartHeat Climate Control.

The Solution

United Rentals provided two identical heaters, one equipped with SmartHeat Climate Control and one with a cabled thermostat. SmartHeat climate control automatically cycles a heater on and off to maintain a set temperature. Each heater was used to heat a similar-size area overnight.

The Outcome

The heater equipped with SmartHeat Climate Control provided a fuel cost savings of $3.92 per hour. In a 120-day winter season, if the heaters were run 24 hours per day, that reduction would translate to a savings of $11,200. Minimizing trips to heaters to perform temperature checks and refill fuel tanks would create labor savings on top of fuel savings.