Higher efficiency-what is the real cost?

Abstract

With the problems that California had with electrical energy in 2001, it has only emphasized the need to look at the true cost of high efficiency energy devices used by cement plants since electrical energy is among the top expenses in producing cement. This paper focuses on low voltage induction motors and lighting systems. The low voltage induction motors generally account for about 30% of the electrical energy consumed by a cement plant. The lighting systems generally account for about 3-5% of the electrical energy consumed by a cement plant but it is a fixed load that does not directly contribute to production. Life cycle cost analysis is used to determine the true costs of this equipment.