Analysis showed that dynamically matching exhaust fans to the volume of gases produced within an oven could provide energy savings of nearly 5%.
This equates to savings of up to £14,000 per site per year, with payback times varying from one to five years, depending on the condition of the existing oven, says the Carbon Trust.
"Further savings are possible by balancing gas flow rates in and out of the oven," comments Gary Tucker, head of baking and cereal processing department, Campden BRI Group.
"One of the unquantified gas flows during baking is the volumetric flow rate of gases released from products," he continues.
"Campden BRI demonstrated that this was of similar magnitude to that from combustion products but increased towards the end of baking time, as more steam was released. Further research is required before this can be taken into account using a gas flow optimisation algorithm."
"Collaboration with Campden BRI and the Carbon Trust on this initiative enabled us to examine in greater detail the cost saving potential and environmental advantages of improved mass-balance in ovens," states Dan Kirk, research and development manager at Spooner Industries.
"Ultimately, it is the financial payback for customers together with corporate social responsibility programmes which are the driving forces for these improvements," he adds.
Currently, gas flow through ovens is largely not optimised for efficiency. To investigate the potential for improvement the Carbon Trust conducted two trials with Campden BRI and Spooner Industries.
The trials measured gas volumes produced during baking, both from combustion and from the product itself, and the effect on oven efficiency of improved management of flue gas.
Al-Karim Govindji, senior manager at the Carbon Trust says: "The results of these trials are really positive and show that taking steps to improve ventilation in ovens, thus optimising the gas flow rate, can result in real financial savings."