Ratchet penalties are effective measures to encourage energy consumers to reduce kW spikes because if you have a ratchet penalty, you will pay the ratchet percent for the next 11 months (even if you don’t use any demand during that period). In this case, if you set a new peak 700kW above your normal operating load (old peak), you will pay:
= (700 kW)(0.8)(11 months)($10/month*kW)
= $61,600 in extra charges (over the next 11 months)
If the load is less than 20% for this motor type, the power factor and resultant efficiency suffer significantly.
The effectiveness of combustion can be determined with a flue gas analyzer, but the amount of steam produced or really any other information about what's going farther down the steam system cannot.
This problem provides a lot of extra information (much like the “real world”). The dollar savings has two components: Demand and kWh Savings:
Demand Savings:
= (25 kW)($10/kW per month)
= $250 per month
kWh Savings (Note the savings would be in the 2nd Tier, so the price would be $.09/kWh):
= (25 kW)(300 hours)($0.09/kWh)
= $675 per month
Total Savings:
$250 + $675
=$925 per month
You can locate uninsulated surfaces with the use of an infrared camera (if they are hot). RPM is measured with a tachymeter. A psychometer is used to assess humidity. To gauge static pressure, use a Bourdon gauge (usually in a tank).
