Commissioned in 1998, the Hobart City Council recognised that due to ageing infrastructure, the energy required to heat such large volumes of water to maintain a comfortable swimming temperature year-round, was becoming unmanageable with rising costs seen not only in heating bills, but also impacting the environment.
Enginuity Power Solutions was tasked with upgrading and future-proofing the equipment at the Centre, and we collaborated with ABB Value Service Provider, A1 Electric Motors. Having identified ABB ACH580 drives, coupled with SynRM motors to replace the existing technology, this combination not only had the ability to increase energy efficiency and reduce energy losses by up to 40%, but also reduce the electrical draw by approximately 18%.
One advantage of the IE5 SynRM motors is their cooler running temperature which extends the life of the stator windings, bearing lubricants and the bearings themselves. It also reduces the need for cooling of workspaces, therefore contributing further to the reduction in energy consumption.
Not only do these motors have reduced maximum demand requirements to run, they have given the Centre more options and more capabilities to upgrade operations because they’re not only lowering energy costs but also freeing up space on existing infrastructure to accommodate future expansion.
In looking at energy consumption, because of installing this newly modernised system, Hobart City Council will additionally experience an estimated yearly savings of $36,000 and a reduction of 77 tonnes of carbon emissions, based on saving 259 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity usage annually. Further post-commissioning assessment is soon to be undertaken to calculate the complete before and after analysis following the installation of the entire ABB system.
The full article on this project, as written by Natalie Landrito from ABB, can be viewed here.
