The energy conservation and consumption reduction in the power industry has entered a stage of "meticulous cultivation". The room for improving the energy efficiency of main equipment such as boilers and steam turbines is gradually narrowing. The cold - end optimization of air - cooled units, with advantages such as "small investment, large output", has become a new "value low - lying area" for the power plant's benefit growth. However, the traditional optimization model of "empirical algorithm + manual adjustment" makes it difficult to fully unleash this potential.

Luculent, aiming at safety, reliability, economic efficiency, energy conservation, and carbon reduction, successfully achieved intelligent control of the air - cooling optimization system in the production area I of a central power enterprise in China. It transformed the air - cooling optimization from an "advisor" to an "executor", providing a new paradigm for power cold - end energy conservation.

*The data in the figure is for simulated demonstration.

01 Why is "Intelligent Control" So Important?
Most air - cooling optimization systems are deployed in the safety area III, and there are multiple data barriers between them and the DCS system in the production area I. Real - time operation data needs to go through multiple links such as cross - area transmission, format conversion, and storage processing before reaching the optimization system, resulting in an obvious time lag between the generation and display of recommended parameters. When the "late" suggestions are presented to the operators, the unit's operating conditions may have changed, and the optimization effect is greatly reduced.
In this "semi - automated" mode, while monitoring a large number of parameters, operators need to constantly compare the system - recommended values with the actual values and then manually adjust the fan frequency, which makes it easy to miss the best adjustment window.
"Air - cooling optimization should be an intelligent optimization + closed - loop control project, which needs to have a series of operations such as real - time parameter identification, model calculation, AI optimization, and closed - loop control of the cold - end system."
In response, Luculent locked the breakthrough point of air - cooling optimization in the key link of "intelligent control". By directly deploying the optimization system in the production area I and realizing millisecond - level data interaction with the DCS system, it enables the optimization algorithm to directly "communicate" with the control system, constructing a complete unattended closed - loop from "perception - decision - execution".

02 How to Achieve Unattended Intelligent Closed - Loop Optimization?
Luculent's air - cooling optimization product embeds AI decision - making into the DCS control logic, forming a closed - loop link of real - time model calculation → dynamic target value output → automatic fan frequency adjustment. With full - parameter coupling, full - operating - condition adaptation, and full - lifecycle optimization, it turns "AI recommendations" into "control instructions", liberating the operators' hands.

• Precise Perception: The "Highway" of Direct Data Collection
  It can collect real - time DCS data such as exhaust back - pressure, fan energy consumption, and ambient temperature, and dynamically track key parameters such as the heat - transfer coefficient of the air - cooling island and the exhaust - pipe resistance without delay or compression.

• Intelligent Decision - Making: The "Most Powerful Brain" of Multi - Model Fusion
  Based on the multi - model fusion of the unit's incremental power characteristics, the variable - operating - condition characteristics of the air - cooled condenser, the exhaust - pipe resistance characteristics, and the fan - group energy - consumption characteristics, combined with the AI optimization algorithm, it can dynamically calculate the optimal back - pressure target value, precisely adapting to different loads and environmental conditions.

• Automatic Execution: The "Seamless Docking" of DCS Configuration
  It supports the integration with the configuration logic of mainstream domestic DCS systems. The optimized parameters are written back to the DCS in real - time, and the back - pressure set value is dynamically adjusted through the "selection block", participating in the intelligent control of the air - cooling back - pressure in real - time without manual intervention throughout the process.

• Control Guarantee: The "Airbag" of Closed - Loop Operation
  It has established multiple reliability guarantee mechanisms. Through the heartbeat monitoring model, it can ensure communication safety in real - time. It also establishes the judgment logic of "input permission" and "protection disconnection" and the data following mechanism, and can achieve non - disturbing switching in case of abnormalities to ensure the safe operation of the unit under all operating conditions.
  Different from the traditional "advisory - type" optimization products in the market, Luculent's air - cooling optimization system particularly takes into account factors such as the dynamic change of the exhaust - pipe pressure loss of direct - air - cooled units, the influence of sub - cooling degree, and the anti - freezing requirements of the air - cooling island in winter, avoiding the "one - sidedness" of traditional optimization.

03 What Benefits Does the Closed - Loop Control of Air - Cooling Optimization Bring?
"Based on the organic fusion of the mechanism + AI digital twin model, the system can deeply identify the production operating conditions, effectively avoid the hidden losses caused by over - adjustment or under - adjustment, and is expected to save 0.5 - 1.5 g/kWh of power - supply coal consumption, achieving sustainable benefits." A power - plant operation manager said that the closed - loop control makes the operation of the air - cooling island smarter and greener.
The system not only plays a role in real - time regulation but also provides intelligent decision - making for the long - term operation of the power plant. Through historical data analysis, it can automatically evaluate the ash accumulation degree of the heat - transfer tubes of the air - cooling island, guiding the maintenance team to clean the tubes and adjust the operation strategy "targeted", prolonging the equipment's service life and reducing the risk of unplanned shutdowns. From "short - term optimization" to "long - term gain", it makes air - cooling optimization no longer a "one - time action" but a smart engine that continuously releases value.
Under the "dual - carbon" goal, Luculent is making innovative breakthroughs through one "small - cut" after another, promoting the implementation of more closed - loop control technologies integrating "AI + mechanism" and helping the industry deeply tap the "sleeping energy - saving potential".