Pumping systems, and the associated motors that drive those pumps, are the largest consumers of power in the water market. During the recent WEFTEC 2010 exhibition, Eaton Corp. showcased a number of its control systems and products designed to reduce energy costs and extend the life of motor systems.
The company's Motor Insight system offers advanced monitoring capabilities, diagnostics, and motor and pump protection in a single device. It can help municipal water facilities detect conditions that could result in motor or pump failure and energy waste.
The system monitors energy and power factor, enabling facilities to avoid peak demand charges, shed non-vital loads, identify and correct increased consumption, spot the discrepancy between equal loads and see power factor line items. It also allows customers to see energy consumption at a specific load.
The system's real-time power monitoring and power-based protection are a direct way to detect and protect a pump that is dead-headed or starved. Personnel are able to remotely monitor changes to the system and determine what is happening at the motor and pump. With the real-time data, facilities are able to protect assets, prevent energy waste and manage costs, while maintaining system integrity and uptime.
Eaton also showcased its soft starters, which can reduce the demands made on a motor during startup, provide smooth acceleration and deceleration of the load, minimizing shock to mechanical components, extending the life of the system, increasing reliability, reducing downtime and lowering costs. A lower in-rush current causes less stress to electrical components and junctions, further increasing system life.
Eaton soft starters incorporate an algorithm that is designed to minimize or eliminate water hammer in pump applications. They also include extensive monitoring and protection functionality.
The company's S811 family of soft starters offers an extensive features list, while its DS6 family is specifically designed for customers seeking an optimized feature-set. Both lines have a small footprint and can be retrofitted without necessitating a change in enclosure size or additional assemblies. They are designed to control acceleration and deceleration of three-phase motors and fit easily in place of existing soft starter designs, wye-delta starters or across-the-line National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) starters.
Adjustable frequency drives are often considered by utilities seeking to control energy costs in pumping systems. Eaton's Ampgard SC 9000 medium voltage adjustable frequency drives are designed for use with induction or synchronous motors at 2400 to 4160 volts up to 5000 horsepower. Thoroughly tested, manufactured and assembled to ISO 9001: 2000 certification standards, the drives feature a small footprint, and quite operation. The fully integrated drives require comparatively little equipment room space, do not need external auxiliary power supplies, and offer reduced power consumption.
The company's Freedom FlashGard 600 Volt Motor Control Center (MCC) with 120V control is designed to address the dangers of an arc flash event. It is part of Eaton's arc flash products and offers features to help prevent injury from electric shock, arc-flash burn and arc-blast impacts. The design meets or exceeds the standards from NFPA 70E-2004 (Arc Flash Guideline) "Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace" and IEE1584 guide for "Performing Arc Flash Hazard Calculations."
To learn more about any of the products Eaton offers the water industry, www.eaton.com/water. WW
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