Energy efficiency improvements in Chinese compressed airsystems

Industrial compressed air systems use more than 9 percent ofall electricity used in China. Experience in China and elsewhere hasshown that these systems can be much more energy efficient when viewed asa whole system and rather than as isolated components.This paper presentsa summary and analysis of several compressed air system assessments.Through these assessments, typical compressed air management practices inChina are analyzed. Recommendations are made concerning immediate actionsthat China s enterprises can make to improve compressed air systemefficiency using best available technology and managementstrategies

Opportunities, Barriers and Actions for Industrial Demand Response in California

In 2006 the Demand Response Research Center (DRRC) formed an Industrial Demand Response Team to investigate opportunities and barriers to implementation of Automated Demand Response (Auto-DR) systems in California industries. Auto-DR is an open, interoperable communications and technology platform designed to: Provide customers with automated, electronic price and reliability signals; Provide customers with capability to automate customized DR strategies; Automate DR, providing utilities with dispatchable operational capability similar to conventional generation resources. This research began with a review of previous Auto-DR research on the commercial sector. Implementing Auto-DR in industry presents a number of challenges, both practical and perceived. Some of these include: the variation in loads and processes across and within sectors, resource-dependent loading patterns that are driven by outside factors such as customer orders or time-critical processing (e.g. tomato canning), the perceived lack of control inherent in the term 'Auto-DR', and aversion to risk, especially unscheduled downtime. While industry has demonstrated a willingness to temporarily provide large sheds and shifts to maintain grid reliability and be a good corporate citizen, the drivers for widespread Auto-DR will likely differ. Ultimately, most industrial facilities will balance the real and perceived risks associated with Auto-DR against the potential for economic gain through favorable pricing or incentives. Auto-DR, as with any ongoing industrial activity, will need to function effectively within market structures. The goal of the industrial research is to facilitate deployment of industrial Auto-DR that is economically attractive and technologically feasible. Automation will make DR: More visible by providing greater transparency through two-way end-to-end communication of DR signals from end-use customers; More repeatable, reliable, and persistent because the automated controls strategies that are 'hardened' and pre-programmed into facility's software and hardware; More affordable because automation can help reduce labor costs associated with manual DR strategies initiated by facility staff and can be used for long-term

Improving compressed air system performance: A sourcebook for industry

Compressed air is used widely throughout industry and is often considered the "fourth utility" at many facilities. Almost every industrial plant, from a small machine shop to an immense pulp and paper mill, has some type of compressed air system. In many cases, the compressed air system is so vital that the facility cannot operate without it. Plant air compressor systems can vary in size from a small unit of 5 horsepower (hp) to huge systems with more than 50,000 hp. In many industrial facilities, compressed air systems use electricity less efficiently than any other system. Inefficiencies in compressed air systems can therefore be significant. Energy savings from system improvements can range from 20 to 50 percent or more of electricity consumption. For many facilities this is equivalent to thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars of potential annual savings, depending on use. A properly managed compressed air system can save energy, reduce maintenance, decrease downtime, increase production throughput, and improve product quality. This sourcebook is designed to provide compressed air system users with a reference that outlines opportunities for system performance improvements. It is not intended to be a comprehensive technical text on improving compressed air systems, but rather a document that makes compressed air system users aware of the performance improvement potential, details some of the significant opportunities, and directs users to additional sources of assistance

Variable speed pumping: A guide to successful applications

Pumping systems account for nearly 20% of the world's energy used by electric motors and 25% to 50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities. Significant opportunities exist to reduce pumping system energy consumption through smart design, retrofitting, and operating practices. In particular, the many pumping applications with variable-duty requirements offer great potential for savings. The savings often go well beyond energy, and may include improved performance, improved reliability, and reduced life cycle costs.Most existing systems requiring flow control make use of bypass lines, throttling valves, or pump speed adjustments. The most efficient of these is pump speed control.When a pump's speed is reduced, less energy is imparted to the fluid and less energy needs to be throttled or bypassed. Speed can be controlled in a number of ways, with the most popular type of variable speed drive (VSD) being the variable frequency drive (VFD). Pump speed adjustment is not appropriate for all pumping systems, however. This overview provides highlights from Variable Speed Pumping A Guide To Successful Applications, which has been developed by Europump and the Hydraulic Institute as a primer and tool to assist plant owners and designers as well as pump, motor,and drive manufacturers and distributors. When the requirements of a pump and system are understood, the user can consult this guide to help determine whether variable speed pumping is the correct choice. The guide is applicable for both new and retrofit installations and contains flowcharts to assist in the selection process

Making industrial energy efficiency mainstream and profitable: Where public benefit and private interests intersect

In 1996, the US Department of Energy s Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT) Motor Challenge program began a unique collaboration with industry called the Allied Partner program. Partnerships were sought with equipment suppliers and manufacturers, utilities, consultants, and state agencies that had extensive existing relationships with industrial customers. Partners were neither paid nor charged a fee for participation. The assumption was that these relationships could serve as the foundation for conveying a motor system efficiency message to many more industrial facilities than could be reached through a typical government-to-end-user program model. A substantial effort was made to engage industrial suppliers in delivering program information as part of their customer interactions. A recent independent evaluation of the Motor Challenge program attributes $16.9 million or nearly 67 percent of the total annual program energy savings to the efforts of Allied Partners in the first three years of operation.In 1997, the Compressed Air Challenge(R) (CAC) was developed as an outgrowth of the partnership concept. In this model, OIT is one of 15 sponsors who collaborated to create a national program of compressed air system training. The CAC has gone a step further by setting up a development and deployment model based on shared interests and shared costs among public, private, and not-for-profit organizations that serve industrial customers. Since the first CAC training session in 1999, approximately 3800 people have been trained by CAC qualified instructors--both end users and suppliers. More impressively, the entire compressed air market has begun to shift from a component-based to a system-based approach, largely as the result of collaboration. The typical leverage for OIT participation in a CAC training session is 10:1.During the past year, OIT has reorganized to integrate all of its near-term industrial offerings such as the Motor, Compressed Air, and Steam Challenges under a single program, BestPractices. As part of this reorganization, the Allied Partner program has been reshaped to extend the impact of all BestPractices program activities. This new model, which is still evolving, is based on the best of the former Motor Challenge, but is more ambitious concerning the level of collaborative activities negotiated with Allied Partners. For example, partnerships with 7 member companies of the Hydraulic Institute (HI) involve preparing their staff to become qualified to use and train customers to use OIT s Pumping System Assessment Tool (PSAT). These pumping industry experts will provide a public benefit by greatly increasing customer access to PSAT training and awareness of the systems approach. Participating HI member companies are anticipating a business benefit by providing a valuable service to key customers that is associated with USDOE

The China Motor Systems Energy Conservation Program: A major national initiative to reduce motor system energy use in China

Electric motor systems are widely used in China to power fans, pumps, blowers, air compressors, refrigeration compressors, conveyers, machinery, and many other types of equipment. Overall, electric motor systems consume more than 600 billion kWh annually, accounting for more than 50 percent of China's electricity use. There are large opportunities to improve the efficiency of motor systems. Electric motors in China are approximately 2-4 percent less efficient on average than motors in the U.S. and Canada. Fans and pumps in China are approximately 3-5 percent less efficient than in developed countries. Even more importantly, motors, fans, pumps, air compressors and other motor-driven equipment are frequently applied with little attention to system efficiency. More optimized design, including appropriate sizing and use of speed control strategies, can reduce energy use by 20 percent or more in many applications. Unfortunately, few Chinese enterprises use or even know about these energy-saving practices. Opportunities for motor system improvements are probably greater in China than in the U.S. In order to begin capturing these savings, China is establishing a China Motor Systems Energy Conservation Program. Elements of this program include work to develop minimum efficiency standards for motors, a voluntary "green motor" labeling program for high-efficiency motors, efforts to develop and promote motor system management guidelines, and a training, technical assistance and financing program to promote optimization of key motor systems