Reduce energy consumption & improve your bottom line

Reduce energy consumption & improve your bottom line

28^th August 2015

Reducing energy consumption and how this can contribute to profitability is an important issue for any industry to consider. This feature however will focus primarily on the offshore and marine industry. 

The sea water cooling pump systems in a vessel’s engine room are often designed to cope with worst-case scenarios; they continuously operate as though the sea water temperature is at around 40 degrees Celsius. However, in most cases it is unlikely that the vessel is operating in such conditions, and therefore the pumping system is working inefficiently and energy consumption is much above actual requirements.

To ensure that on board energy costs are not unnecessarily inflated, you can control pump speed and energy consumption via AC frequency inverters. A frequency drive can provide savings of up to 80%, substantially reducing the on-board energy costs for vessel owners, with a typical payback period of one year. The use of a frequency inverter also reduces the wear on spare parts meaning lower maintenance costs and a reduction in pump spare purchases. It also reduces the risk of cavitation as the NPSH needed is reduced with the pump operating at its best efficiency point.

As well as these inverters, Castle Pumps also offer screw pumps for low sulphur diesel oil contributing to a lower carbon future. These specially designed screw pumps have the ability to handle low viscosity fuels ensuring continuity during fuel system upgrades. The range is also available with magnetic couplings ensuring zero maintenance, with no chance of leakage.