Flywheel cuts hoist costs by a grand a month

For the top-down demolition of Mellish Court, a 19-storey tower block in Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Keltbray fitted an Alimak Scando FC 24/32 TD passenger and goods hoist.

Keltbray had previous trialled a Punch Power 200 to help manage power requirements for a tower crane on one of its sites. It wanted to see if the same technology could achieve the same fuel savings with a hoist. 3kw diesel generator

The equipment was supplied by Sunbelt Rentals, along with a 2,000 litre fuel tank with Smart Guard telematics sensor for remote fuel management.

Typically the hoist would require a 300kVA generator to run, however by using the Punch Flybrid peak power support unit, Keltbray was able to downsize the generator to 100kVA without affecting the power supply. The Punch Power 200 captured energy that would typically have been wasted and discharged it when a larger boost of power was needed to operate the hoist.

According to Keltbray and Sunbelt’s calculations, over the course of the 17-week project, fuel consumption was reduced by 4,410 litres, compared to using a 300kVA generator. Including the cost of hiring the Punch Flybrid unit, the cost saving was £4,573.

It also prevented 11,907 kg of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.

Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk

4 days Royal Bam Group has appointed Kim Sides as executive director, construction, for its UK and Ireland division.

4 days Mobile crane hire companies are being forced to shut for business for at least four days over Easter in England and Wales because police have banned them from the roads.

4 days Government is consulting on changes to road traffic regulations to allow hydrogen-powered construction and agricultural machinery.

4 days The government is reviewing its policies on modern methods of construction in light of a crisis in the volumetric house-building sector.

4 days Winvic Construction has begun a multimillion pound upgrade to the iPort Rail inland port near Doncaster.

4 days GMI Construction Group has been awarded a £16m contract to deliver the next units on Europe’s largest automotive research and development cluster as well as the enabling infrastructure.