Challenge:
In addition to paying strictly for the amount of electricity used, at many industrial sites there is another component to the electric bill received from the local utility. In these cases the site pays a “demand charge” for the highest amount of electricity consumed in a short period of time (usually 15 or 30 minutes). This demand charge can be very significant, and in addition when a new high demand amount is set by the site, it is typical that the utility will charge for this high peak level for two years or more. To minimize electric costs it is important that the site lessen as best as possible the use of large amounts of electricity in short periods of time.
Solution: The demand charge portion of a site’s electric bill can be lowered over time by minimizing electric demand peaks with Demand Control. Load shedding, or temporarily turning off selected electric users, is a method in which demand control can be accomplished. Emerson assists sites by implementing load shedding control schemes as part of their overall energy management solutions. The load shedding application allows operations to identify non-critical equipment and processes that can be temporarily shut down to avoid setting an electrical demand peak. Emerson’s solution continually monitors electric use and when it is foreseen that demand will exceed a defined threshold, the system turns off the equipment/processes in the load shedding queue. Implementing this load shedding application allows sites to actively manage their electric demand window and reduce the demand charge portion of their utility bill.
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