Digital energy audits help industry leaders take tough decisions
21/06/2023 ABB Limited (Zurich)
While businesses around the world grapple with high energy prices and Net Zero commitments, President of ABB Motion Services Erich Labuda explores how digital energy audits are helping. Companies can now make more informed and smarter decisions on where to cut consumption, reduce costs and lower emissions – all with data from variable speed drives (VSDs) and motors.
In March this year, ABB released the results of its Energy Insights Survey, which asked 2,300 business leaders around the world about their most pressing energy concerns. It revealed that almost all (92 percent) are fearing – and in most cases facing – the impact of energy issues on their bottom line.
Many leaders have accepted lower profitability, while others are cutting back on people, marketing and infrastructure. Over half (61 percent) of respondents reported that the energy crisis will delay their decarbonization plans by up to five years.
There’s no doubt, business leaders are being forced to rethink how they operate and where to invest in order to reduce their company’s energy consumption. It can be hard to know where to begin. And this is precisely the dilemma that data-driven energy efficiency audits can help to solve, by informing evidence-based adjustments, right where they’re needed most.
Today, 45% of all electricity produced is consumed by electric motors in buildings and industry. This figure is set to double by 2040 as industry goes electric, and the increased demand on resources will likely keep energy prices high. This foresight only emphasizes the urgency of energy efficiency for industrial facilities that need to reduce their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in line with Net Zero targets while also cutting costs.
By investing in more efficient electric motors and adding variable speed technology, the initial capital investment quickly pays for itself through lower operational costs from lower energy consumption – an effect that becomes stronger when energy prices are high. But the challenge is knowing where to target this investment. The average facility has hundreds of motors, each with its own, unique set of operating parameters and loading patterns.
Onsite energy audits are performed by people. An expert will visit a facility in person, manually collect data, then go away to analyze it before providing recommendations and a likely return on investment. These manual energy audits tend to be used to gain deep insight into the largest motors on the critical line.
Today’s digital energy audits can deliver constant data-led insights on many more motors – potentially even entire fleets – providing a much bigger, more accurate picture of a facility’s energy consumption. Data can be gathered once the respective equipment, such as motors or VSDs, is connected to the cloud. That data can then be shared for remote expert analysis.
This data will show exactly, for example, which motors are performing below capacity, and precisely how much energy they’re wasting. This informs data-led recommendations, and accurate cost-estimates. They might, for example, suggest adjusting operational parameters so that the motor only operates when it can do so efficiently. Or they could recommend adding a VSD to a fixed speed motor. Another suggestion might be to upgrade the electric drivetrain to premium efficiency technology. Where possible, the outdated system can then be recycled to recover high-value copper and iron.
Data from connected motors is also used to show motor condition, performance and health. Facility managers can use this as part of a condition-based maintenance strategy that minimizes downtime and improves performance.
SCA Group’s kraft paper mill in Munksund, Sweden, is a great example of how digital energy audits can reduce energy consumption and cut emissions. The facility produces 400,000 tonnes of packaging per year and already had a strong focus on sustainability when its managers spotted an opportunity to save even more energy – by targeting the facility’s 2,400 electric motors.
Motor data is gathered and uploaded directly to the cloud, where it is accessed at regular intervals by an ABB energy efficiency expert, who evaluates the energy consumed by individual motors and compares it with the work delivered. The expert provides a regular report with recommendations on actions, as well as their cost and potential payback.
SCA’s team is also looking at data from condition monitoring to carry out predictive maintenance activities and minimize downtime.
Flooring manufacturer boosts motor efficiency by 15 percent
Another business that is using the service is flooring manufacturer Tarkett. In 2022, analysis of operational data from 10 connected motors at its factory in Ronneby, Sweden, identified potential to cut energy consumption by 800 megawatt hours (MWh) per year. This is equivalent to 15 percent of its overall demand and was possible by upgrading to IE5 SynRM motor and drive packages.
Ted Evaldsson, Tarkett’s Supervisor Electrical Maintenance, said: “The biggest lesson for us is that we’ve been maintaining motors that we should have exchanged years ago. We are really impressed by the savings obtained by just upgrading 10 of our motors to more efficient ones.”
The investment has boosted efficiency of the 10 motors from 80 to 95 percent and has a payback period of under 18 months. Tarkett is now looking to connect more motors to identify further opportunities to save energy and decarbonize its business.
Ultimately, as industrial business leaders are under pressure to cut carbon emissions and drive down their energy costs, digital energy audits are a game changer for pinpointing precisely where savings can be made, and where investment can be targeted for maximum return.
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