The two biggest challenges in implementing energy-saving technology are proof of saving and required upfront costs. Many businesses and individuals hesitate due to initial investments as are necessary for energy-efficient systems, despite long-term savings and environmental benefits, and insufficient levels of the specific skills and knowledge to understand the energy-saving effects. Bridging the gap in expertise is essential for successful implementation and overcoming skepticism surrounding the initial costs of energy-saving technologies, especially when the savings level is less than 10%, which is not easy to prove.
The saving effect can only be seen by comparing electricity consumption with and without energy-saving technologies. But we must not forget that a comparison can only be made when the operating modes of the equipment are the same, which is quite difficult to determine since in most cases the operating modes of the equipment are different. Let's look at the situation using a specific example, in the UAE. The devices are connected to a resistive load (bread ovens). Online monitoring of network parameters (voltage, current, active power kW, reactive power kVAr, apparent power kVA, power factor, harmonics, etc.) is installed at least one week before installing devices to optimize electricity consumption. The devices were installed around midnight on 12 March 2024.
Let's check the data consumption during 11 and 12 March (drawing 1) and try to make an analysis.
On the graph, we see two curves describing electricity consumption - for 11 March and 12 March. The red curve is the consumption for 11 March, without ECOD, and the green curve is for 12 March with ECOD. We see that around 2 AM on 12 March immediately after installing ECOD technology, the electricity consumption reached the highest level for two reasons - checking the impact of ECOD devices on the work performance of all electrical equipment and starting production of postponed orders. This fact impacted on total daily consumption on 12 March. That's why it is impossible to prove savings by comparing total consumption kWh on 11 March vs 12 March, but we can see the energy-saving effect by comparison of the selected curves with the same trend of the mode of work and loading of the electrical equipment.
Between 2 PM and 4 PM, (on drawing 1) we see that the shapes of curves look very similar, which means that the mode of work and loading of the ovens at that time were almost the same. That's why a comparison of the selected periods is the best option to verify the energy savings effect. By checking power at the 3 points (drawing 2, drawing 3, drawing 4) we have the results of comparison: 292 kW vs 266 kW =- 8.9%.9%, 241kW vs 218 kW = - 9.5%, 190 kW vs 173 kW = - 8.9%.
Based on the information above we can see that by using ECOD technology we reduced electricity consumption on this circuit by around 9% on average.
In drawing 5, we see the optimization of the peak Demand kW by using ECOD, and as a result, a reducing the current of the load, leads to increased equipment lifespan, and a reduced number of accidents.
