costs at the ultra Car Wash sites with
smart vFDs have been reduced about 15-
20% on a year-over-year basis. "But keep
in mind," hackett added, "we have been
having double-digit rate increases, so the
apples-to-apples savings have been much
greater."
he noted, "The up-front cost can be
difficult to swallow. however, when
you consider the cost of actually operating
the vacuums over the long run, the return
associated with the initial investment makes
it an easy decision."
Tucker said wash owners should also
scrutinize their rate plans. "The correct
rate plan can save you up to $1,000 per
month at each location."
hackett is so pleased with his smart
vFDs that he wants to preach the vFD
gospel. "We're setting up a consulting
company, in partnership with steve at
autovac, to explain to wash owners why
vFDs are a good investment."
Jimmy Belanger is the owner of smart
start Ra, located in northville, Michigan.
according to his Web site, the company was
"founded by car washers to help car washers
understand and benefit from advanced
motor control technology without breaking
the bank to enjoy its benefits."
From wet down to shut down, the
company's technology is designed to save
carwash operators money throughout
the business day using intelligent motor
control. These controls eliminate peak
demand spikes and maximize electrical
consumption efficiency without degrading
equipment performance, service quality or
profit margins.
Wash Trends Magazine spoke to him
recently for his opinion on vFDs--variable
Frequency Drives. We asked him to explain
what a vFD is in plain, layman's English that
would be understandable to both a multi-
unit franchise owner and the part-time
manager of a single touchless tunnel wash.
"I own a company that is putting vFDs
into application and we're teaching car
wash owners how to do vFDs," Belanger
said. he added the following written
explanation.
"a vFD is like a big dimmer switch
for motors," he said. "It can increase
or decrease motor speed as needed
depending on the work required of the
motor. There is no sense running a motor
flat out 100% of the time if only 50% of its
capacity is required or 100% of its capacity
is only required 50% of the time."
the speed, even slightly, results in a large
reduction in required horsepower. This
adds up to significant energy savings. For
example, at 50% speed, the horsepower
required is only 12.5% (0.53 = 0.125 =
12.5%). For a 50-hp motor, this means
only 6.25 hp is required. It would actually
cost less to run two 50 hp motors at 50%
speed than it would to run one 50 hp
motor at 100% speed. "vFD technology
is a great technology for carwashes
but misunderstood and misapplied. If
misapplied, the additional acquisition cost
of the technology delivers zero RoI (return
on investment). anyone who has had a
bad experience with vFD technology in the
carwash industry is due to inexperienced
suppliers misapplying the technology.
"To benefit from vFD motor control,
the variable frequency drive must be
programmed to change the speed of the
motor when full speed is not required. an
excellent place to start to look for energy
savings from vFD technology is Fan
applications; at the carwash that means
vacuums and dryers.
"For vacuums, the objective is to
provide enough suction pressure to satisfy
customers. Most systems are designed for a
given number of vacuum drops, or vacuum
positions. using a simple motor starter,
the vacuum motor operates at 100% speed
every second that it is on such that 100%
maximum pressure is provided to the first
drop in use with a subsequent decrease
in pressure until all the vacuum positions
are in use. With a vFD, the operator can
provide a consistent vacuum suction
pressure with the first to the last position
occupied by obtaining data from a sensing
device, such as a pressure transducer, to
automatically adjust its speed to maintain
a certain pressure or flow. If the fan speed
can be reduced to 75% of rated speed,
power consumption can be reduced
by as much as 42% of rated power. The
savings comes from running the vacuum
motor at the minimum acceptable speed
for satisfactory suction with the first
position occupied and increasing speed
with demand at subsequent positions,
matching demand with increase in fan
speed.
"For dryers, the potential savings come
from slowing the motors down when no
vehicle is present. simple motor starters
keep motors running flat out, waiting
for vehicles and in between vehicles. It
is simple, with a vFD, to use the tunnel
speeds when no vehicle is present."
In addition to energy savings, part of
the interest in vFDs has been spurred by
the federal government. The u.s. Energy
Policy act of 2002 (with amendments in
2005) offers tax incentives for energy-
saving measures that it annotates. To
realize the savings, a business owner has
to have a viable method to monitor and
measure his or her energy usage. The
benefits of the EP act are increasing the
interest in software that can manage an
owner's use of power, water, chemicals and
supplies.
according to statistics supplied by
the u.s. Department of Energy to Flex
Your Power, California's statewide energy
efficiency marketing and outreach
campaign: "Motor systems consume as
much as 60% of all electricity in the united
states; half of this electricity is used by the
industrial sector alone. Motor applications
vary as widely as the businesses they serve,
but common ones include fans, pumps,
compressors, and conveyance. around
70% of the total electricity used by all u.s.
manufacturers powers motor systems."
Flex Your Power's statistics for
manufacturers can be similarly applied
to carwash dryers, vacuums and other
equipment that can benefit from vFDs
and soft-start applications.
"a well-designed and well-maintained
motor system can reach 90% efficiency--
meaning that 90% of the input energy gets
converted to useful work. unfortunately,
only a small portion of the u.s. motor
inventory falls into this category--the
majority of motors in use are highly
inefficient. The good news, though, is that
as older motors are retired, opportunities
arise to improve these statistics with
newer, more efficient technology," states
Flex Your Power's Web site entry on Energy
use Basics. The site adds: "The u.s.
Department of Energy (DoE) estimates
that u.s. manufacturers could cost-
effectively reduce motor-related energy
use by 11 to 18%, yielding cumulative
annual cost savings of up to $5.8 billion.
similarly, the american Council for an
Energy-Efficient Economy (aCEEE)
estimates that optimization of electric
motor performance can save as much
as 25% of total u.s. electricity use. For
individual manufacturers, motor-drive
optimization potentially saves as much as
50% of motor energy use..."
gary Dennis owns four ultra Car