More than 60% Energy Savings with New BarkerBille Fans

Replacement of two older fans at IFF’s production facility in Haderslev has resulted in energy savings of more than 60% and 675,000 kWh annually.

– We constantly focus on identifying sustainable initiatives that can benefit both the environment and our company. In this connection, we analyzed our plant and especially the potential of replacing two older fans, Project Manager at IFF, Jesper Pedersen explains.

– We were contacted by IFF with a request to look at replacement of two old fans with new, more energy efficient ones. We see daily how large energy savings can be achieved by replacing older fans with our optimized, energy-efficient fans. After a visit and some measurements at IFF, it was evident that we could help them optimize their processing plant, Henning Tornbjerg, Senior Sales Engineer at BarkerBille, says.

The fans are a pressure fan and a suction fan for a spray tower that is part of IFF’s production plant in Haderslev, where products for the food industry are produced.

– Generally, we have been very satisfied with BarkerBille and especially Henning Tornbjerg’s fast turnaround time, which meant that we were able to determine the technical details quickly and receive the offer, so that the project could be approved by the Group, Jesper Pedersen says.

Major Savings after Installation of new Fans

The new centrifugal fans were installed in Haderslev in November.

– We have just carried out new energy measurements, and they are really good. Before, the fans’ energy consumption was approx. 810,000 kWh per year, which has now been reduced to approx. 320,000 kWh. That is a saving of more than 60%, Jesper Pedersen points out.

Considering the energy consumption of the entire plant, the replacement of the two fans has actually resulted in further energy savings.

– As the new fans generate less heat, our cooling system has to perform less. This means that the annual energy savings amount to approx. 675,000 kWh, or what corresponds to the annual energy consumption of 150 households*, Jesper Pedersen explains.

Optimized Fans and Idle Operation

The large savings have been achieved thanks to several parameters.

– After a study of IFF’s operating scenarios and needs, we designed the fans perfectly for the performance scenario. All our fans are customized to each project, with which the efficiencies are optimized as much as possible. The figures from IFF indicate that the old fans were oversized in relation to the need, and this results in unnecessary energy consumption, Henning Tornbjerg explains.

In addition, the new fans are direct-driven fans as opposed to the old belt-driven fans, which consume more energy, and at the same time the old dampers and inefficient electric motors have been replaced.

– A very big saving is also achieved thanks to the installed frequency converters and control, so the fan speed can be adjusted during idle operation. Previously, the fans operated at 50 Hz during all operating hours, while we now expect to reduce to only 15 Hz for approx. 15% of the time, Jesper Pedersen says.

The old fan

The old fan is disassembled and hoisted up

The new fan is installed

BarkerBille Chosen as Fan Supplier

BarkerBille was chosen to supply two new fans to IFF, who considered several possible suppliers in the process.

– We were looking for a supplier who could deliver highly efficient fans that were also ATEX approved. In addition, the location of the fans meant that access through a skylight was the only possibility, so we knew that would be a factor in choosing the right supplier, Jesper Pedersen says.

All those requirements BarkerBille could fulfill.

– Thanks to our Danish production and organization, we could be very flexible about assembly and testing. The fans were first produced, assembled and tested at our factory in Holsted, then taken apart again so they could be installed through the skylight at IFF, and then assembled and tested again on site for the final CE marking, Henning Tornbjerg explains.