3 Steps to Cut Energy Costs

Spending unnecessary amounts of money on energy can drain an operating budget without you knowing. Cut back on those expenses with three actionable steps that will help you spend less on energy and put those savings back into your operation.

Understand Performance

Make monitoring energy usage an on-going activity and discover your times of peak energy usage. Making use of data-gathering devices like sensors can contribute to the ease of gathering mission-critical data.

The article Cut Energy Costs Using Motion Control makes practical recommendations on discovering your energy usage. Timing is important since utility companies base charges on total consumption related to the peak power demand in the previous quarter. Reducing total kilowatt hours is good and getting billed for those units at a lower price is a plus.

An example given in the article is running a line at 10,000 parts an hour, around the clock. Consider an alternative that "it may be more cost-effective to cut the rate to 5000 parts during the high-rate morning and early evening periods and run faster after midnight."

Taking time to measure energy performance can have benefits throughout an operation as noted in M2M and Big Data Combine to Improve Machine Performance. The article points out that, "By capturing temperature and current draw data for a servo axis for example, an end user might be able to detect bearing wear well ahead of failure."

Replacements can be scheduled strategically during routine maintenance rounds versus reacting to unplanned downtime.

Set Up an Energy Efficient System

Sharing among the axes is a specific way of setting up an energy efficient system. Consider the transfer of loads. An idea that's written up in Cut Energy Costs is "linking multiple drives on a common DC bus. Now, accelerating drives can harvest power from decelerating drives. The net result is a significant drop in peak demand."

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A test was reported by Mitsubishi Electric Automation of Vernon Hills, Illinois where triple-axis amplifiers were run against single-axis. The tests were run on "four different real-life applications" and energy savings were about 35 percent.

Size the Motors

Motors and energy consumption are a fact of life in industrial automation. Most of the energy is used productively, but there is enough energy loss to warrant a closer look at the issue.

It isn't just the type of motor used but also the size. As noted in What You Need to Know about the New Motor Efficiency Standards certain materials can increase efficiency.

These include using "lower-loss electrical steel, the use of additional laminations or cast steel rotors, and additional copper windings." The article states that those changes increase costs, yet those elements can produce motors with longer or larger diameter frames which are efficient in handling loads.

This is usually not the answer for small motors. Trying to make them more efficient by making them larger may not be possible since they're often used in tight spaces.

Be advised that if you're ready to purchase a motor, let the vendor know any space constraints where it will be used. The next stage in motor efficiency, which will be addressed in new standards, will impact fans, pumps, and compressors. In What You Need to Know, the article points out that bearings and gears are the real energy culprits and not necessarily the motors themselves.

If you're exploring the uses of industrial automation or you're considering upgrading your systems, browse the tips and resources on A3. You'll increase your understanding of technology and how it can improve your operations.