FEATURE
BMG variable speed drives improved efficiencies agriculture
“BMG’s team of agricultural experts – through its Boer Slim/Smart Farming initiative – is working even harder during lockdown, to offer local farmers sustainability solutions that focus on effective food production. “With the Smart-Farming initiative, we are assisting farmers with cost-efficient solutions to improve crop production output, to enhance efficiencies of every operation by conserving power consumption and to minimise downtime by implementing practical maintenance programmes. It is even more critical now to ensure there are adequate supplies of fresh foods for an anxious and vulnerable population. For this reason, we are also assisting farmers to expand production to include the supply of additional produce.” In a recent project, the BMG team assisted a local farmer who wanted to accelerate his tobacco drying process and expand crop production, but was restricted by power supply limitations. After the installation of BMG electronic variable speed drives (VSDs), the farmer is able to run 22 tobacco drying containers at once, where previously he could only run and alternate between nine drying containers at any one time.
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MG’s Boer Slim/Smart-Farming agricultural team works closely with farmers throughout Southern Africa, assisting them with the selection, installation and operation of new electromechanical systems. These projects are designed to improve efficiencies, reduce energy consumption and minimise maintenance requirements.
“Farming operations are not only facing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic - which has affected every industry globally - but farmers also need to cope with power supply limitations and the rising costs of electricity and water consumption, as well as crippling labour, capital equipment investment and maintenance expenses,” says Carlo Beukes, BMG’s agricultural manager.
As a result, he has more than doubled his crop production output. Other positive feedback is there are no more noticeable voltage dips when the process is started up and wear and tear on mechanical components is reduced. Production is also now less labour intensive, which reduces his shift costs. BMG has also assisted a farmer in the Barkly West area, who was limited by a power supply of only 200 KVA +/- 300 Amps, to significantly reduce the cost of irrigation per hectare. After the installation of VSDs on all pump sets, the power supply is used more efficiently, resulting in improved crop production and expansion of the farmer’s supply of maize, to now also include pecan nuts. Danfoss VLT AQUA Drive FC 202 VSDs - which offer saving additional energy savings compared with traditional VSD controls – have been designed for water and wastewater applications, including irrigation. These VSDs have been fitted to all pumps in this installation and are controlled by pressure transducers that are set to match the varying demands of different irrigation requirements. The only peripheral component required was a pressure transducer. Pump controllers and valves were not necessary for flow control in this system. A notable feature of Danfoss AQUA Drive FC 202 VSDs includes a soft start/stop facility, which prevents water hammer on starting and
20 | July - August 2020
