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OBJECTIVES
The objective of the article is to:
INTRODUCTION
Energy is a basic requirement for economic development in almost all major
sectors of Indian economy agriculture, industry, transport, commercial &
residential. Consequently, consumption of energy in different forms of energy has
been steadily rising all over the country. Energy efficiency has gradually emerged
from being an advocacy subject to a powerful, cost-effective, & environmentfriendly policy tool to narrow the widening supply-demand gap facing the nation
today. As per the integrated energy report, energy conservation programs, if
designed and executed properly, can obviate the need for 25000MW additional
generation capacities. Energy conservation potential for the economy as a whole
has been assessed as 23% with maximum potential in Industrial and Agricultural
Sectors.
Considering the vast potential of energy saving and benefits of efficiency, the
Government of India enacted the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 in October 2011.
The Energy Conservation Act, 2001 became effective from 1st March, 2002. The
Act provides for institutionalizing & strengthening delivery mechanism for energy
efficiency programs in the country & provides a framework for the much-needed
coordination between various government entities. The Act also provides legal
framework, & a regularity mechanism at the Central & State Government levels.
The following section view energy opportunities in various electrical utilities:
ELECRICITY
Passive energy efficiency is achieved by measures such as, reducing heat loss and
using equipment which requires little energy. Active energy efficiency is achieved
by putting in place an infrastructure for measuring, monitoring and controlling
energy use with a view to making lasting changes.
Use standby electric generation equipments for peak or high load periods.
MOTORS
Motorized systems are one of the potential areas where energy savings can be
made. Those wishing to improve passive energy efficiency often consider
replacing motors as a starting point.
Following guidelines can help to achieve energy efficiency:
Properly size the load for optimum efficiency (High efficiency motors offer 4
5% higher efficiency than standard motors).
Check alignment.
Balance the three phase power supply (imbalance voltage can reduce 3
5% in motor input power).
DRIVES
Following guidelines can help to achieve energy efficiency:
FANS
Fan energy efficiency is a function of flow, even for operation at constant speed.
At very low flow, this efficiency is low but increases with increasing flow. At some
particular flow, the efficiency reaches a maximum and this value is frequently
referred to as peak, or, optimal, efficiency. With further increasing flow, the
efficiency decreases. The fan designer and manufacturer are responsible for the
fan energy efficiency.
Following guidelines can help to achieve energy efficiency:
Use smooth, well-rounded air inlet cones for fan air intakes.
BLOWERS
The efficiency of blower degrades with use. The efficiency of a blower is not fixed,
bt depends on how it is run and maintained. Around 95% of the life-cycle cost of a
blower can be attributed to the energy it uses. User can benefit regularly from
regular monitoring and testing of blowers. This enables the most cost-effective
point at which to perform repair or replacement work to be determined.
Following guidelines can help to achieve energy efficiency:
Use smooth, well-rounded air inlet ducts or cones for air intakes.
Checklists & tips for energy efficiency in electrical utilities are practiced.
PUMPS
The efficiency of pump deteriorates over time, and so the actual efficiency of a
pump will not match that of the pump when new. This is a very important issue
concerning both the average efficiency and maintenance cost of a pump.
Following guidelines can help to achieve energy efficiency:
Stop running both pumps and an auto-start for an online spare or add a
booster pump in the problem area.
Use siphon effect to advantage; do not waste pumping head with a freefall
(gravity) return.
COMPRESSORS
Following guidelines can help to achieve energy efficiency:
Be sure lubricating oil temperature is not too high 9oil degradation and
lowered viscosity) and not too low (condensation contamination).
Use waste heat from a very large compressor to power an absorption chiller
or preheat process or utility feeds.
COMPRESSED AIR
The total energy use of a compressor system depends on several factors. The air
compressor type, model and size are important factors in the compressors
energy consumption, but the motor power rating, Control mechanisms, system
design, uses & maintenance are also fundamental in determining the energy
consumption of a compressed air system.
Following guidelines can help to achieve energy efficiency:
Turn off refrigerated and heated air dryers when the air compressors are
off.
Use drain control instead of continuous air bleeds through the drains.
Replace standard v-belts with the high efficiency flat belts as the old v-belts
wear out.
Take air compressor intake air from the coolest (but not air conditioned)
location. (Every 50 0C reduction in intake air temperature would result in
1% reduction in compressor power consumption).
Be sure that heat exchanger are not fouled (e.g. with oil).
Monitor pressure drop across suction and discharge filters and clean or
replace filters promptly upon alarm.
Check for the leaking drain valve on compressed air filter/regulator sets.
Certain rubber-type valves may leak continuously after they age and crack.
Industry environments, control packaging lines with high-intensity photocell units instead of standard units with continuous air purging of lenses
and reflectors.
CHILLERS
Chillers represent a substantial capital investment and are a major contributor to
operating costs in institutional and commercial facilities. For many organizations,
chillers are the largest single energy users, and comprehensive maintenance is
critical to ensure their reliability and efficient operation.
Use the lowest temperature condenser water available that the chiller can
handle. (Reducing condenser temperature by 5.5 0C, result in a 20-25%
decrease in compressor power consumption).
Optimize the condenser water flow rate and refrigerated water flow rate.
Run the chillers with the lowest operating costs to serve the base load.
Use air-to-air heat exchanger to reduce energy requirements for heating &
cooling of outside air.
Upgrade filter banks to reduce pressure drop & thus lower fan power
requirement.
Check pneumatic controls air compressor for proper operation, cycling &
maintenance.
Isolate air conditioned loading dock areas & tool storage areas using highspeed doors or clean PVC strip curtains.
Use professionally designed industrial ventilation hoods for dust & vapor
control.
Use local infra-red heat for personnel rather than heating the entire area.
Use spot cooling & heating (e.g. use ceiling fans for personnel rather than
heating the entire area).
Do not oversize cooling units, (oversized units will short cycle which
results in poor humidity control).
Install multi-fueling capability and run with the cheapest fuel available at
the time.
COOLING TOWERS
Cooling tower operation is one of the largest water and energy consuming
activities within many industries.
Following guidelines can help to achieve energy efficiency:
Use two-speed or variable-speed drives for cooling tower fan control if the
fans are few. Stage the cooling tower fans with on-off control if there are
many.
Turn off unnecessary cooling tower fans when loads are reduced.
Cover the hot water basins (to minimize algae growth that contributes to
fouling).
On old counter flow cooling towers, replace old spray type nozzles with new
square-spray ABS practically-non-clogging nozzles.
Replace slat-type drift eliminators with high efficiency, low pressure drop,
self-extinguishing, PVC cellular units.
Optimize cooling tower fan blade angle on a seasonal and/or load basis.
Correct excessive and/or uneven fan blade tip clearance & poor fan
balance.
Send blow down to other uses (Remember blow down does not have to be
removed at the cooling tower. It can be removed anywhere in the piping
system).
LIGHTING
Lighting accounts for about 12% of energy use in residential buildings & 25% in
commercial buildings. Both conserving lighting use & adopting more efficient
technologies can yield substantial energy savings. Some of those technologies &
practices have no up-front cost at all, & others pay for themselves over time in the
form of lower utilities bills. In addition to helping reduce energy use, & therefore
greenhouse gas emissions, other benefits may include better reading & working
conditions & reduce light pollution.
Following guidelines can help to achieve energy efficiency:
Reduce excessive illumination levels to standard levels using switching; delamping, etc. (Know the electrical effects before doing de-lamping).
Select ballasts & lamps carefully with high power factor & long term
efficiency in mind.
Consider painting the walls a lighter color & using less lighting fixtures or
lower wattages.
DG SETS
Diesel engines can suffer damage as a result of misapplication or misuse, namely;
internal glazing (occasionally referred to as bore glazing or piling) & carbon buildup. This is the common problem in generator sets caused by failure to follow
application and operating guidelines. Ideally, diesel engines should be run at least
60-75% of their maximum rated load.
Following guidelines can help to achieve energy efficiency:
Optimize loading.
Use cheaper heavy fuel oil for capacities more than 1 MW.
BUILDINGS
Commercial buildings are one of the major consumers of energy & are the largest
consumer of energy, after industry & agriculture. Buildings annually consume
more than 20% of electricity used in India. The potential for energy saving is 4050% in buildings, if energy efficiency measures are incorporated at design stage.
For existing buildings, the potential can be as high as 20-25% which can be
achieved by implementing house keeping & retrofitting measures.
Consider covering some window & skylight areas with insulated wall panels
inside the buildings.
2.6 billion people do not have safe drinking water. Added to this, are the changes
in climate, population growth & lifestyles. The changes in human lifestyle &
activities require more water per capita. This tightens the competition for water
amongst agricultural, industrial, & human consumption.
Following guidelines can help to achieve energy efficiency:
Use the least expensive type of water that will satisfy the requirements.
Test for underground water leaks (It is easy to do over a holiday shutdown).
Do not use the heating system hot water boiler to provide service hot
water. During the cool season install a smaller, more-efficient system for
the cooling season service hot water.
Consider leased & mobile water treatment systems, especially for deionized water.
MISCELLANEOUS
Following guidelines can help to achieve energy efficiency:
Meter any unmetered utilities. Know the normal efficient use. Track down
causes of deviations.
Make sure that all of the utilities to redundant areas are turned off including
utilities like compressed air& cooling water.