Fan & Pump Motor Energy Savings

Fan & Pump Motor Control

Energy usage by motors in facilities is a major expenditure for companies. In fact, more than 65 percent of industrial electrical energy is consumed by motors and most motors can operate at reduced speeds without damaging the system or affecting the operation of the facility. The PowerMiser VSD package is pre-configured for your HVAC fan application and provides immediate savings results.

What is a Variable Speed Drive?

In the past, the flow in most variable-flow air moving systems was controlled by a damper at the inlet of the fan scroll or in some cases by a variable-pitch drive sheave. For most of these applications a VSD is much more efficient and a retrofit is very cost-effective. For buildings that have a centrally controlled HVAC system, one VSD can be installed to achieve maximum kW savings. Motor-driven systems are often designed to handle peak loads that have a safety factor. This often leads to energy inefficiency in systems that operate for extended periods at reduced load. The ability to adjust motor speed enables closer matching of motor output to load and often results in energy savings.

How The System Works

The PowerMiser VSD package is a turn-key solution for immediate energy savings on supply air handling motors above 15HP(11kW). In order to prevent voltage spike from damaging motors that are not inverter rated, a DV/DT filter is installed before the motor to reduce voltage spikes generated by all VSD systems. Automatic speed can be configured with an analog 0-10V input or pre-set speeds via dry contact relay. As well, the PowerMiser VSD can communicate via Bacnet protocol. How The System Works

Fan & Pump Motor Energy Savings

Savings can be achieved on fan & pump motors by reducing the speed of the fan. In most cases, the facility can handle a 25% reduction in fan speed without affecting air quality. A variable speed drive on a 30 kilowatt (kW) motor running 5,000 hours a year brings an annual saving of 76,500 kW hours of electricity compared with regulating the flow rate by adjusting a damper. The saving is 51,000 kW hours per year compared with modulating the fans on or off and 52,500 kW hours versus the use of a two-speed motor. The energy savings achieved can result in the investment to install drives being recovered in as little as a few months. For many pump and fan applications payback is often less than 1 year. Fan & Pump Motor Energy Savings

Energy Saving Evaluation

To evaluate the size of the variable speed drive that would fit your application. Please gather the following information from your motor nameplate and we will be happy to give you a quote.

  1. Horsepower (kW)
  2. Voltage
  3. RPM

To provide savings information, we would need the following information:

  1. kWh cost
  2. Operation time for the motor

Applications