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Q : Can anyone suggest power (Electrical Energy) saving devices available, which
are suitable for manufacturing industries (automotive) and process plants (Heat
Treatment). It will be further helpful if the expected percentage reduction is
mentioned.
A #1 :
Don't get hung up on saving energy. Worry about saving money instead. Many
products claiming to save energy cost so much to purchase and replace the existing
equipment that you never get your investment back. Anything that you replace with an
"energy saving" item, should have a payback period of no more then 5-7 years,
including the cost of the installation. Anything beyond that and the savings are very
dubious.
Don't forget to include in your calculations how long a device is running. A motor that
is running only a few hours a day is usually a poor choice for replacement with a more
efficient unit.
One of the biggest things you can do is turn off things that are not needed. It always
amazes me how many things run continuously that don't need to. I once did a retrofit
on a system that had a big fan (30 HP IIRC). It ran about 20 hours a day, 6 days a
week. By turning it onand off as needed, it now only runs a few hours a day, saving
about 90% of the energy it would otherwise have used. Replacing the motor with a
higher efficiency unit would never have come close to that kind of savings.
In a lot of places conveyors run all the time, even when not needed. Look at them one
by one and see if there are periods of time they are empty. If so, switch them off
during those times. Obviously, its not worth the effort if the empty times are only a
few minutes long a couple times a day, but if a conveyor is unused most of the time,
shut it off when its empty. Be careful with overhead conveyors running through
furnaces though. Its usually a good idea to leave them running all the time while the
furnace is hot. You may be able to put a VFD on some conveyors and run them
slower when appropriate, even if you can't total shut them off. This will save some
energy, although its hard to calculate just how much.
Lighting circuits can be controlled too. A common way is for motion detectors to be
used. They come on when motion is sensed and shut off if no motion is sensed for
some period of time. Make the time period reasonable though. I do not like having
my crossword puzzle break interrupted when the men's room lights go off.
Compressed air is extremely expensive. Air leaks need to be found and repaired.
Using air to cool cabinets (such as vortex coolers) is much more costly then using
electric AC (but in some cases is worth the extra expense). In either case a
thermostat is a good idea to reduce the run time of either the air operated cooler or
the AC. Often air blowoff is used to get rid of shavings or coolant. The air blowoff
should be turned on and off as needed, rather then left on all the time.
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