Product category:
Electrical systems
News Release from: Eurotherm | Subject: 'EPower' power controller
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 04 December 2007
Load management controls electrical
costs
Power controller has a predictive load management function which is highly effective in managing power demand to control peak electricity usage.
Eurotherm has developed a power controller called 'EPower', which has a predictive load management function (PLM) The PLM function makes EPower highly effective in managing power demand
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 14 Jun 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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Applications that have traditionally used resistive loads or phase angle firing can now be reconfigured to burst firing, which Eurotherm claims will substantially reduce operational and energy costs.
Under development for three years, the versatile EPower controller can be used in true power, phase angle firing or burst firing modes.
Plants can save power by switching from phase angle to burst firing power control.
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The EPower controller cuts power demand and in so doing reduces costs by employing two techniques known as load sharing and load shedding.
In many applications the 'installed' power exceeds the 'required' power during normal operation.
Erotherm told manufacturingtalk.com that this over capacity can be manipulated by switching between loads over time in such a way that the power required from the network at any moment in time is lower than the installed power capacity.
* Load sharing - in terms of load sharing, Eurotherm's EPower controller uses technology, which ensures that a group of loads, up to a maximum of 63, can be switched on/off in such a way that the average power demand is evened out.
This desynchronised switching of loads reduces the peak power demand typically experienced when, for example, a furnace is started up and electrical loads are switched on in a traditional synchronised fashion.
Eurotherm's new technology then uses an 'Efficient Power' function to further improve this demand profile.
In tests, this load sharing capability has been shown to boost the power efficiency factor of a plant (where 1 denotes maximum efficiency and 0 minimum efficiency) from 0 the synchronised case, to 0.84 in the desynchronised case and 0.97 with Efficient Power.
This situation is further improved with the use of the technology's load shedding feature.
It allows customers to define the maximum allowable peak demand.
Because this feature will actively reduce the power applied to certain loads it cannot be used in all circumstances.
Nevertheless, it is ideal for manufacturers who have to control large thermal masses, for example those associated with a lehr.
Eurotherm said that tests show this function can reduce peak power demands during normal operation by 20%.
It is clear from this that load sharing and load shedding enabled through the EPower controller can bring substantial cost savings for multiple load users.
The level of such savings will depend on the rates and conditions imposed by different electricity supply organisations in different markets around the world.
* About Eurotherm - Eurotherm is a leading global supplier of control, measurement and data recording systems and services to industrial and process customers.
The company's international reputation as a provider of innovative products across a broad spectrum of vertical markets is supported by engineering services designed to realise greater benefits to customers' plant-wide assets.
Eurotherm's product range includes distributed process automation systems and machine control incorporating single and multi loop control, operator displays, data management and graphic recorders, power control and signal conditioning.
It is an ISO9000 approved Company, and operates TickIT protocols for software management.
Eurotherm is a key business within Invensys, the global automation, controls and process solutions Group.
Invensys products, service expertise and ongoing support enable intelligent systems to monitor and control processes in many different environments.
Leading companies in a wide range of industries rely on Invensys to help them perform with greater efficiency, safety and cost-effectiveness.
Headquartered in London, UK, and listed on the London Stock Exchange, the Invensys Group is made up of five businesses: Process Systems, APV, Eurotherm, Rail Systems and Controls.
Overall The Group has over 30,000 employees working in 60 countries.
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