Controllers improve cleanroom efficiency
An
Eurotherm product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Feb 23, 2007
A Eurotherm Model 2500 controller varies the power rather than simply the voltage supplied to each motor, allowing Fenland Laundries to make savings in its Micronclean cleanroom clothing operation.
A Eurotherm Model 2500 controller is enabling Fenland Laundries to make energy savings of more than GBP 10,000 per year in its Micronclean cleanroom clothing operation.
By controlling the power rather than simply the voltage supplied to the 96 fans used to maintain a positive air pressure in the cleanroom area of the company's garment laundering facility, Fenland has been able to ensure that its energy consumption is kept to an absolute minimum with a consequent beneficial impact on overheads.
Founded more than a century ago, Skegness, Lincolnshire-based Fenland has satellite operations at Grantham and Louth and provides a nationwide, ISO9001-accredited service.
There are a number of companies that offer a cleanroom service, but Micronclean has the largest share of this market in the UK.
Fenland had identified the 96 fans in the Micronclean operation as a potential source of energy saving.
Control of fan speed had been achieved by varying the fan supply voltage using a directly connected potentiometer.
However, this traditional method of speed control only varies the voltage presented to the motor and has very little effect on the voltage or current, and hence the power, drawn from the supply.
As a result actual power consumption varied very little from minimum to maximum speed.
Fenland's solution was to replace the traditional potentiometers with inverters which control fan speed by varying the power rather than simply the voltage supplied to each motor.
As a result only the power required to drive the motor at the desired speed is drawn from the supply.
Sequence control of the 48 inverters in the Micronclean operation is provided by the Eurotherm Model 2500 controller which allows the actual speed of the fans to be adjusted automatically to establish and maintain the desired room pressure.
At the end of the working day, the Model 2500 automatically selects the night time pressure, ensuring that power consumption is minimised during non-operational periods.
As well as achieving direct energy savings worth in excess of GBP 10,000 per year, the combination of the Eurotherm Model 2500 controller and the inverter drives in its Micronclean operation is providing Fenland with a remote control and monitoring capability, improved access to performance data and more precise control of fan speed.
Moreover, the modular nature of the solution has allowed it to manage costs through progressive implementation.
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