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09/08/2010
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Trelleborg Sealing Solutions reports savings of more than £12,000 a year on energy since designing ABB variable speed drives into its hydraulic systems.
 As part of its Energy Excellence Initiative, staff at the Burton-on-Trent plant – which manufactures seals and vibration dampers – re-thought its press hydraulic power packs.
Previously, hydraulic pressure was maintained by motors either building pressure or recirculating fluid at the unload value.
Andy Lamb, process, facilities and safety manager at the plant, says that he brought in ABB Drives Alliance member IDS (Inverter Drives Systems) to investigate using variable speed drives. "We had been challenged to save 10% on our energy costs and felt that variable speed drives could help us achieve this," he confirms.
The firm's power pack uses four 18.5kW motors that run for 126 hours per week and Lamb explains that, using a power factor of 0.75 and 9p per kWh, IDS calculated annual costs at £36,551 for all four motors.
Hence the installation of four 18.5kW ABB standard drives to automatically maintain system pressure just below the unload value, using a pressure transducer to feed back to the drive's internal PID control. Energy savings achieved to date have been £2,742 per motor, or £10,960 for the four, with a payback time of 11 months.
Says Lamb: "We are very happy with the application and the energy saving we are achieving."
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Author
Brian Tinham
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