Many factors play into why a cement plant would opt for fan efficiency upgrades, including a main drive that speaks volumes: remaining competitive in an ever-changing industry landscape. With everything that hinges on industrial fans—from production to profits—it’s imperative to optimize fans to peak performance. But peak performance extends past just fan blades—it’s about “right-sizing” multiple facets and components to fit into existing system requirements. Let’s discuss why fan efficiency matters, what upgrade options there are, and how to reap the most from your ROI.
The Impact of Efficiency
Energy efficiency has become ever-coveted, especially against the backdrop of creeping power costs, federal and state mandates for reduction in emissions, utilities credits, and profit margin drop-offs. And even amid all these trade-offs and incentives, for the cement industry, a major consideration for fan efficiency upgrades is production cost. The ratio of electrical power used per ton of cement still carries significant weight, clearing the way for reduced overhead, increased profits, or both.
Improved efficiency’s benefits don’t end there, either. Enhanced efficiency through equipment upgrades not only provides lucrative return on investment and improved rates—it also reduces carbon emissions, which trends with the ongoing march toward renewable energy for industries.
Upgrading Your Options
For fan efficiency upgrades, there’s rarely—if ever—a blanket approach that works for all plants and fans. A thorough evaluation process will need to precede “right-sizing” or new installation. This includes marshaling performance data, pinning down actual cost of power and downtime, and considering potential maintenance challenges, overall improvement value, upfront cost, and a feasible payback window.
Many times, fan efficiency upgrades require hitting a “sweet spot” for optimal efficiency to be reached. Accurate sizing is paramount in this endeavor, with a well-sized width-to-diameter ratio underpinning a range of performance conditions from volumetric flow rate to inlet density. Simply put, for peak fan performance, sizing matters.
Upgrading also applies to fans that have hit the last legs of their operational tenure. Existing end-of-life fans that have entered operational postmortem usher in an opportune time for fan right-sizing. Field measurement can work out system resistance, which can point to the right design and sizing for a fan. Plus, this fan right-sizing won’t cause any dings on regulation or mandate checklists, as only power consumption rate (not flow rate) will see a dip.
Reap More ROI
The right fan efficiency upgrades reap a lot from enhanced rates and return on investments, along with reduced carbon emissions. This being said, expert planning, groundwork, and engineering is essential in fan installation and right-sizing endeavors. For expertise that runs the gamut of industrial fans for cement plants, rely on ProcessBarron’s turnkey solutions. We offer custom fan solutions—complete with the right sizing and/or right-sizing for your system requirements—to run at peak performance, reach maximum efficiency, and payback more ROI for your plant. Request a quote, contact a qualified ProcessBarron representative, or search out helpful tips and ongoing industry trends on our blog.