AirClean was assigned to perform the assessment, engineering and consultation to upgrade the bag house induced draft fans for a major U.S. steel manufacturer. The client wanted to save electrical energy and maintenance and Airclean helped them arrive at a design that would allow them to vary speed with temperature via variable frequency drives, would operate without throttling and would extend fan life and reduce maintenance by at least 50%.
The Plan:
The new main draft fans design:
- Would be designed to 71% – 75% Efficient
- Would Vary Speed with Temperature via Variable Frequency Drives
- Would Operate without Throttling
- Would Extend Fan Life and Reduce Maintenance by 50%
- Would Consume 50% less Energy
Results:
The new main draft fans tested:
- Fan Wheels achieved 73- 75% Efficiency
- No significant wear after 6 Months
- Reduced Energy Consumption by > 25,000,000 kWh/Year
- Enough to make an additional 400 heats in the EAF
- Enough to power 1000 homes for a year
- Enough to recharge 3 million phones or smart devices for a year (there are >350 million of these in the US)
The project completed in May 2013 yielding an energy savings in excess of 25,000,000 kWh per year. The projected savings were exceeded by over 10%, with a project payback slightly less than two years.