Not all low voltage motors are the same. With a wide range of different motor technologies on the market, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, choosing the most appropriate motor type for an application can pay strong dividends over the course of the motor’s lifetime. The four most widely used types of motor are: … Continue reading →
Regardless of the season or external conditions, variable speed drives help make HVAC applications efficient, safe and informative while providing high levels of comfort, control and safety. Here ABB’s Carl Turbitt takes a tour around a typical in plant and highlights the opportunities. 1 Cooling tower A cooling tower extracts waste heat into the atmosphere. … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
A short message from us all at IDS for all our customers, suppliers and friends. Wow! What a tough time this is turning out to be! Please rest assured we have drastically altered how we work and have put measures in place to protect our staff during the uncertainty Coronavirus is causing for us all. … Continue reading →
Archimedean Screws are efficient, low-head, high-volume pumps that have been used for thousands of years. They are particularly useful for pumping liquids with high solids content. Previously it has been thought that inverter control of these Screws didn’t save energy, but we, at IDS have engineered a solution that does produce energy savings, as well … Continue reading →
The first question to ask is: Is it worth it? Repairing Obsolete Variable Speed Drives: Obsolete drives are those that are no longer available to buy, there are no lifecycle services available and replacement parts can be very difficult to obtain. ABB drives are workhorses, they last and last, especially when they are well maintained. … Continue reading →
In this article, Blaise Ford, MD of Inverter Drive Systems, answers a question we are frequently asked: Are Inverters Phase Sensitive? Blaise explains: “Inverters take single or three phase mains, rectify it and then chop it up again to give variable frequency, variable voltage output. The three phase rotation, brown-black-grey or brown-grey-black, is lost when … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
Digital technology is helping pump operators to make their systems more resilient, by tackling everything from ragging to turbidity. But even greater developments are around the corner. Whether it’s involved in moving water, sludge or indeed any other substance, a pump’s cargo is always precious. Inefficiency is always unacceptable, and building resilient pump systems that … Continue reading →
Extract fans are in common use to remove harmful dust and fumes or transport material within factories. Whatever their use, they rely on duct air velocity to ensure the material is kept in the airflow and does not settle out and cause a blockage. An Irishman, Sir George Stokes first developed a theorem that related … Continue reading →
