Sector
Storage for plastics processing
Heating phases at machine start-up and parallel starts after breaks set the peak in injection moulding and extrusion.
4,074 kWp
PV by Equator Solar
3,923 kWh
Storage by Equator Solar
34
Storage projects by Equator Solar
15
Years of Equator Solar
Machine heating and parallel starts set the peak, not the running process.
Injection moulding and extrusion machines draw their sharpest load while they heat barrels and dies at start-up, and that draw multiplies when several machines restart together after a shift break. Cooling runs underneath as a steadier load once the process is running. The peak that sets the capacity charge (Leistungspreis) therefore comes from start-up and not from the running process, and a load-profile analysis makes this visible.
Start-up heating
Sharpest peak, before the process itself is running
Parallel starts
Several machines restarting together after a break compound the peak
How the load looks, and where to start
Typical load pattern
Heater bands draw most at start-up, parallel starts after breaks add to it, and cooling runs underneath.
In plastics processing the load peaks before the process itself starts, because barrel and die heating draws more than injection or extrusion. Cooling forms a steadier band once the machines are running, and a load-profile analysis separates it from the start-up spike.
- Heater bands at machine start-up cause the sharpest peak
- Parallel starts after breaks compound several machines’ heating draw at once
- Cooling runs as a steadier load once the process is underway
Where to start
A load-profile analysis separates the start-up heating spike from the running-process load.
Peak shaving addresses the start-up spike directly. Backup power matters for sensitive processes, where an interruption during a moulding cycle means the part has to be scrapped.
- Peak shaving against the start-up heating spike
- Backup for processes that cannot tolerate an interruption mid-cycle
Use cases in this sector
Two use cases apply most often to plastics and injection-moulding sites.
Role and fee
The same independence rules and fee structure apply to every project in every sector.
One role per project
On every project we take one of two roles, never both. As independent advisor we are paid a fee, earn nothing on hardware and take no commission from manufacturers or installers. As turnkey partner we deliver the system through vetted installation partners under one contract. If we wrote the specification or evaluate the bids, we do not bid.
Fee
Load-profile analysis, feasibility studies, quote reviews and acceptance tests are offered at a fixed price agreed on the scope. Owner's engineering is billed by day rate or as a fixed fee. Turnkey delivery is a fixed-price contract.
The figures and references on this site are projects of Equator Solar Systems Ltd in East Africa. The contracting party for ZNX services is ZNX Energy GmbH.
