₱50,000 a month back in your pocket.From day one.
For Philippine precision metal-fabrication and laser-cutting shops. The same Karnot platform that cools your fibre lasers, CNC spindles and weld stations to ±1 °C heats your parts-wash and facility hot water — one electricity bill, no flame on site, financed by the bank, paid for out of the saving. The heat your chiller dumps is the heat your wash bay is paying to make — and iSAVE shaves the laser's spike off your demand charge.
The chiller dumps the heat. The wash bay buys it back. The laser spikes your demand.
A precision shop is a cooling-led plant. Fibre lasers, CNC spindles and weld stations must hold ±1 °C, so the process chillers run all shift — throwing reject heat over the roof while the parts-wash pays an electric heater to make that same heat back. And the laser + weld load switches hard enough to set your Meralco demand charge for the whole month.
Process cooling IS your tolerance — and your old chiller is the weak link
Laser resonators, CNC spindle oil and weld cooling must hold within ±1 °C or kerf width, focus and bead quality drift out of spec. Most PH shops run an ageing R404A process chiller at COP ~2.8 with an F-gas phasedown clock on the asset register and service prices rising every year. Karnot iCOOL CO₂ holds the same precision duty at COP 4.2 (Oak Ridge National Laboratory validated) — 40% less electricity on the cold side, and the heat it removes is the heat your wash bay needs.
The laser + weld spike is your biggest controllable cost — and it's shaveable
Fibre lasers and weld sets switch in hard bursts. On a Meralco industrial tariff your bill is energy plus a demand charge set by your single worst 15-minute peak — roughly ₱380K/yr of that is the spike. The chiller's reject heat, captured at the iCOOL CO₂ gas cooler at 60–90 °C, covers most of the parts-wash and DHW load. And iSAVE meters the load and shaves the peak with stored cooling — so a bad quarter-hour never sets your whole-month band. No flame, no flue, no insurance loading.
Cool the cut. Bank the heat. Shave the peak.
A heat pump moves heat rather than creating it. When iCOOL holds your lasers, spindles and weld cooling to ±1 °C, the heat removed is delivered to the hot side at 60–90 °C — exactly what the parts-wash and facility hot water need. Your lasers, CNCs and weld cells stay — we replace the utilities around the shop floor, not the machines. We build with these machines; we cool them too.
iCOOL CO₂
Precision cooling for lasers, CNC spindles and weld stations to ±1 °C at COP 4.2. The gas cooler delivers 60–90 °C hot water from the same compression cycle. A1 safety class — non-toxic, non-flammable, no flame on site.
iHEAT R290
Parts-wash and facility hot-water duty. Tops up the recovered chiller heat. Outdoor install, sealed 1.4 kg charge, EN 378 compliant — no plant room, no flame on site.
iSTOR PCM
Thermal battery on both sides. Cold: the process loop rides through a PH brownout so the cut survives mid-sheet. Hot: recovered heat banked for the wash bay. Stores the cooling iSAVE draws on to flatten the peak.
iSAVE + iVOLT
iSAVE meters every duty and shaves the laser + weld spike off your demand charge — monthly IPMVP Option B report to your accountant and your lender. iVOLT zero-export solar on the shop roof cuts the remaining grid draw a further 30–50%.
A precision shop. A real number off every machine-hour.
Modelled on a Philippine precision metal-fabrication shop — fibre lasers + CNC + welding, process cooling held to ±1 °C, recovered chiller heat into parts-wash + DHW, iSAVE peak-demand shaving. Your shop scales with installed cooling load — a bigger laser fleet multiplies up, a single cell divides down — the per-machine-hour economics hold.
| Annual figure | Today | Karnot platform | You stop paying |
|---|---|---|---|
| Process cooling (laser + CNC + weld chillers) | COP 2.8 · R404A | COP 4.2 · CO₂ GWP 1 | ₱620K/yr |
| Parts-wash + facility hot water | electric / direct | recovered chiller heat | ₱280K/yr |
| Peak demand charge (spiky laser/weld load) | un-managed | iSAVE peak-shaving | ₱380K/yr |
| Total energy bill | ~₱1.8M/yr | ~₱0.8M/yr | −56% / ~₱1.0M |
| Refrigerant exposure | R404A GWP 3,922 | CO₂ GWP 1 + R290 GWP 3 | ~40 tCO₂e/yr |
| Total investment (VAT-inc) | (already paid) | ~₱2.0M | 2.0 yr cash payback |
The cash flow. Plain and dull.
CAPEX of ~₱2.0M, financed under a green loan at ~7.5% p.a. over 7 years. The monthly saving (~₱83K) covers the monthly loan payment (~₱32K) more than two and a half times over. Net cash in pocket from day one.
We don't guess the saving. We calculate your minimum — and your peak.
Pinch analysis maps every hot stream in your shop (the chiller reject heat that must leave) against every cold stream (the parts-wash and DHW that must heat) and computes the three numbers that define your energy performance. In a precision shop the cold side dominates — so this is where the saving lives.
The absolute least heating energy your shop needs after maximum recovery. The parts-wash and DHW load is modest — and the chiller's reject heat covers most of it, so you buy almost no heating in at all.
The absolute least chiller energy required after recovery. The cold side dominates a precision shop — so the COP 2.8 → 4.2 jump is where most of the saving lives, every machine-hour, every shift.
The laser + weld spike sets your whole-month demand charge. iSAVE meters it and shaves it with stored cooling — Measure → Shave → Prove — the second lever the heat pump alone can't pull, ~₱380K/yr.
New to pinch analysis? We wrote the plain-English guide — no jargon, no PhD required, with worked composite curves explained in pictures. Then commission a Level 1 Energy Survey (₱90K, refunded in full on install) and we run the pinch study and a demand-peak profile on your actual machine log.
You pay nothing up front. The bank does.
Three Philippine banks run green-loan programmes built for exactly this kind of project. The monthly saving covers the loan payment more than two and a half times over. Net cash flow goes up from day one.
These are loans, not grants. Plus BOI Pioneer Income Tax Holiday under RA 11285 — energy-efficient manufacturing qualifies. Karnot files the loan, the BOI registration, the building permits and the monthly IPMVP M&V report your lender wants to see as part of project scope. You sign at the bank window, not before.
Download the Advanced Manufacturing Application Brief
A 4-page application brief and a 10-slide deck — both ready to share with your production manager, your accountant or your board.
4-Page Application Brief
A4 portrait PDF · print-ready. Hero, cash strip, problem + architecture, four products, the precision-shop numbers table, pinch analysis + demand shaving, bank finance, founder quote.
10-Slide Sales Deck
16:9 landscape PDF. The complete presentation — problem, architecture, four boxes, the bill, cash flow, bank finance, pinch analysis, refrigerant trilemma, next steps.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much can a Philippine precision manufacturing shop save?
A modelled Philippine precision metal-fabrication shop (fibre lasers + CNC + welding) saves approximately ₱1.0M per year — a 56% reduction in the energy bill. Today's setup (an ageing R404A process chiller at COP ~2.8 running all shift, electric parts-wash and DHW, and an un-managed Meralco demand charge driven by the laser/weld spike) costs about ₱1.8M/yr; the Karnot integrated platform delivers the same duties for about ₱0.8M/yr. The three moves: process cooling moves from COP 2.8 to COP 4.2 with iCOOL CO₂ (~₱620K/yr), the recovered chiller reject heat covers the parts-wash and facility hot water (~₱280K/yr), and iSAVE shaves the demand peak (~₱380K/yr). With a 7-year green loan at ~7.5% p.a., the monthly saving (~₱83K) exceeds the loan payment (~₱32K), leaving roughly ₱50,000 net cash per month from day one. Shops scale with installed cooling load.
How can the same machine cool the laser and heat the parts-wash?
A heat pump moves heat rather than creating it. When Karnot iCOOL CO₂ holds the fibre-laser resonators, CNC spindle oil and weld stations to ±1 °C, the heat it removes is rejected at the CO₂ gas cooler at 60–90 °C — exactly the temperature your parts-washing degrease and post-weld cleaning need, plus facility hot water. Today that reject heat is thrown over the roof while an electric heater buys the same energy back for the wash bay. The Karnot platform transfers it across instead: cool the cut, bank the heat, shave the peak. Your lasers, CNCs and weld cells stay — we replace the utilities around the shop floor, not the machines.
Can a heat pump hold the ±1 °C tolerance my laser and CNC need?
Yes. iCOOL CO₂ is a transcritical R744 process chiller validated at COP 4.2 at −5 °C by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, running a closed process-water loop at a stable supply temperature held to ±1 °C — the tolerance fibre-laser resonators, CNC spindle oil and weld cooling require so kerf width, focus and bead quality stay in spec. It replaces an ageing R404A chiller doing the same duty at COP ~2.8, cutting the cold-side electricity by about 40% while keeping the same precision. The iSTOR PCM thermal battery carries the loop through a brownout so the cut never stops mid-sheet.
What is iSAVE peak-demand shaving and why does it matter for a laser shop?
On a Meralco industrial tariff your bill has two parts: energy (per kWh) and a demand charge set by your single worst 15-minute peak in the month. Fibre lasers and weld sets switch in hard bursts, so that spike — not your average load — drives the demand charge, roughly ₱380K/yr on the modelled shop. iSAVE meters the load, then shaves the peak using stored cooling in the iSTOR PCM and buffered draw, so a bad quarter-hour never sets your whole-month demand band. It is Karnot's Measure → Shave → Prove loop: the monitoring finds the spike, the storage shaves it, and the IPMVP Option B M&V report proves the reduction to your accountant and your lender.
What is pinch analysis and why does it matter for my shop?
Pinch analysis maps every hot stream (the chiller reject heat that must leave) against every cold stream (the parts-wash and DHW that must heat) and computes QHmin and QCmin — the absolute minimum heating and cooling your process needs after maximum heat recovery. In a precision shop the cold side dominates, so the COP 2.8 to 4.2 jump is where most of the saving lives, and the recovered chiller heat covers almost all of the modest heating demand — meaning you buy in almost no heating at all. A heat pump is the only utility that can move the chiller's surplus heat across to the wash bay. Start with the plain-English pinch guide, then commission a Level 1 Energy Survey (₱90K, refunded on install) and we run the pinch study and a demand-peak profile on your actual machine log.
Is CO₂ refrigerant safe and suitable for a fabrication shop?
Yes — CO₂ (R744) is an A1 safety class refrigerant: non-toxic and non-flammable, with a GWP of 1 and no F-gas phasedown exposure. It holds precision process loops to ±1 °C with no flame and no flue on site. Compare the legacy options: R404A and R134a process chillers have GWP up to 3,922 with quota-driven service prices rising every year, and industrial ammonia is efficient but toxic — exclusion zones, specialist technicians, insurance loadings, and sized for heavy-industry plant rooms rather than precision process loops. Karnot iHEAT R290 (propane) sits outdoors with a sealed 1.4 kg charge under EN 378. Nothing on the asset register carries a phasedown date or an exclusion zone.
What happens to my process cooling during a brownout?
The iSTOR PCM thermal battery carries the precision process loop through 8–12 hours of grid outage on stored cooling alone — no compressor, no generator — so the laser, CNC and weld cooling stay in tolerance and the cut never stops mid-sheet. The same battery banks the recovered chiller heat for the parts-wash and stores the cooling that iSAVE draws on to flatten the demand peak, so one asset does cold backup, hot buffering and peak shaving.
What financing and incentives are available?
Three Philippine banks run green-loan programmes that fit precision-manufacturing CAPEX: DBP SEFP (~6.5–8% p.a., 70–80% LTV, industrial energy-efficiency priority), LandBank SEILP (~7% p.a., strong for regional and export-zone fabricators), and BPI SDF (~1–1.5% below standard SME rates). Most installs also qualify for BOI Pioneer status and an Income Tax Holiday under RA 11285 as energy-efficient manufacturing. Karnot files the loan application, the BOI registration, the building permits and the monthly IPMVP M&V report your lender wants — as part of project scope.
Want the numbers for your shop?
Send us your installed laser / CNC / weld cooling load, 12 months of electricity bills (with the demand-charge line) and your shift pattern. We come back with a sized system, your QHmin and QCmin, your demand-peak profile, projected saving, payback — and the bank application ready to sign.