When an electric car brakes, its kinetic energy is converted into electricity and returned to the car’s batteries to extend the driving distance. This same principle, Regenerative Braking, can also be applied to electric motors used in a wide variety of industrial applications where frequent braking is required or when stopping high inertia loads. Examples where Regenerative Braking can be applied include centrifuges and separators used in the dairy industry, shredders and chippers/debarkers for the milling industry, and grinders and presses at ore refineries.

A regenerative Variable Speed Drive (VSD) captures wasted energy and returns it to the network so it can be used by other equipment, offering substantial improvements in energy efficiency, and reducing overall energy costs.

For example, the annual savings of a waste handling crane powered with a 55kW hoisting motor, 9 kW long travel motor and a 4.5kW trolley motor was 15.6 megawatt/hour (MWh) and $2,750 based on the measurements at a customer site. This equates to a 32% energy saving compared to the previously used technology of resistor braking.

With a traditional resistor and mechanical braking methods, excess energy is dissipated as heat, which often requires additional cooling in an electrical room to cope with it. When regenerative braking is used, the braking energy is not wasted as heat and further cost savings can be achieved with reduced cabinet building costs as the installation footprint is smaller due to the lack of need for external braking components.

 

Ongoing maintenance

All VSDs require regular maintenance and with temperatures increasing, putting more load on the drive’s cooling system, now is a good time to make sure your Variable Speed Drives are in top condition for the summer period to ensure there is no disruption to production.

Key checks include:

• Visual check:
  To make sure the drive is clean; the cooling fan and cooling system are all in good condition. Dust on VSD hardware can cause a lack of airflow, diminishing performance. Dust also absorbs moisture which can contribute to failure. Connections should also be checked as heat cycles and mechanical vibration can lead to sub-standard connection and cause erratic operation resulting in damage to machinery.
• Settings:
  Parameter settings should be checked and recoded so that if there is a failure, the drive can be easily replaced. EAS utilise Drive Software to enable us to upload the correct settings straight back into your drive to get it up and running as quickly as possible.
• Stocktake of spare parts:
  By performing a stock take of the spare parts available we can ensure that any breakdowns can be handled quickly and efficiently. It also gives the opportunity to identify drives where spare parts are no longer available so that a planned upgrade of the drive can be scheduled where it will be least disruptive to production.

 

EAS are experts in installing and maintaining Variable Speed Drives. We can assist you with your regular preventative maintenance checks, servicing and can provide advice and installation for regenerative braking systems on new and existing VSDs, depending on age and condition.

If you want to know whether a regenerative braking system may be a good option for your plant, or need to schedule in your VSD preventative maintenance checks; get in touch with the EAS team today on 834 0505.

 

The answer is -3.
A single cat equals 6.
A single rat equals 5.
4 pieces of cheese equals 6. So a single piece equals 1.5.
So the final equation will look like: 12 – 5 x 3 = 12 – 15 = -3.

As you will be aware there have been new cases of COVID-19 (Corona virus) identified in Auckland. While we are all hopeful that these cases will be contained and a wide-spread community outbreak won’t occur, we want to assure our customers that we are doing our part in maintaining good public health measure to prevent the further spread of the virus.

 

WHAT ARE WE DOING?
At EAS, the well-being of our employees and customers are our top priority. We are ensuring that all staff are minimising the risk of any virus transfer through:

• Daily cleaning and sanitising of all work areas in our offices, our work vehicles and hand tools.
• Making hand sanitiser and antiseptic wipes available to all staff.
• Educating staff on the need to be more vigilant and more regular with hand washing and avoiding touching their faces.
• Encouraging all staff who are sick or have immediate family members who are sick to stay away from work.
• Setting up processes so office staff can work from home, should alert levels in the Waikato be raised.
• Encouraging staff to forgo handshakes as a form of greeting.
• We have split our frontline staff into teams to ensure that even if a staff member becomes ill, you can be assured we still have teams available who have had no contact with them

 

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR OUR CUSTOMERS?
EAS will remain fully operational continuing to assist our customers with all their electrical and automation needs until the Ministry of Health advises that is not possible.

We are taking all steps to ensure our staff remain fit and healthy, however we will be taking increased precautions and encouraging staff to stay home if they show any symptoms. This may increase the risk of reduced staffing levels.

In this event we may have to prioritise work. First priority will go to breakdowns, which may result in some planned maintenance work being pushed back. We will be monitoring demand on a daily basis and be in regular contact with any customers this may affect.

We will continue to monitor Ministry of Health recommendations and proactively work with our staff and customers to minimise business disruption.

We thank you for understanding and cooperation.

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT COVID-19?
For the latest information on what is happening with Covid-19, please visit the  Ministry of Health website.

An Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) provides emergency power when the power source or mains power fails. A UPS differs from an emergency power system or standby generator in that it provides near instantaneous protection from power interruptions by supplying energy stored in batteries, supercapacitors or flywheels. The on-battery run time of most UPS is generally short (minutes rather than hours) but is sufficient to start a standby power source or properly shut down the equipment.

 

A UPS is designed to protect your vulnerable, and often expensive hardware from physical or memory-based damage if they’re suddenly disconnected from mains power. UPS’ are typically used to protect hardware such as computers, data centres, telecommunication equipment or other essential electrical equipment such as emergency lighting or alarm systems.

While a UPS’ main role is to provide short-term power when there is a power failure, most UPS units can also, in varying degrees, correct common utility power problems such as voltage spikes, sustained over voltage or momentary or sustained reduction in input voltage

 

What size UPS do I need?

Any UPS you install must be large enough to support all the equipment plugged into it. This means you need to calculate the load required. The load is the total amount of power drawn in watts of all the devices that are or will be plugged into the UPS. Once you know the load, you can select a UPS with the right capacity for your needs. The capacity is how much power a UPS can provide (measured in watts) if needed.

The runtime required in the event of power outage will also determine the size UPS you need. Runtime is the number of minutes a UPS can support the attached devices during a blackout.

The minimum runtime should be the time needed to complete proper equipment shutdown.

The smaller the wattage load connected to the UPS the longer the batteries will last. To determine the runtime you need, start with the number of minutes required to completely shut down the connected devices. If a long runtime is required you can upsize your UPS so the connected load is a smaller percentage of the capacity or, with some UPS units, you have the ability to add additional battery modules to extend runtime.

 

Different types of UPS

• A Standby UPS is an offline unit that can detect a mains power failure and switch to battery power automatically. In normal operation the load is fed directly by mains power.
  
• A Line-interactive UPS conditions the mains power by regulating input voltage up or down in a buck-boost transfer, before allowing it to pass through to your protected equipment. In the event of a mains power failure, battery power is provided automatically.
  
• An on-line UPS converts power tiwce. First an input rectifier converts AC power into DC and feeds it to an output inverter. The output inverter then converts the power back to AC before sending it on to the protected equipment. This double conversion process insulates critical loads from dirty mains power completely to ensure that the connect equipment receives only clean reliable electricity.
  

 

UPS Maintenance

UPS’ should be regularly maintained to ensure that they are ready to function when you need them. Investing in a planned maintenance programme for your UPS can improve both reliability and the overall lifespan of your system. A well maintained and regularly serviced UPS needs less power to run, as well as being far less likely to fail and cause critical downtimes.

Preventative Maintenance Checks for your UPS:

• Internal and external checks
• Calibration of all metering and protective features if required
• Functional testing of all transfer conditions
• Inspection of on-line performance of equipment with load
• Visual check of batteries and battery environment
• Testing of battery voltage.

 

The EAS are highly skilled in sizing, installing and maintaining UPS’. If you would like to discuss protecting your essential equipment with a UPS get in touch with the EAS team today on 07 834 0505 or [email protected].

 

All electrical products generate heat and therefore have the potential to be a fire risk if not properly maintained. Worksafe have highlighted in this months’ newsletter in conjunction with the Lighting Council the need to ensure that Fluorescent and High Intensity Discharge (HID) light fittings are being regularly maintained due to the number of fire related incidents they have been involved in recently.

Most fluorescent and HID lights supplied and installed in New Zealand over the past 30 years contain replaceable power factor correction capacitors. Regular maintenance including checking and replacing aged components is essential to ensure they operate safely and efficiently. HID type lights include metal halide, high pressure sodium and mercury vapour technologies.

Proper maintenance of any lighting system is essential to maintain levels of illumination necessary for productivity, merchandising, visual comfort, safety, and security. However, Worksafe’s key concern in highlighting the need for this essential maintenance is the increased risk of failure and fire these lights pose if not regularly maintained.

If an individual component fails and remains in the lighting system, costly damage to other components can result. Major repairs can often be avoided by simple maintenance procedures and timely attention to small problems, such as replacing burned-out lamps. Preventing a problem from occurring is more desirable and economical than fixing it later. A scheduled program of preventive maintenance can save money while maintaining productivity and safety.

EAS recommends the following servicing of fluorescent and HID lights to ensure best performance and safety:

• Lights should be serviced at least every three years and whenever fluorescent tubes and HID lamps are replaced.
• HID lighting fixtures should periodically be inspected for lamps cycling on and off, heavy
  lamp discoloration, dim lamps, slow-starting lamps, inoperative lamps and dust and dirt.
• When any capacitors, ballasts, lamp holders or starters show signs of ageing. These should be replaced immediately.
• Capacitors have a life span of five to ten year. These must be replaced within the 10 year period.
• A maintenance record of the components, the dates they’ve been checked and the dates that any components have been replaced should be
  kept.  EAS can assist you with establishing and maintaining a maintenance record for
  your lighting.
• Any lights that are subject to high ambient or external heat will require more regular checks and maintenance. EAS recommends a six monthly check for these lights.

EAS can coordinate the whole process of maintaining and installing your fluorescent and HID lighting. Ensure your lights are safe by getting in touch with the EAS team for a maintenance check today on 07 834 0505 or [email protected].