Leisure facilities across Britain could save as much as £70
million between them by improving energy efficiency by just 10 per cent,
according to multinational power and automation company ABB.
ABB’s Energy Efficiency Manager John Guthrie reported that
swimming pools present a particularly good opportunity for saving energy due to
the massive volumes of water and air that must be circulated for the comfort
and wellbeing of visitors.
A standard 25-metre swimming pool can hold up to a million
litres of water, which undergoes a constant process of recirculation, heating
and cleaning to ensure it’s safe for users. Meanwhile, a pool’s air handling
system runs continually in order to precisely regulate temperature and
humidity.
Such systems depend on electric motor-driven swimming
pool pumps and fans, the energy efficiency of which may be vastly improved
if coupled with variable-speed
drives (VSDs). Mr Guthrie points out that a motor running just one fifth
slower with a VSD will consume 50 per cent of the energy it would at full
power.
Swimming pool pumps and air handling systems operate at full
capacity during peak times, but in quieter periods or when the pool is
unoccupied, VSDs allow circulation systems to run at a reduced rate. By using a
programmable ABB drive, leisure centre managers can apply different settings
depending on visitor numbers, meaning energy consumption can be minimised and electricity
bills significantly lowered.
The same applies to
air handling systems, which if run at a constant rate unnecessarily will cause
high energy consumption, more frequent servicing requirements and reduced
equipment lifespan.
Gibbons Engineering Group is a founder member of the
Authorized Value Provider scheme, which means we’re specially approved to supply,
install and offer associated services for ABB drives.
To discuss how VSDs could save you money on your electric
motor-driven applications, contact Gibbons’ Drives Manager Alan Roberts on 07966
468430 or email alan@gibbonsgroup.co.uk.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Click to see the code!
To insert emoticon you must added at least one space before the code.