Variable Speed Drives saves £126000

A local pharmaceutical plant is saving £126,000 a year on its energy bills following the installation of ABB variable-speed drives by Inverter Drive Systems Ltd.

This company produces toiletries and medicines. With such a large pharmaceutical operation, the company’s plant in Nottingham uses hundreds of pumps and fans on many different applications. To control the energy use of these applications, the company was keen to extend its use of variable-speed drives (VSDs) to cut its energy bill. It asked Inverter Drive Systems, an ABB Authorised Value Provider to investigate the energy saving potential of variable-speed drives in the plant.

A large number of applications were identified, including air handling units (AHUs), compressors, chilled water pumps and cooling towers. A total of 43 ABB variable-speed drives were installed over four months, with ratings ranging from 7.5 kW to 55 kW. It was decided that concentrating on motors of 7.5 kW or over was the most cost-effective strategy as the savings that would ensue would give a payback of around 12 months.

Variable Speed Drives saves £126,000 for a Pharmaceutical Company

The majority of variable speed drives installed and commissioned were IP54 rated ABB HVAC variable-speed drives, a few applications such as the moulding machines and compressors required IP54 ABB standard variable-speed drives.

Some of the variable speed drives on chilled water pumps saved upwards of 60 percent of their energy use, while optimisation of existing drives on Air Handling Units (AHUs) saved up to 80 percent energy!

One of our favourite feedback quotes was received from this project:

“This capital project was on time, on budget and exceeded the energy saving forecast”

To find out if your plant can reduce energy and thereby save considerable costs, contact us on 0115 944 1036 or email [email protected] to arrange a free Energy Efficiency Motor Audit the audit will highlight all possible energy and monetary saving opportunities.