Energy is like gold dust in industrial environments – once you have it, you don’t want to lose it. However, far too many enterprises are unaware of the extent of their energy wastage and how much it is costing them. Optimising energy efficiency by having a comprehensive maintenance strategy in place to ensure everything runs correctly is one of the most important tasks that a company can undertake.
It might sound straightforward – keep energy usage down and save money – but achieving that goal is far from simple. From problems that are virtually invisible to detect, to uncertainty around the best measurement tools to use, there are plenty of hurdles to overcome. The trick is to use one or more basic measurement tools that can flag areas where there are issues and then go into more depth by using more advanced tools to evaluate those problems.
A worker is only as good as their tools
Anyone involved in facilities management will understand the importance of electrical energy efficiency, but many will not know how to take that first step towards turning this goal into reality.
Many will also not be aware that the market offers them an affordable choice of devices that can deliver the solutions they need at whatever level they prefer, enabling them to manage outlay and achieving the best possible return on investment (ROI). There are entry-level measurement tools available for those without large budgets who are looking to carry out simple checks, but most benefits are generated by the more sophisticated devices on the market.
A key part of managing energy efficiency is to establish maintenance practices that mean users are not wasting time, resources, and money by always reacting to problems rather than preventing them. This may require the use of tools such as clamp meters, power quality analysers, thermal cameras, and acoustic imagers. When there is effective, proactive maintenance in a facility, safety is improved, and energy consumption is reduced because the energy needed for production is used more efficiently.
Identifying energy loss with energy flows
Electrical cabinets show how energy flows around a facility, and the best way to check this is using tools that can provide a snapshot of the situation. In many cases a simple clamp meter will suffice, or if a customer doesn’t need an exact evaluation of losses but just wants to focus on which equipment is not working efficiently, a three-phase electrical energy logger is the ideal tool.
Thermal cameras can identify thermal patterns that indicate imbalances in motors with direct online connection or connected via variable frequency drives. They can also identify connection heating patterns which indicate poor wire connections. While intuitively an excessive heat pattern attracts more attention, if a particular component is not working it will show up as cold, while components working under excessive load will show up as excess heat.
However, for more extended analysis, a three-phase power quality analyser provides a true evaluation of the extent of power being lost by analysing the current flow on individual wires within an electrical cabinet. These power quality analysers can not only measure neutral current, but can also incorporate an energy loss calculator mode that is able to provide a highly accurate estimation of energy efficiency.
Loss is in the air
One of the biggest areas of energy wastage in industrial environments is leaking compressed air systems, with the average plant losing around 30% of the compressed air it produces. Given that only 15% of energy produced through compressed air can be used anyway, the total amount of energy available can be as low as 10%.
While leaks are inevitable and will never be fully eradicated, being able to identify and fix the vast majority of them through regular maintenance provides one of the biggest opportunities for energy saving. Getting an air compressor operating at maximum efficiency could reduce its energy consumption by up to 40%.
A basic acoustic camera can provide rapid and safe visual detection of compressed gas leaks, enabling the engineer to prioritise repairs by not just identifying sources but also comparing their size. More advanced models can even calculate how much electricity is lost every year due to a specific leak. Although acoustic imagers are more expensive than thermal cameras, they have the potential to generate more savings because they can show the user energy losses that would otherwise remain undetected.
Make maintenance a permanent fixture
Industrial organisations must pinpoint key areas in their business where they are losing money unnecessarily through poor energy management, or else risk money disappearing into thin air. And the solutions to their problems are not as complex or unaffordable as they might believe.
To have no maintenance strategy in an industrial environment, and no way of identifying and evaluating where energy is being lost or where significant inefficiencies exist, is no longer practical. If a company focuses on maintenance, it will automatically obtain a longer operational life from its equipment, saving money while also running the plant at the highest possible level of efficiency.
The future requires us to take control of our energy usage and to minimise wastage, and engineers now have the means to make their organisations more efficient, more sustainable, and less costly to run.
Article by Oleksandr Bardakov, Application and Technology Expert – Industrial Imaging, Fluke Corporation
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