Hill’s Pet Nutrition Saves Energy with Variable Frequency Drives

Protecting the environment and saving energy are priorities at the Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. Bowling Green plant.

Plant leaders identified an opportunity to significantly reduce energy expenditure by adapting a variable frequency drive, or VFD, to a stack fan in the building.

“Think of a fan in your house,” said Barry Howard, manager of technical services at the Hill’s Bowling Green plant. “The motor and fan are wired to run at certain speeds. Sometimes that speed is too high for the conditions, and you need to turn the fan down. You can save energy and money by adjusting the speed to meet the environmental needs.”

A VFD is designed to make those adjustments automatically. It reads static pressure at the fan inlet and modulates the flow of energy to meet demand. As a result, the fan runs only as fast as necessary, thereby saving money and minimizing excessive air draw from the plant.

However, purchasing a VFD for a plant is not as easy as “going to the tool department and buying it ready made,” Howard said. Engineers have to configure the drive for a specific piece of equipment and/or purpose.

Hill’s purchased the VFD from a local supplier, and the customization was done by a team of engineers from Hill’s and Control Systems Design, LLC.

Once the VFD was installed, motor current for the stack fan dropped to 90 amps from 300 amps. This led to energy savings of at least $50,000 per year.

Hill’s and its parent company, Colgate-Palmolive, began focusing on energy management about nine years ago. The Bowling Green VFD project falls in line with Colgate’s internal directive to drive sustainability in people, product and the planet.

Labels: The Chamber Green Scene