The Loading Dock Equipment Manufacturers (LODEM) group within trade association Material Handling Industry (MHI) has unveiled the Loading Dock Seal Energy Savings Calculator—an energy savings estimation tool for warehouses.

The interactive tool allows you to input data about your warehouse and will return estimated annual energy savings resulting from installing or replacing loading dock seals. A properly designed dock seal can achieve up to 90% efficiency, while a dock shelter can achieve up to 70% efficiency.

Bob Hensel, vice chairman of LODEM, said: “The calculator offers unprecedented access to building owners, loading dock equipment dealers, and loading dock management to a sophisticated energy assessment tool that estimates the money to be saved by adding or replacing dock seals.”

You no longer need to be a member of a select fraternity to have access to state-of-the-art estimates of energy savings at the loading dock. This calculator developed exclusively for LODEM by an ASHRAE-member engineering firm, estimates annual financial savings for determining the payback period to recoup investment at the loading dock. In many cases, energy savings pays for the cost of new seals in less than two years. And, the calculator is free to use.

The Loading Dock Equipment Manufacturers (LODEM) members are the industry’s leading suppliers of loading dock equipment. They supply solutions worldwide and in virtually every major manufacturing and distribution sector.

With only a handful of basic inputs the calculator provides immediate results, which include savings for natural gas and electricity in terms of annual dollar savings and energy savings.