MODULE 5 UNIT 3

Activity submission
Learning outcomes:

LO4: Compare different types of motors, pumps, fans, and compressors.

LO5: Assess how to reduce energy wastage in motor-driven systems.

LO6: Evaluate the efficiency of motor-driven systems.

Name:
1. Instructions and guidelines (Read carefully)
Instructions

Guidelines
1. There are 8 pages and 5 questions in this assignment.

2. Make sure that you have carefully read and fully understood the questions before
answering them. Answer the questions fully but concisely and as directly as possible.
Follow all specific instructions for individual questions (e.g. “list”, “in point form”).

3. Answer all questions in your own words. Do not copy any text from the notes, readings,
or other sources. The assignment must be your own work only.

Plagiarism declaration:

1. I know that plagiarism is wrong. Plagiarism is to use another’s work and pretend that
it is one’s own.

2. This assignment is my own work.

3. I have not allowed, and will not allow, anyone to copy my work with the intention of
passing it off as his or her own work.

4. I acknowledge that copying someone else’s assignment (or part of it) is wrong and
declare that my assignments are my own work.

2. Mark allocation
Each question receives a mark allocation. However, you will only receive a final percentage
mark and will not be given individual marks for each question. The mark allocation is there to
show you the weighting and length of each question.

Question 1 7

Question 2 4

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Question 3 5

Question 4 6

Question 5 8

TOTAL 30

3. Questions
Question 1
1.1 What is a variable speed drive (VSD), and how can it be used to reduce energy wastage in
industrial applications? What systems can make use of VSDs? (Max. 100 words)

Start writing here:

Variable speed drive are electronic controllers (manual or automatic) that can change the
speed of an induction motor (Lecture Notes). Systems that can make use of VSD’s are pumps,
compressors and fans. VSD’s allow to control flow rate and would avoid running pump for
example at maximum when thereby reducing energy wastage. As efficiency of the system
increases the power demand decreases. Since a VSD would vary the motor speed which then
varies the characteristics of the fan, pump or compressor to operate at a different efficiencies
and thus providing energy savings. (van der Merwe & Hoogendoorn, VSD advantages,
disadvantages,selection criteria and installation tips, 2005)

(https://www.ee.co.za/wp-content/uploads/legacy/Application.pdf)

1.2 The following questions apply to either brushed motors or induction motors. For each
question, give the type of motor that correctly answers the question.

1.2.1 Which motor uses direct current?

Start writing here:

Brushed Motors

1.2.2 Which motor does not have a commutator?

Start writing here:

Induction Motor

1.2.3 Which motor’s stator contains permanent magnets?

Start writing here:

Brushed Motor

1.2.4 Which motor has current supplied to its rotor?

Start writing here:

Brushed Motor

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Question 2
The owner of a small factory has decided to replace two 40kW AC motors with new high-
efficiency motors, costing R8,000 each. The motors run for 6,000 hours each year at three
quarters of their load. The old motors each have an efficiency of 86%, while the new high-
efficiency motors have a 90% efficiency.

2.1 What would the annual savings be as a result of installing the high-efficiency motors if
electricity costs 132c/kWh? Be sure to show your calculations.

Start writing here:

1 1
𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑆𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 = ℎ𝑟𝑠 × 𝑘𝑊 × %𝐹𝐿 × 𝑅/𝑘𝑊ℎ × ( − )
𝜂𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝜂ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ−𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦

1 1
𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑆𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 = 2 × [6000ℎ𝑟𝑠/𝑦𝑟 × 40𝑘𝑊 × 0.75 × 1.32𝑅/𝑘𝑊ℎ × ( − )]
0.86 0.90

𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑆𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 = 𝑅24558.14/𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟

2.2 What is the payback period for investing in these high-efficiency motors? Show your
calculations.

Start writing here:

The Simple Payback period:

𝐸𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡

𝑆𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑃𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 =
𝐸𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑

𝑅16000
𝑆𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑃𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 =
𝑅24558.14/𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟

𝑆𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑃𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 = 0.651515 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠

𝑆𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑃𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 = 7.82 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑠

2.3 Why is motor replacement often better than motor repair? (Max. 50 words)

Start writing here:

Motor replacement with high efficiency motors may be more feasible economically as during
repair of standard motors (replacing motor wings) the efficiency reduces by 1%. In future
when repairing high efficiency motors it is less likely to have such efficiency losses. (Lecture
Notes)

Question 3
A stationery factory uses compressed air to inflate the packaging of its stationery sets before
they are shipped. The factory’s energy manager has noticed that the generation of

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compressed air accounts for 45% of energy use in the factory. The factory owner is very upset
about this and has instructed the energy manager to make changes to the system so that this
percentage decreases significantly.

3.1 Are there any alternatives to using compressed air? Briefly explain the options to the
energy manager. (Max. 50 words)

Start writing here:

Blowers can be used to inflate packing. Blowers would save costs (up to 90%), would be
quieter as it operates at a lower pressure, would be cleaner (air is dry and free from oil) and
is inherently safer as they operate on low pressure and high velocity rather than high pressure.

(https://www.aircontrolindustries.com/technical-us/blower-systems-vs-compressed-air/) .

3.2 What would you recommend the energy manager to do to reduce energy costs in the
compressed air system? Be sure to provide at least five recommendations. (Max. 200 words,
bullet point format is allowed)

Start writing here:

• The compressed air usage should be monitored and re-evaluated periodically so as to

identify areas of improvement and remove misuse or close off supply to areas that no
longer require compressed air.
• Address leaks and incorporate a leak prevention programme.
• Assess the air distribution network and ensure condensation in the piping can be
removed, piping sizes are correct and there is no air leakage from piping and end use
equipment.
• Consider utilizing a ring main design (closed loop) as the velocity to any point on the
ring main is reduced as the air can come from two directions (reducing the pressure
drop). Ensure there is sufficient water drainage (having mains sloped to drain points)
and drain traps (remove water without allowing air to leak out).
• Use Air receivers (storage tanks) that supplement additional compressed air when
demand increases.
• Use regulators to control pressure for end used equipment that need lower pressure
to operate. This will remove oversupply and wastage.

Information source: Lecture notes

Question 4
4.1 A centrifugal pump is used to pump water from one tank to another. The difference in
height between these tanks is 140m. What is the theoretical minimum power required to
pump 15,000kg of water from the bottom tank to the top tank in 6 hours? Assume that gravity
= 10m/s2. Show your calculations in your answer.

Start writing here:

∆𝐸𝑝 = 𝑚 × 𝑔 × ∆𝐻

∆𝐸𝑝 = 15000𝑘𝑔 × 10𝑚/𝑠 2 × 140𝑚

∆𝐸𝑝 = 21000000𝐽

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 ∆𝐸𝑝 = 21𝑀𝐽
∆𝐸𝑝
𝑃𝑚𝑖𝑛 =
𝑡
21000𝑘𝐽
𝑃𝑚𝑖𝑛 =
(6ℎ𝑟𝑠 × 60 × 60)

𝑃𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 0.9722𝑘𝑊

4.2 In reality, there is friction in the piping, which means that an additional pressure equivalent
to a height of 100 m is needed to pump the water from the bottom tank to the top tank. What
is the minimum power required when accounting for friction? By what percentage has friction
increased the minimum power required? Remember to show your calculations.

Start writing here:

∆𝐸𝑝 = 𝑚 × 𝑔 × ∆𝐻

∆𝐸𝑝 = 15000𝑘𝑔 × 10𝑚/𝑠 2 × 240𝑚

∆𝐸𝑝 = 36000000𝐽

∆𝐸𝑝 = 36𝑀𝐽
∆𝐸𝑝
𝑃𝑚𝑖𝑛 =
𝑡
36000𝑘𝐽
𝑃𝑚𝑖𝑛 =
(6ℎ𝑟𝑠 × 60 × 60)

𝑃𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 1.6667𝑘𝑊
𝑃𝑚𝑖𝑛2 − 𝑃𝑚𝑖𝑛1
%𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 =
𝑃𝑚𝑖𝑛1
1.6667𝑘𝑊 − 0.9722𝑘𝑊
%𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 = × 100
0.9722𝑘𝑊
%𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 = 71.44%

Question 5
A certain fan system has a seasonal airflow requirement as shown in Figure 1. For four months
of the year, the demand is almost double that of the other eight months.

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 Figure 1: Monthly average air flow rate requirements.

If you rearrange the months according to demand, from the highest to the lowest, you obtain
what is known as a duration diagram, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Air flow duration diagram.

The area under a duration curve is flow rate × time, which represents the total volume
delivered. This diagram clearly shows that four months require a flow rate of approximately
11m3/s each, and the other eight months require a flow rate of about 7m3/s each.

The power requirements for these two conditions can be approximated as shown in Figure 3.
Note that the high flow rate periods require the fan to deliver 100kW to the air and the lower
flow rate periods require 25kW to be delivered to the air.

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 Figure 3: Approximated power duration diagram (power transferred from the fan to the air).

At present, these two different demands are handled by a single fan that is powered by a
motor controlled by a variable speed drive (VSD). During the high flow rate periods, the fan
spins at full speed, but during the low flow rate periods it is slowed down significantly. The
system operators are very pleased that so much energy is saved by using the VSD.

However, there is another option. You are aware that the motor and the VSD are less efficient
at very low loads. You therefore decide to check the feasibility of using the existing fan for
four months and installing a much smaller fan that would operate for the other eight months.
By doing this, there would not be any periods of operating at part load for either fan, and you
could eliminate the VSD altogether.

The equipment performance and costing details are shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Performance and cost data for fan investigation.

Existing motor efficiency at full load (high-demand months) 94%

Existing motor efficiency at ¼ load (low-demand months) 91%

Existing VSD efficiency at full load (high-demand months) 97%

Existing VSD efficiency at ¼ load (low-demand months) 94%

Efficiency of all fans at all loads 70%

New small motor efficiency at full load 94%

Cost of new small motor R35,000

Cost of new small fan R15,000

Cost of electricity (R/kWh) R2.00

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5.1 For the existing system, what is the electrical input power drawn for the four high-demand
months (power of 100kW delivered to the air) and the eight low-demand months (power of
25kW delivered to the air)? Show your calculations and round off to 1 decimal place.

Start writing here:

𝑃ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ
𝑃𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐−ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ =
𝜂𝑚𝑡𝑟 × 𝜂𝑣𝑠𝑑 × 𝜂𝑓𝑎𝑛
100𝑘𝑊
𝑃𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐−ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ =
0.94 × 0.97 × 0.7
𝑃𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐−ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ = 156.7𝑘𝑊
𝑃𝑙𝑜𝑤
𝑃𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐−𝑙𝑜𝑤 =
𝜂𝑚𝑡𝑟 × 𝜂𝑣𝑠𝑑 × 𝜂𝑓𝑎𝑛
25𝑘𝑊
𝑃𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐−𝑙𝑜𝑤 =
0.91 × 0.94 × 0.7
𝑃𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐−𝑙𝑜𝑤 = 41.8𝑘𝑊

5.2 For the proposed new system of installing a smaller fan for low-demand months (instead
of using a VSD), what is the electrical input power drawn for the four high-demand months,
and the eight low-demand months? Show your calculations.

Start writing here:

𝑃ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ
𝑃𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐−ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ =
𝜂𝑚𝑡𝑟 × 𝜂𝑓𝑎𝑛
100𝑘𝑊
𝑃𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐−ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ =
0.94 × 0.7
𝑃𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐−ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ = 152.0𝑘𝑊
𝑃𝑙𝑜𝑤
𝑃𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐−𝑙𝑜𝑤 =
𝜂𝑚𝑡𝑟 × 𝜂𝑓𝑎𝑛
25𝑘𝑊
𝑃𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐−𝑙𝑜𝑤 =
0.94 × 0.7
𝑃𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐−𝑙𝑜𝑤 = 38.0𝑘𝑊

5.3 If you install the new system, what would the monthly electricity cost savings be for the
low-demand and high-demand months? Assume that there are 30 days in a month and that
the fan system runs for 24 hours a day. Show your calculations and be sure to use your figures
from the previous questions.

Start writing here:

For Monthly saving:

High demand VSD:

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 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡1 = [156.7𝑘𝑊 × (1 × 30 × 24) × 𝑅2.00/𝑘𝑊ℎ]

𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡1 = 𝑅225613.39

High demand New System:

𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡2 = [152.0𝑘𝑊 × (1 × 30 × 24) × 𝑅2.00/𝑘𝑊ℎ]

𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡2 = 𝑅218844.98

𝑆𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔𝐻𝑖𝑔ℎ 𝐷𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑 = 𝑅225613.39 − 𝑅218844.98

𝑆𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔𝐻𝑖𝑔ℎ 𝐷𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑 = 𝑅6768.40/𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ

Low demand VSD:

𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡1 = [41.8𝑘𝑊 × (1 × 30 × 24) × 𝑅2.00/𝑘𝑊ℎ]

𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡1 = 𝑅60122.25

Low demand New System:

𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡2 = [38.0𝑘𝑊 × (1 × 30 × 24) × 𝑅2.00/𝑘𝑊ℎ]

𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡2 = 𝑅54711.25

𝑆𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔𝐿𝑜𝑤 𝐷𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑 = 𝑅60122.25 − 𝑅54711.25

𝑆𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔𝐿𝑜𝑤 𝐷𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑 = 𝑅5411.00/𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ

Total Annual saving:

VSD system:
𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡1 = [156.7𝑘𝑊 × (4 × 30 × 24) × 𝑅2.00/𝑘𝑊ℎ] + [41.8𝑘𝑊 × (8 × 30 × 24) × 𝑅2.00/𝑘𝑊ℎ]

𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡1 = 𝑅902453.55 + 𝑅480977.99

𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡1 = 𝑅1383431.53

New system:
𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡2 = [152.0𝑘𝑊 × (4 × 30 × 24) × 𝑅2.00/𝑘𝑊ℎ] + [38.0𝑊 × (8 × 30 × 24) × 𝑅2.00/𝑘𝑊ℎ]

𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡2 = 𝑅875379.94 + 𝑅437689.97

𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡2 = 𝑅1313069.91

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑆𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 = 𝑅1383431.53 − 𝑅1313069.91

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑆𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 = 𝑅70361.63/𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟

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