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Typical load of landing gear racked inside a VAC AERO Model VAV72100 vertical vacuum gas quench furnace with 10-bar pressure quench capability.
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VAC AERO and dibalog North America have successfully completed the installation and start up of a dibalog Energy Optimisation System (EOS) at VAC AERO’s Oakville, Ontario heat treating facility which operates more than two dozen vacuum and atmosphere furnaces.
The dibalog system is designed to reduce the Oakville plant’s total peak electrical demand.
In many jurisdictions peak demand is the highest average demand in any fifteen minute time span during the billing period. In Ontario, Canada, peak demand is used to calculate the delivery charge at Oakville Hydro. (Consumption is independent of the peak demand and is billed as a different line item on the bill). Therefore, since a significant portion of the plant’s electrical energy costs are determined by its peak demand, electrical energy costs can be significantly reduced by lowering this peak demand value.
How the Energy Optimization System Works.
The dibalog system continuously monitors the power usage of all of VAC AERO’s electrically powered furnaces. The central controller analyses this data and predicts the coming total electrical demand. If the controller predicts that total electrical demand will exceed a programmed upper limit it takes action to reduce this peak to below the limit.
The dibalog controller limits peak demand by making small, short term reductions to the power consumption of individual furnaces.
It does so intelligently, by first limiting the power to those furnaces that will be least affected, and by distributing the required reductions among as many furnaces as possible for as brief a time as possible. The controller understands how much power each furnace can give, and under what conditions a furnace’s demand should never be reduced. The intelligence of the dibalog system ensures that furnaces and loads are not detrimentally affected and cycle times not noticeably increased.
Results look Extremely Promising.
The dibalog system has been operating since July 2008. Indications are that savings in electricity charges will surpass original estimates. VAC AERO is already looking at expanding the system into its Montreal, Quebec heat treating facility.
In addition to providing heat treating services, VAC AERO manufactures vacuum heat treating furnaces for the global market.
Based on VAC AERO’s own experience with energy optimization, the company is now in a position to provide advice to its furnace customers on the potential benefits of energy optimization systems.