ES LoadBank Established as a Superyacht Essential

posted on: Apr 07 2015 in Case Studies, Marine

Energy Solutions has worked on Superyachts for over 15 years developing products that increase efficiency and comfort onboard.

One of these products is the ES LoadBank - designed to help control the large variations in onboard power requirements often experienced by superyachts. For example in peak season, with hot weather, a full contingent of guests and daily cruising the generators will be working at near to full capacity but out of season, with no guests, power requirements are low. So, despite the best engineering practice, the generators will often be running under capacity, which is where the LoadBank steps in. When a generator runs under capacity its working life is cut short and the generator runs with increased soot emissions. The ES LoadBank is a sophisticated generator loading system that ensures that sufficient load is applied to the generator at all times – increasing it’s working efficiency and life span. Extra load will also increase exhaust gas temperature, making it a great aid for generators with DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) exhaust systems. These rely on high exhaust temperatures for the catalytic process.

Already over 20 superyacht generators are running with ES LoadBanks and in Q4 2014 two more superyachts were fitted with units. The first of these was MY Blush and her Chief Engineer, Mark Cryer explains how the LoadBank has proved essential:

“I first came to know about the Energy Solutions LoadBank when I joined MY Blush in build. Having sailed on a large variety of commercial and pleasure vessels, and having not seen one before, I was naturally curious as to its practicality.

Having just come from a commercial vessel where we were overhauling 4X MTU 396 V12 generators; each of which were suffering badly from cylinder glazing and excess oil consumption. This was found to be primarily down to low load running. I thought the load bank was a prudent investment. I’ve found the load bank to be a cost effective and practical solution, to counteracting the damage that can be caused by low-load running on generators, which can be common in the industry.

Having now sailed with the product, I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. It couldn’t be easier to use. It’s just a matter of selecting whether you want it on, or not, and all the rest is automatic. It works to keep your generator in a healthy load range at all times.”

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