Cars are not warm showers

Cars are not warm showers

Currently, self-service car washes are operated in individual processes with hot water that is heated with heating oil or gas. “The reasons for this lie more in history and market requirements than in a real technical necessity,” says Matthias Bertoldi, Managing Director of Washtec Austria. In view of rising energy prices and the need for climate protection, he believes the time has come to implement the company's sustainability strategy. “We have already proactively made our AUWA chemistry suitable for cold water, now the time is ripe for the change,” says Bertoldi.

The first major Washtec customers decommissioned their systems' heating systems in July of this year and will take advantage of the retrofitting for the winter. According to Washtec, individual private customers have already had their systems converted. “The feedback from washing customers – if you notice it – is consistently positive if the reasoning is appropriate,” says Matthias Bertoldi happily. The company is apparently a pioneer in such energy-saving measures, as Bertoldi says it even receives inquiries from competitors about corresponding conversions. “We have to reject that, it’s not our trade,” Bertoldi has to say. The savings potential at the Austrian WashTec locations alone is enormous. It amounts to around 9-10 million KWH per year - this corresponds to the annual electricity requirements of around 2,500 three-person households.