The IFMA San Antonio Chapter would like to formally announce the start of the
2016 Chapter Award’s voting period October 6th through the 28th.  These awards recognize our fellow members the Committees and their contributions made to benefit the chapter. Recipients will be recognized during the annual Chapter Gala on December 10^th.
The Golf Committee was the 2015 winner so it is not eligible for this year's award.
  Click here to vote

The deadline for voting is Friday, October 28, 2016

Message from the Chapter President David Duvall:
It is that time of year again where each of us has the opportunity to recognize
those individuals and committees that have contributed the most to the Facility
Management Profession and the San Antonio Chapter.  Chapter members
will be recognized at the annual Holiday Gala based on your vote for
Facility Manager, Associate Member, New Member and Committee of the Year.
 Please take a few minutes out of your busy schedule and cast a vote for each category.
-David Duvall
 

 Key Points
● VFDs can save energy, but you may have questions about cost and compatibility
● Frequently asked questions range from applicability to the potential for bearing or motor failure                   
In commercial and industrial facilities, the use of variable frequency drives (VFDs) is growing, and for good reason. VFDs can reduce motor electricity usage by 25 to 85 percent, depending on the application. VFDs also minimize wear and tear on motors, reducing maintenance costs and increasing equipment life.
What applications are best for VFDs? VFD controls produce the most savings on motors operating at full load a small amount of time (10 to 15 percent), but mostly at less than full load.  Varying torque loads where equipment is easy to start and harder to operate at fast speeds are also good candidates. Examples include ventilation fans, water pumps and rotary screw-type air compressors.
Do VFDs increase motor efficiency? All motors have lower efficiency at part load, including those with VFDs. VFDs save energy mainly by reducing motor speed — and horsepower — to match demand reductions in the equipment that it's driving — fans, pumps and so on.
Can VFDs cause bearing or motor failure? VFDs produce high-frequency voltage pulses that can degrade the insulation on standard wound motors. Those pulses also produce stray high-frequency currents that can pass through motor bearings, causing arcing, sparking and pitting. This can result in bearing and motor failure. Adding grounding brushes to the motor shaft will help prevent this problem. Will VFDs result in harmonic problems? In some cases, VFDs cause harmonic distortion in a motor's electric currents, which can result in excessive heating. A number of solutions are available to reduce harmonic distortion, including active and passive harmonic filters, 18-pulse harmonic-reduction drives and active front-end drives. A harmonics analysis of the system can help in selecting the right solution.
Are VFDs required for all motors on a multiple pump or fan system? In the case where more than one motor supplies power to one fluid flow (gas or liquid) stream, it is usually best to designate one motor as a trim unit and the remaining motors as baseload units. The trim unit will be controlled by a VFD and bring the flow level up to the baseload motor capacity. Then the non-VFD baseload motor will operate at full rated capacity while the trim unit drops down and smoothly adds capacity up to the simultaneous operation of a second baseload unit and so on