IDS are ABB Inverter specialists. We specify, install, commission, repair, service and hire variable speed drives.
ABB’s Steve Hughes discovers that the energy saving benefits of variable speed drives are still not widely understood. I recently had the privilege of presenting to an audience with a vested interest in energy efficiency at the EMEX show, held in November at London’s ExCel, where I was extolling the virtues of digital energy. More about digital energy in a later column. What struck me were the questions from the audience which were truly back…
ABB’s Carl Turbitt looks at seven very diverse opportunities offered by variable speed drives that he believes can significantly improve building services efficiency in 2020. Total cost of ownership As engineers, one of the most important challenges we face is the need to ensure that building services – whether they be an entire HVAC process or an individual pump or fan – are running at their most efficient. Clues that things may not be running…
There are many reasons why deploying variable speed drives is the easiest way to lower your energy bill, as ABB’s Carl Turbitt explains. Variable-speed drives (VSDs) are some 40 years old. Ample time, you’d think, to spread the merits of their energy saving potential. Yet evidence suggests that many businesses think changing energy supplier is a better way to lower bills than installing energy efficient equipment like VSDs. But with many energy suppliers offering comparable…
Steve Hughes, ABB’s digital lead for its motion business, discusses how digitalisation is changing the face of the pump powertrain. Pumps are a vital part of processes in many industries, not least the water and wastewater sector. In this industry, the health and wellbeing of a water utility’s customers are at stake and as such, pump failures can prove very costly. Pumps often work in harsh and challenging conditions and to prevent failure, caused through…
As the demands on the bakery production process become higher, and margins become tighter, ABB’s Andrew Bould, explains how variable speed drives (VSDs) and low voltage motors can help to increase profitability without compromising quality. Changing consumer habits and tastes means bakeries not only need to produce identical, high volume products, but also small batches of bespoke goods, with customers demanding ever shorter delivery times. This flexibility is being demanded on top of stringent requirements…
Constant torque application benefits from SynRM technology Up to 15 percent lower energy use, a significant reduction in motor maintenance costs and a drop in audible noise are achieved with the installation of an ABB synchronous reluctance motor and drive (SynRM) package on a twin extruder application. Radius Systems’ plant in Derbyshire, UK, houses 14 extrusion lines, each of which produces polyethylene pipes from 16 mm to 1200 mm, together with an injection-moulding facility making…
Under the Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme (ECA), businesses that purchase energy-saving plant or machinery can benefit from single-year capital allowances. Which means you can claim 100% tax relief on these purchases in the first year. However, time is running out as the scheme is due to end in April 2020. The Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme for energy-saving technologies ends April 2020 Setting aside the social conscious aspect of reducing industrial energy consumption, the cost savings…
In this video Blaise Ford, MD and Engineer with Inverter Drive Systems Ltd shows us 2 ways to save energy with inverters. Controlling the Speed of the Motor The first method to save energy is use the inverter to slow the motor down when the demand is low. In this video we use our demonstration rig which consists of a motor, fan and of course an inverter. Blaise switches the rig on, the motor is…
A steel castings manufacturer in the West Midlands who predominantly supplies the highly cost sensitive, automotive industry with precision castings is set to make significant energy reductions, achieving notable cost savings by fitting ABB Inverters (variable speed drives) across its manufacturing operation. These energy and cost savings were highlighted during a free Energy Efficiency Motor Audit. Fan-Tastic Energy Savings for Steel Castings Manufacturer The optimum applications for the inverter technology was identified during a free…
A fruit juice manufacturer in the east of England has the potential to substantially reduce their energy consumption and the associated costs by fitting ABB Inverters (variable speed drives) across its manufacturing operation. These potential savings were discovered during a free Energy Efficiency Motor Audit. Juicy Energy Savings for Fruit Juice Manufacturer The inverters will be fitted to chiller compressors, water pumps, glycol pumps, AHU fans and blower fans at a cost of approximately £85,000,…
