Powering motor starts with Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)
Motor start challenges
In industries such as manufacturing and construction, motor starts can create significant electrical load spikes that impact power stability and equipment efficiency. Integrating a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) can offer substantial benefits for managing these spikes, ensuring reliable operations and enhanced generator performance.
Motor starts often cause a brief but high spike in electrical load. Without proper management, this can lead to:
- Power instability: sudden load spikes can cause fluctuations in power supply.
- Generator reliability: generators may run inefficiently, especially when frequently dealing with these spikes.
- Increased emissions and fuel consumption: generators operating at inefficient capacity are less efficient, leading to increased fuel and emissions.
Sectors
- Manufacturing: Motor starts are common in various machines such as conveyors or overhead cranes.
- Building Services & Construction (BS&C): In construction, where power needs fluctuate for energy intensive equipment such as hoists or tower cranes, a BESS ensures reliable motor starts and can reduce the necessity for oversized generators.
Load management
A BESS can absorb the initial surge of power required for motor starts, which smooths out the demand on the primary power source. This ensures a stable power supply and prevents sudden spikes from affecting overall power quality. With a BESS managing peak loads, a smaller generator can be used to power the base load of operation.
Generator optimisation
By handling the load peaks, a BESS allows generators to operate more efficiently. Generators avoid running at low loads or being oversized for short peak periods, both of which can be inefficient and cause unnecessary wear.
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Emission and fuel reduction
Operating generators at optimal loads minimises emissions, leads to lower fuel consumption and reduced operational costs.
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Using Stage V certified generators
Incorporating a BESS enables the effective use of stage V generators that need to consistently operate at loads above 30%.
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Traditional solution:
Using a 500 kVA generator constantly to handle peaks, leading to inefficiency and high fuel consumption.