ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a pragmatic approach to feasibility assessments to achieve reductions in energy usage and generate energy cost savings. Case assessments including lamp replacements, wind turbine generators, frequency converters, throttling, and electric motors show that using energy efficient equipment is not always feasible. Advocates of frequency converters may argue that this technology has no alternative when there is a need to vary the capacity from zero to the rated value. In this case, the capacity control and matching of operation modes of individual pumps can be performed by an economically substantiated combination of different techniques: beginning from throttling in the case of a small speed control range and up to the application of frequency converters. To obtain benefits from the use of energy-efficient motors, we must ensure their operation with maximum possible loads, which implies the use of relatively expensive protection means. The chapter shows that using energy efficient equipment and technologies is not always economically feasible.
