Research and Implementation of a Refrigeration Load Reduction System

In this study, a system was developed to shift electrical load out of Eskom's peak period to the off-peak periods. This system was designed, based on research done for load shift philosophies of a refrigeration system of a mine. The investigation focussed on the mining industry, for it consumes a large percentage of the electrical energy generated in South Africa. The research results ensured a successful implementation of a Demand Side Management (DSM) program on the ventilation and cooling (VC) system of a mine, where large energy savings are possible. The installation of the new system's controllers and control philosophy, resulted in a successful load shift execution during the Eskom evening peak period. Additional to the load shift results, energy efficiency was also obtained through this implementation on the refrigeration system. The success of the research can be proven by the actual energy savings achieved, compared to the predicted savings. The annual estimated load shift averaged around of 2.9 MW, with 3.5 MW during the nine summer months and 1.9 MW during the three winter months.