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This article was published in ASHRAE Journal, July 2014. Copyright 2014 ASHRAE. Posted at www.ashrae.org. This article may not be copied and/or distributed
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Overestimating Energy
And Cost Savings
Of Installing VFDs
BY ADAM K. WOLFE, PH.D., P.E., MEMBER ASHRAE
100
90
80
Input Power (kW)
Damper Control
VFD Control
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Percent Flow
Adam K. Wolfe, Ph.D., P.E., is adjunct assistant professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.
16
A S H R A E J O U R N A L a s h r a e . o r g J U LY 2 0 1 4
TECHNICAL FEATURE
ID
125
2,300
29.1
for each analysis are annual operat2 150,000
7.5 FD
150
2,300
34.0
93.694.1 0.88
1,190
ing hours, energy cost ($/kWh), rated
94.194.5
0.85
890
ID
125
2,300
29.1
motor horsepower (hp), and percent
3 150,000
7.5 FD
150
2,300
34.0
93.694.1 0.88
1,190
of time at a given flow rate. The soft94.194.5 0.85
890
ID
125
2,300
29.1
ware program takes into account the
4 150,000
7.5 FD
125
2,300
28.7
93.694.1 0.82
1,190
combustion temperature and altitude,
95.495.8
0.86
1,190
ID
250
2,300
57.1
which have a noticeable effect on the
motor horsepower. The annual operat5 200,000
10 FD
200
2,300
47.1
95.495.8 0.83
1,785
ing hours and percent of time at a given
ID
400
2,300
91.6
96.2 0.85
1,195
flow rate are derived from a bin analy(A) Turndown is defined as the ratio of boiler capacity at full fire to its lowest firing point before shutdown.
(B) FD: Forced Draft; ID: Induced Draft.
sis that relates steam and combustion
(C) The motors rated nameplate horsepower.
airflows for one year of operation. The
(D) The motors nameplate voltage, V.
motor horsepower and efficiency have
(E) The motors nameplate full load current (average of three phases), A.
(F) Motors efficiency range stated by the manufacturer of the motor. The average was used by the consultant and the author of this article.
been entered as rated and average,
(G) The motors nominal power factor given by the manufacturer of the motor (full load of the motor).
respectively. Once the fan, motor, and
(H) The motors full load speed (rpm) stated by the manufacturer of the motor.
energy data are entered into the program, a Basic Centrifugal Fan Energy
FIGURE 2 Basic centrifugal fan energy savings report.
Savings Report can be generated. This
consists of annual operating cost for
damper and VFD control strategies ,
energy consumed outlet damper versus
VFD control plots , and a bar chart of
annual operating cost for damper and
VFD control strategies . As a result,
the program computes the annual
operating cost for both the outlet
damper and VFD control strategies, and
subtracts the two values to obtain an
annual savings .
The software program also takes
motor, fan, and drive part-load
efficiencies into consideration. If the owner does not
The actual fan characteristics data, percent pressure at
have access to such software, he will need to account
zero flow, minimum combustion airflow, fan maximum
for these efficiency losses. The software used by the
(or rated) and minimum efficiencies used in this critical
consultant generates a fan curve based upon minireview were obtained for each fan. The savings for each
mum combustion airflow and the percent pressure
motor are presented in Table 2.
at zero combustion airflow. Note that the greater
Critical Review of the Feasibility Study
the percent pressure at zero combustion airflow,
In reviewing the resulting savings and recommendathe steeper the fan curves slope. Hence, an outtions, the reported savings are very impressive and
let damper control strategy results in more energy
the VFD measure appears to be worth implementing.
consumed.
J U LY 2 0 1 4 a s h r a e . o r g A S H R A E J O U R N A L
17
TECHNICAL FEATURE
bhp =
where
bhp
3 V I PF 1.34 hp/kW
1, 000 W/kW
(1)
ID
125
77
32,252
11,733
3,838
718
168
consultant. The article is more con2
FD
150
97
32,759
18,765
3,838
18,334
4,296
cerned with the energy difference,
ID
125
73
32,252
11,076
3,838
17,259
4,296
i.e., energy savings.
For example, the average three3
FD
150
66
32,759
12,776
3,838
5,756
1,704
phase current for the FD fan motor
ID
125
94
32,252
14,337
3,838
9,204
1,704
was measured at the switchgear
4
FD
125
82
17,843
10,393
2,437
11,390
2,716
to be 25 A. Using Equation 1 for
ID
250
31
46,457
3,368
2,437
4,225
2,716
a three-phase motor, the motor
5
FD
200
119
29,498
15,494
2,390
32,599
5,942
brake horsepower is 102 hp (76
ID
400
319
82,669
41,600
2,390
97,672
5,942
kW). Hence, the 102 hp (76 kW)
TOTAL
371,501
159,155
16,341
198,017
14,826
would be the starting point for the
(A) Horsepower calculated using measured average current, 3-phase. (E) Operations under load management and measure ampere to
motor power curve, rather than
(B) Existing operations using motor nameplate horsepower.
obtain horsepower.
(C) Existing operations using measured ampere to obtain horsepower. (F) Hours of operation under load management per fan.
using the nameplate rating of 150
(D) Hours of operation under current practice per fan.
Note: Columns (B), (C), and (E) are rounded off to the nearest integer.
hp (112 kW). The results of the
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A S H R A E J O U R N A L a s h r a e . o r g J U LY 2 0 1 4
TECHNICAL FEATURE
2,390
A S H R A E J O U R N A L a s h r a e . o r g J U LY 2 0 1 4
TECHNICAL FEATURE
Simple Payback
Using the consultants estimated
initial cost of the VFD drives
(installed), the simple payback
Equation 2 is used.
Simple Intial Investment Cost
Payback =
Savings
(2)
References
1. U.S. Department of Energy. 2010. Operation and Maintenance Best Practices, A
Guide of Achieving Operating Efficiency,
Release 3.0.
2. Electrical Construction and Maintenance (ECM). 2009. The Basics of VariableFrequency Drives. http://tinyurl.com/
klrybhy.
3. U.S. Department of Energy. 2008.
Improving Motor and Drive System Performance: A Sourcebook for Industry.
Conclusions
To ensure the proper estimating
of energy savings and costs, the
owners and energy consultants
need to consider four main factors; (1) use measured motor power
instead of nameplate ratings, (2)
ensure proper load management
operational procedures, (3) consider losses associated with the
variable frequency drives (VFD),
and (4) account for motor and fan
part load efficiencies. To manage
infrastructure that consumes large
amounts of energy presents annual
increases in capital and operational
budgets that are already large,
J U LY 2 0 1 4 a s h r a e . o r g A S H R A E J O U R N A L
21