Installing two ABB 11 kW ACH550 inverters as part of a kitchen refurbishment provided a luxury hotel with £10k p.a. saving in energy costs; reduced CO₂ by nearly fifty tonnes per year, and gave payback time of 1.8 years.

Claridge’s is one of the most famous hotels in the world, offering five-star dining facilities in Mayfair at the heart of London’s West End.  A recent kitchen refurbishment gave the hotel the chance to look at energy use and seek improvements in efficiency. One of the main issues was the stove’s hood system. Fans in the hood were on-off controlled. Running at 100 percent speed all the time they were on, fans were consuming over 450 kWh per day.

30% energy saving

In the new configuration, the drives control the speed of the ventilation fans based on the actual demand from sensors measuring temperature, smoke, steam and airflow in the extract and supply ducts. The drives use this data to determine the fans’ optimum flow rates. They are automatically ramped up during busy times and reduced in quieter times, enabling conditions in the kitchen to remain constant at all times. This provided a 30 percent reduction in energy costs, equating to £10k p.a

The system features a fail-safe mechanism to further enhance safety. In the event of a control cable being severed, or a sensor failing, the drives will automatically ramp up to 100 percent and stay there until the fault is repaired. This ensures that the air supply to the kitchen remains at safe levels.

Using the ACH550 11 kW drives in IP54 enclosures simplified installation and removed concerns over their operation in a busy kitchen by protecting both the drives and the staff.

Go here for ABB ACH550 11kW IP54 and other inverter drives