During the 20th century, sentiment prevailed that power was cheap to produce and that the resources to sustain the greed for energy would never run out. As scientists and lobbyists entered the fray, arguments for sustainability and new ways of producing energy gained momentum.
In a recent conference hosted by CPUT and Eskom, emphasis was laid on educating end-users in the industrial sector about saving power. This initiative falls squarely on the shoulders of machine builders, electrical consultants, importers and distributors of energy saving technology and devices. Variable speed drives (VSDs) enjoyed centre stage at the conference because of their energy saving features and benefits.
Ana-Digi Systems (ADS) is the sole importer of the LSIS range of low and medium voltage VSDs in South Africa and were among the VSD delegates at the conference. Before and since, ADS has been consulting with mines, consultants and industry at large about the benefits of VSDs, which would among other things save energy and correct power factor issues. Another attribute of installations is that there is an immediate saving of about 6%, with an additional saving when starting motors. Unlike soft starters, VSDs ramp the motor up to the desired speed without switching to a bypass. This means that the starting curve is gentle and never exceeds the maximum amps during the ramp-up. At full speed the LSIS drives are designed to improve efficiency by injecting just the right amount of energy into the motor, maintaining the speed and torque needed for the application.
LSIS has spent years perfecting the art of energy saving. A medium voltage drive recently installed in a fan application at a steel mill saved about 60%. The LSIS-M1000 with integrated transformer, LSIS PLC and HMI for control as standard equipment, achieved these savings due to its H-bridge cascade technology, providing low harmonics and near sine wave output thus eliminating the need for input and output filters.
In low voltage applications there have been proven double figure savings by exploiting the auto-tuning algorithms built into the LSLV drive range, which continually hunts for the most efficient current delivery to the motor.
Thus when one is looking to cut the peak tariff charges down to size, for power factor correction or just getting more efficient systems in the plant, LSIS has a complete range of automation systems and VSDs to suit applications from 0,2 kW to 10 000 kW.
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