Motors & Drives
Synchronous Belt Drives in Air-Handling Applications
Improvements have led to greater efficiency, lower static tension, less belt pull, reduced maintenance, and more...
Highly Integrated Motor Starters Assist in Center’s Pursuit of LEED Certification
In pursuit of Platinum certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green-building rating system, project manager Steve Young of controls and mechanical-design contractor American Heating specified measurement of the power consumption of each HVAC motor....
Ensuring Proper Fan-Belt Tension
A properly tensioned belt ensures smooth operation and extends the service life of fans and motors. Conversely, an improperly tensioned belt can cause a host of easily preventable problems, including noise, vibration, poor fan performance, bearing wear, and shortened fan-motor life....
Energy Efficiency, the Environment, and VFDs
Strategically managing power can yield significant advantages—energy savings, improved sustainability, cost reductions. Among the technologies helping us to meet energy challenges while addressing efficiency and reliability concerns are variable-frequency drives (VFDs)....
Variable-Frequency Drive Improves Boiler Operation
At the University of Rochester in northwestern New York, a utility cogeneration plant provides electricity, steam, hot water, and chilled water to several internal customers, including the 154-acre, 158-building River Campus—the university's main center of learning—and the 750-bed Strong Memorial Hospital....
Seven Months and Counting ...
When I travel, I have an opportunity to meet many really smart people who have interesting viewpoints on the industry. Last month, I found myself in Fort Smith, Ark., visiting Baldor Electric Co. While on this visit, I learned something new (for me, anyway) about the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA)....
Extending Motor Life With Sustainable Shaft Grounding
With the rising cost of energy, the use of variable-frequency drives (VFDs), also known as inverters, is growing. By optimizing electrical flow to an alternating-current (AC) motor, a VFD can provide substantial energy savings. Within the field of flow control, the potential for increased efficiency with VFDs is especially dramatic....
Harmonic Distortion: Reality vs. Perception
Variable-frequency-drive- (VFD-) generated harmonics largely is a perceived, rather than real, issue. In 27 years of applying VFDs in HVAC and other applications, this author has experienced only a handful of actual harmonics problems, with all but one stemming from high levels of voltage distortion, not the current distortion that has been getting so much attention lately. ...
applications & resources MOTORS & DRIVES
Contactors Motor-control products, TeSys D 40A, 50A, and 65A contactors feature Everlink termination technology, which provides a direct connection to...
Cooling-Tower Motors Save Energy, Reduce Maintenance for University
At Emory University in Atlanta, motors on two cooling towers that had been in service for approximately 20 years were becoming a maintenance headache....
The Benefits of VFDs on Cooling Towers
Used on large industrial projects, such as nuclear power plants, and countless HVAC applications ranging from 15 to 700,000 gpm, cooling towers are everywhere....
Motors & Drives
EISA-requirements white paper A white paper from Baldor describes the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), which will go into effect on...
Testing Methods for HVAC Motors
Most facilities need to get maximum life and efficiency out of their HVAC systems. HVAC operational costs no longer are assumed even that budget item...
ABB relocates North American corporate headquarters
ABB, a power and automation technology company, announced that the company’s North American corporate headquarters will be moved to Cary, N.C., from Norwalk, Conn. ...
ABB Conference Breaks Attendance Records
Held in Orlando from March 24 to 26, ABB Automation & Power World 2009 exceeded event attendance expectations and attracted a record number of participants for any ABB event, totaling more than 3,300 attendees....
Understanding the Efficiency of Motors
According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), electric-motor-driven equipment uses 25 percent of all of the electricity consumed in the United States....
New Equipment & Resources for HPAC Engineering - 0209
Ethernet adapters For ABB's low-voltage alternating-current drive line, din-rail-mounted SREA-01 Ethernet adapters provide Web-browser-based remote access...
Drives Maker Marks Milestone
The 1 millionth ABB ACS/ACH550 general-purpose drive rolled off the production line Dec. 2, making ACS/ACH550 the first ABB drive family to surpass the...
Calculating Benefits of VFD Performance
The performance of variable-frequency drives (VFDs) can be compared with that of other methods of volume control quickly and simply. All that you need...
Improving HVAC With PID and VFDs
Uncontrollable changes both inside and outside of a building can impact efforts to maintain a desired temperature. Changes in occupancy, lighting and...
Maintenance-Free Fan-Drive Belts Saving University $30,000 in Energy
Bruce T. Halle Library on the campus of Eastern Michigan University (EMU) in Ypsilanti, Mich., has a number of air-handling supply and return fans of varying size and belt configuration. EMU was unable to shut off those fans reliably at night to save energy because of the possibility of the belts being thrown off of their pulleys upon startup. Indeed, belt slip necessitated continual retensioning. ...
NEW EQUIPMENT & RESOURCES
Motor For mid-range fractional-horsepower applications, the ECM 142R motor is an energy-saving solution for split-system outdoor units, package units,...
VFDs Protect Pool Complex's Motors, Save $7,000 in Energy Costs a Year
At Veterans Memorial Park in South Windsor, Conn., keeping clean more than 1 million gal. of water for three outdoor swimming pools a 755,000-gal. main...
10 Millionth Drive for Yaskawa
Yaskawa Electric America Inc., the Waukegan, Ill.-based manufacturer of alternating-current drives, servomotors, motion controllers, and robotics, recently...
Curbing Harmonics in HVAC Systems
A byproduct of modern electronics, harmonic distortion occurs when large numbers of personal computers, uninterruptible power supplies, variable-frequency...
Recent Comments