Learn how modern day Car Wash Controllers have evolved in efficiency and effectiveness!
Man and machine have always shared a complicated, even poetic, rivalry.
From iconic films such as The Terminator or RoboCop, to more recent cinematic blockbusters such as the Transformers series and the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron…we seem to both love and fear that which we have created.
Time and time again we marvel at “the next big step” in our endless pursuit of technological perfection – our machines, our creations, are incessantly being re-evaluated and re-designed to work harder, faster, and better so that we may reap the benefits.
And sometimes, most times even, we lose sight of that little bit of human element that once made a craft a work of art, rather than a product.
One such modern marvel is right around your corner.
There was a time when car wash tunnels were viewed as a luxurious, if unnecessary, option to maintain your vehicles appearance. The price to constantly maintain the car wash motor control center were a nightmare to owners, and to the customers, purchasing cleaning supplies individually for multiple washes at a fraction of the cost simply made more sense.
Why have a machine do something poorly, when you could do it better with your own two hands?
How many of you can fondly recall the days of helping your parents wash the family car in the driveway? How many of you can recall the smell of soap and cleaners, and the feeling of soaked, spongy chamois cloth in your fingers?
And then, a funny thing happened: time passed.
Year by year, the technology used in the car wash controllers became more sophisticated, more efficient; the machinery used in the physical motors and gears of the car wash tunnel became more accurate, more sustainable.
As the need for frequent upkeep and maintenance went down, so did prices.
As the “Green Revolution” became an insurgency across all businesses in America, the car wash controllers adopted a VDF (variable frequency drive) control system, thus dramatically reducing energy consumption and water waste.
And much like any bittersweet tale of technological progress, convenience began to outweigh “the old ways.”
Precision through human hand-washing and hand-drying became replaced by automated sensors and mechanical accuracy; opportunities to bond with family members over a shared chore were traded in for a five minute errand.
But is this necessarily a bad thing?
We are moving into an age where we are becoming more aware of our ecological footprint; we are adapting our business models, and our machines, to make better use of the limited resources that are provided to us.
Car wash controllers and car wash tunnels may not be the first example people would think of when it comes to innovative green thinking, but with the technology behind the cutting-edge VFD control system making drastic cuts in financial upkeep and energy consumption – as well as integrating reclaimed water filtration systems into the fold – the old days of hand-washing and hand-drying may not only be obsolete, but also more damaging and wasteful.