ETTER Engineering - Spectrum Program

ETTER can help you analyze your process and determine ways to reduce energy usage without compromising quality or productivity. Most processes waste more energy than what is used to actually make the product. Updating older equipment and controls can greatly reduce energy consumption and improve your energy efficieny.

Low Temperature Applications:

- processes used in paint curing, food processing, printing and laminating as well as many other fields
- typically include high volumes of air being heated from 150F to 750F

Upgrades Include:

Exhaust Recirculation: By recirculating some or most of the exhaust air from a process, the required energy to heat the process air is reduced, as some of the air is already heated. Damper and fan controls allow for processes to vary how much exhaust is used for maimum fuel savings.

Heat Recovery: Exhaust heat (or latent heat) is heat that literally goes up the exhaust stack. This has energy in it that can be recovered by an air-to-air or air-to-fluid heat echanger, which can then be used as space heating or in other process applications.

Active LEL Control: Many processes that use solvents are operating with excessive exhaust flow rates basedon maximum solvent loading. By actively monitoring LEL levels, the exhaust flow can be reduced to ensure that excess air is not being exhausted, which causes unnecessary latent heat loss.

Modulating Control: Many older gas, electric, and steam systems have On/Off control, or very limited control ranges. By upgrading the control turn-down the process can be run in a more efficient and more accurate manner. Electric heating systems can be upgraded with SCR or SSR controls to achieve tighter tolerance and reduced energy usage. These controls can also reduce inrush and lower "Demand Charges" by tempering the heat output during startup and operations.

High Temperature Applications:

- processes used in heat treating, melting, casting, ceramic and glass processing
- operating at temperatures in the 1200F to 2200F range

Upgrades Include:

Combustion Air Preheating: By capturing the exhaust air to preheat the combustion air, the required load on the heat source is reduced by up to 25%. A heat exchanger is used to take latent heat from the exhaust and heat fresh air into the burners. Recuperative burners can also utilize exhaust heat at theburner front.

Heat Recovery: With such high operating and exhaust temperatures, there is a large amount of energy available for heat recovery. As with the lower temperature applications, the heat can used for space heating, or other process heat.

Reduced Low Fire Excess Air: All of the air entering a high temperature application must be heated to a very high temperature. As burners modulate to lower fuel flows, the amount of excess air can be reduced with upgraded burners and burner control systems. This can reduce the amount of air entering the furnace that is not required, and save energy.

Pulse Fired Combustion Control: One way to reduce excess air while maintaining furnace temperature uniformity is to upgrade the combustion controls to Pulse Fired Control. This allows each burner to be tuned at high fire (the most efficient point), and not operate over a wide range of less efficient outputs. Excess air is also dramatically reduced with this control logic as well.

Process Boilers:

- boilers have similar opportunities for efficiency gains

Upgrades Include:

Linkageless Burner Controls: By using these controls, the boiler can be tuned to operate with the proper air and gas ratios ideal over the entire operating range. Lack of linkage hysteresis improves effiency and repeatability.

O2 Trim Control: Exhaust oxygen levels are typically used to tune a boiler. By using active oxygen tuning, the boiler will change its air-to-fuel ratio continuously based on firing rate to achieve the best performance and efficieny.