The Situation
The customer, a leading manufacturer of power systems and aerospace technologies, approached HAYLEY DEXIS as escalating energy costs had begun to harm profitability. During a site audit, a fume-extraction fan was identified as a critical piece of process equipment with an unnecessarily high energy consumption.
The Solution
The fan identified during the on-site HAYLEY DEXIS audit, was running continuously at full speed, regardless of demand. A technical evaluation of control methods indicated a more efficient solution would be to control the fan speed to optimise power consumption. The experts at HAYLEY DEXIS | Drives specified a variable speed drive, with a choice of three preset speeds automatically selected by the process. The VSD is enclosed to IP66 and is suitable for wall-mounting adjacent to the application.
"THE PLANT WILL SAVE AN ESTIMATED £3K PER ANNUM (IN ENERGY COSTS).
The Result
The solution now enables the customer to vary the speed of the extraction fan in-line with the required extraction level of fumes at any given time. This has resulted in the customer being able to successfully improve the reliability and flexibility of the application, while also significantly reducing power consumption. By reducing the energy needed to run the extraction fan, the plant will save an estimated £3k per annum providing a payback period for the complete installation within 12 months. The annual carbon usage of the plant is also set to be cut by an estimated 18.32 tonnes.