Marine energy appraisal launched by ABB

The company says that seawater cooling pumps, chilled water pumps and engine room ventilation fans are often some of the largest onboard energy consumers; these applications often being over-dimensioned to handle the most extreme conditions. ABB believes that such equipment can often operate at full capacity even when demand is not high, with flow being controlled through mechanical devices such as bypass valves and air dampers, which are inefficient and costly to maintain.

By installing a variable-speed drive to adjust the speed of these motors according to demand, shipowners could, says ABB, reduce the energy consumed by around 50% with payback on equipment and installation, from fuel savings alone, in less than one year.

Lowering energy consumption can help to reduce CO₂, SOx and NOx emissions. ABB’s marine energy appraisal aims to identify the motor-driven applications that can benefit from the use of variable-speed drives. Once the applications have been identified, the energy appraisal is undertaken and a value proposal for implementing improvements is presented. If accepted an installation site survey is carried out before the actual engineering and commissioning is completed. A final report verifies the results including a return on investment.

“A single seawater cooling pump can save $29,000 and 117 tons of CO₂ per year,” says Stuart Melling, manager for harbour cranes and merchant vessel service. “When applied ship-wide and fleet-wide these savings can be tremendous. There is a large potential for retrofitting existing ships with new fuel-reducing technologies. For example, only around 2% of the global fleet is currently equipped with variable-speed drives for their seawater cooling pumps, which means that 98% of the fleet is missing an opportunity for high fuel savings and environmental rewards.”

“The marine energy appraisal is built on ABB’s extensive process knowledge combined with in-depth system competence in variable-speed drives, motors, pumps and fans,” says Melling. “We take full responsibility for complete energy efficiency retrofit projects, ensuring quick and simple project execution which saves customers time and money.”