The context
B&B Precision Engineering was experiencing ever-increasing power demand and thermal problems and they commissioned GRW to audit the energy demands and potential for cost-saving on their site.
The heat is on
We were very happy to help and arranged to visit B&B’s site to carry out our detailed survey and analysis. We soon discovered a power factor lag due to inductive machine loadings: in other words, the energy wastage was running at a very costly 22%.
We also calculated additional savings on lighting, heating and operational controls.
Cheaper, greener, cooler
B&B Precision Engineering asked us to go ahead with our suggested improvements and save the spiralling costs and energy waste. We replaced all 400watt sodium lights with highly efficient, cost-saving LED units. To reduce the power factor lag, we installed power factor control units (PFCUs), connecting the units in parallel to each site location. All of the work was fulfilled with minimum disruption and downtime.
The project brought numerous benefits for B&B, including:
- real-time energy savings of 34% at peak demand
- reduced thermal build-up on supply
- no more power interruption or tripping of the mains supply power breaker due to thermal build-up
- improved continuity and lifespan of the site’s electrical plant and equipment
- a tariff which reduced the unit cost from 19p to 15.4p per unit
- monthly power savings with ROI payback on initial investment in under two years
- LED lighting and optimised daytime control with 80% savings on existing high bay fittings
- a very happy client!
Customer Feedback
“Thanks for your support, the power factor correction units have reduced our bills by 40%”
Steve Haigh, MD, B&B Precision Engineering
