Problem Statement

A prominent healthcare facility in Los Angeles, California had an aging fleet of HVAC systems in their facility. The equipment had worn sheaves, worn belts and under-tensioned belts which indicated the HVAC systems were operating well below expected efficiency levels. The facility owners were interested in the Browning^® “Save the Green/Sustain the Green” program and were considering a mass retrofit of all belt drives. However, they required proof of energy savings to justify the cost of the retrofit project.

Solution Description

The Regal HVAC industry specialist and application engineering used Perceptiv™ to provide a two-step solution. First, an HVAC unit was selected as a test unit and the existing belt was analyzed. Application Engineering selected an “optimized” drive using notched v-belts. This allowed for a reduction in the number of belts required for the drive. Second, the Perceptiv team installed a monitoring system on the drive and collected energy consumption data during typical operation. Parameters such as real energy, real power, motor speed and fan speed were measured, recorded and analyzed. This data along with the bill of materials for the optimized belt drive was summarized in a report and presented to the customer.

Estimated Benefit

The retrofit project had several positive benefits. First, there was an immediate reduction of 50% in the cost of the drive components due to the reduction in the number of belts and the number of grooves in the sheave. Second, due to the drive quality, the maintenance requirements will decrease. Finally, due to the gain in efficiency, the customer will spend less in energy costs ($7,700 annually). The total payback period for this project was 16 months.

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