AN innovative single-speed motor control system is claimed to offer important energy-saving benefits to plastics and recycling firms. It is available in the UK via Renmar, a supplier of machinery and ancillary equipment.
By way of backstory: For some time Renmar had been challenged by its customers to look into ways to reduce the energy costs associated with the ownership of granulators, shredders and conveyors. Managing Director Kevin Horne said: “In the past we had suggested variable speed drives to clients, but they are expensive; they consume energy themselves, and with some types of technology you do not want to reduce motor speed, as it can affect operational performance. Then we came across Suresense Technologies and its product the Integra which completely solved the problem for us.”
“The Integra is an innovative single-speed motor control system designed with unique energy saving capabilities. It provides excellent soft-start and braking abilities like traditional soft starters, but has a fantastic ability to save energy when the system load is varying, which is so often the case with these types of machinery. We also found it simple to install and with its supplementary energy saving ‘apps’, it’s proven as one of the most versatile means of helping companies to take control of their energy consumption. Through the use of Suresense Integra, the typical plastics company will save in the region of 10-20 per cent on the energy consumption on granulators and shredders, as well as conveyors.”
Suresense Managing Director, Ian Hambly, said: “The facts are that the capital cost of machinery such as granulators typically only relates to 5-10% of its overall lifetime costs, with energy costs being by far the largest component; as an example a £50K granulator will typically have lifetime costs of circa £1M and we can reduce that number by £200K for no more than a £1,500 outlay. The Integra brings excellent energy savings through intelligently monitoring motor torque and dynamically adjusting the voltage accordingly, reducing the cost of Renmar’s solutions for their customers, as well as positively impacting upon their carbon emissions.”
Horne said: “The Integra has been optimised with specific settings for granulators/shredders and conveyors, delivering energy savings without reducing motor speed. The guys at Suresense are extremely helpful and supportive and we are already engaged to use them with a number of customers.”
The plastics and recycling industries are heavy users of energy, specifically on motors and lighting. Many energy-saving contingencies come with a heavy financial burden, which is where this Renmar and Suresense partnership suggests it can help.
