A techno-economic analysis of cost savings for retrofitting industrial aerial coolers with variable frequency drives

A techno-economic model was created in order to develop curves that show the typical annual energy savings, rate of return, and payback for retrofitting aerial coolers with variable frequency drives (VFDs) for up to 50 motors, motor sizes from 4 to 186 kW (5–250 hp), and varying climate conditions. The cost savings due to installing a VFD depends on the reduction in energy used, as well as the reduction in power demand, the capital cost of the VFD, installation cost of the VFD, change in operating cost, and cost of electricity. The geographic locations examined in this report were Fort McMurray, Calgary, Vancouver, and Thunder Bay. This study found that the IRR increases rapidly with motor size, becomes greater than 10% at a motor size of approximately 15 kW, and may be as high as 220% (for the case of fifty, 186 kW motors). The IRR is sensitive to the number of fan motors retrofitted with VFDs, however the sensitivity rapidly declines as the number of motors is increased beyond five. The simple payback period becomes less than 1 year and nearly independent of number of motors and motor size for motors larger than 90 kW. Ambient temperature and geographic location affect the profitability of the investment, although the IRR only changes by approximately 4%.

► Techno-economic models were developed to assess the retrofitting of aerial coolers.
► The IRR for retrofitting with VFDs exceeds 10% for motor sizes above 20 hp.
► The IRR reaches a maximum of 220% for a cooler with fifty, 250 hp motors.
► The simple payback becomes less than 1 year for motors larger than 120 hp.
► Ambient temperature and location affects the profitability of VFD investment.