Mobile, alabama, region, plus two new
washes are under construction. he's
developed some cost-and energy-savings
data from vFD use on his vacuums.
"We're doing several tests, in different
ways," he explained. "When measuring
results, you have to do it several ways.
Issue 1: Electric costs are fixed but variable
depending upon the number of cars
washed. Issue 2: When comparing your
present electrical use to previous periods,
the kilowatt rates are increasing. ours
went up 30% in two years."
Recently, he upgraded old equipment
and simultaneously installed new
equipment.
When vFDs were installed in two
places on his vacuum equipment, there
was a 15% reduction in electrical use.
he also updated his vFD software to "go
from discrete to continuous movements.
Before I installed the vFD, the equipment
could only move in three or four levels
50%, 70%, 90% and 100%. now, it moves
continuously up and down in fine 1%
increments, instead of big jumps."
In analyzing his energy costs, Dennis
learned there were different rate plans
offered by his power provider. "some areas
have only one company they can deal with;
other places you've got several providers to
choose from," he observed.
he asked for a different rate plan and
was pleased when he received a lower rate.
his upgrades and installations began
in august 2008. Dennis has collected four
months' data. he noticed a 15 to 20%
reduction in energy usage--in addition
to the new rate plan he negotiated with
his supplier. "I'm looking at average daily
electric costs divided by the number of
days covered by a particular bill. some will
be for 28 days, others 33 days."
The savings are real. he said, "It's not
what I paid for electricity in the past, but
what I would have paid in the future that is
important. These three moves--upgrading
old equipment, installing vFDs and
negotiating a better rate--will probably
save us $35,000 a year in energy costs."
"These are permanent savings," he
emphasized. "We could argue our cash
flow is going to improve $35,000 each
year. We've created $175,000 of business
value each year by making these changes."
lives in Annapolis, Maryland.