ABB has a new generation of regenerative variable speed drives (VSDs) that capture braking energy from electric motors and return it to the network as clean electricity, free of harmonics
When an electric car brakes, its kinetic energy is converted to electricity and returned to the car’s batteries to extend the driving distance. This same principle, called regenerative braking, can be applied to electric motors that are used in a wide variety of industrial applications where frequent braking is required. A regenerative VSD captures wasted energy and returns it to the network for use by other equipment, offering a substantial improvement in energy efficiency.
ABB’s regenerative ACS880 industrial drives range in power from 4 kilowatt (kW) to up to 3200 kW for elevators and escalators across industries and large power applications such as cranes, downhill conveyors in mining sites and artificial oil lifting, for example. The drives can provide significant savings in energy consumption compared to VSDs with brake resistors.
With the traditional resistor and mechanical braking methods, the energy has to be dissipated as heat and additional cooling is often required in the electrical room. When regenerative braking is used, the braking energy is not wasted as heat. The elimination of external braking components also means that ABB’s regenerative drives offer a single, compact solution that minimizes the required installation footprint as well as reduces engineering and equipment costs. This can lead to considerable savings in cabinet building costs.
For example, the annual savings in a waste handling crane powered with a 55 kW hoisting motor, 9 kW long travel motor and 4.5 kW trolley motor was 15.6 megawatt-hour (MWh) and $2,750 based on measurements at customer site – equating to 32 percent in energy savings compared to the previously used technology of resistor braking. The saving is the same as the annual energy consumption of four households.
An added advantage of the ACS880 regenerative drive is that it can boost the motor voltage in unstable network conditions to ensure total reliability of operation even when the supply voltage falls below its normal value. With the motor always receiving full rated voltage, the result is a lower motor current which directly equates to lower losses in the motor.
The wall mounting units ACS880-11, the built-in modules ACS880-14 (frame size R11) and the cabinet units ACS880-17 are delivered as a compact package. All the necessary components are integrated in a single ready-to-connect housing. This simplifies and speeds up cabinet installation on wall-mounted units and the built-in modules and eliminates the wiring of various modular components.
Because the variable speed drive has immediate access to vital process information such as motor speed and torque it can act as an effective process control sensor. This data can be made available for diagnostics, remote monitoring and process optimization via the ABB Ability offering of digital solutions extending from device to edge to cloud.
ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a pioneering technology leader in electrification products, robotics and motion, industrial automation and power grids, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally. Continuing a history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalization and driving the Energy and Fourth Industrial Revolutions. As title partner of Formula E, the fully electric international FIA motorsport class, ABB is pushing the boundaries of e-mobility to contribute to a sustainable future. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 136,000 employees. www.abb.com
