Electric Motor Study to Determine the Optimum Method for Reducing Electrical Energy Consumption at Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant.

摘要

A large part of the cost of electricity at Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant (LSAAP) is attributed to the operation of electric motors used in the process operations. An electric motor study was conducted to determine the optimum method for reducing electrical energy consumption at LSAAP over the life-cycle of the equipment. An inventory was performed of all motors rated one-quarter horsepower and above. Of the 3566 motors inventoried, 1299 were active and 2267 were inactive. It was determined that the current electric motor replacement method is the most cost-effective and energy-efficient over the life-cycle of the equipment. Improvement in efficiency could be achieved by replacing, through attrition, motors that economically qualify with energy efficient motors. Few of the motors, when they do fail, qualify for economic replacement. In this study, no motors qualified for immediate replacement since the expected reduction in operating costs could not amortize the cost of a new motor in a reasonable length of time. Standardization of motors and efficiency improvement through the application of capacitors and power factor controllers were considered and determined not to be cost effective at this time.