AFT Blog
Save Money, Reduce Energy and Improve Sustainability with AFT
The growing emphasis on sustainable business practices and environmental responsibility has impacted AFT software in several areas.
In recent years we have added built-in capabilities to AFT Fathom and AFT Arrow to calculate energy usage and to estimate the cost to operate rotating equipment. This is available on the Analysis menu in the “Cost Settings” window.
Using AFT Fathom, TME Energy Services Division developed a model of the chilled water system at the University of Arkansas. The project realized an annual energy savings of 1.9 million KWHr and $67,000 in pumping power and $1,200,000 in annual chiller electrical and gas energy savings. Read more about how they did it here.
Further, our Automated Network Sizing products use energy costs to drive their automated design processes. An example is the $3 million in energy costs saved on a sea water pipeline as documented in this article: Optimization of Sea Water Pumping System.
Pumps, fans and compressors use 20-40% of all electrical energy generated to run fluid handling systems. Tools like those offered by AFT can help manage and reduce their impact on our planet.
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35% of the world's energy is reportedly used in conveying fluids. According to the Hydraulic Institute 80% of pumps have been poorly selected away from their best efficiency point (BEP). Considerable energy can be saved by better selection of pumps' impellers, motors and flow control valves. AFT's Fathom is an ideal tool to model piping systems to more accurately determine the operating envelope of these assets. The use of VSDs only adds to the energy used. To save energy an engineer has to select a pump at its BEP.
Lord Kelvin remarked in 1883:
"In physical science the first essential step in the direction of learning any subject is to find principles of numerical reckoning and practicable methods for measuring some quality connected with it. I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind; it may be the beginning of knowledge, but you have scarcely in your thoughts advanced to the state of Science, whatever the matter may be." [PLA, 1883-05-03]