Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Copyright © May 1997, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, all rights reserved. Revised 4/25/97
made of laminated stacks of thin steel
How This Technology sheets.
Saves Energy
Figure 1 shows the components of a
typical induction motor (specific types
Perhaps half the world’s electricity goes of AC motors are discussed in the next
through motors—yet most of these mo- section). Manufacturers typically im-
tors are far less efficient than they could prove motor efficiency by:
be. Standard motors, generally de-
signed to be just efficient enough not to Increasing the amount of copper
overheat, usually compete on price, not in the motor—often 60 percent or
efficiency. Energy-efficient motors, by more—to reduce electrical resistance
contrast, produce the same brake losses in the windings and lower oper-
horsepower but use less electrical input ating temperatures.
because they generally are better de-
signed and better made.
Using more and thinner lamina-
Most motors have a fixed outer portion tions of high-quality motor steels to
called the stator1 and a rotor that spins reduce core losses in the stator and ro-
inside it to provide mechanical output. tor.
There is a carefully engineered air gap
between the two. Virtually all motors use Narrowing the air gap between
rotating magnetic fields to spin their ro-
ENCLOSURE
tors or shafts. Inside a motor, the mag-
netic fields try to align, just as two mag-
nets close to one another will try to align BEARING
their magnetic fields. This perpetual ef- HOUSING
fort at alignment causes the motor's ro-
tor to spin. The strength of the fields
and their degree of misalignment make OUTPUT
the effort to align, or the torque, more NAMEPLATE SHAFT
or less strong.
©
PG&E Energy Efficiency Information “Efficiency Improvements for AC Electric Motors” Page 2
stator and rotor, which increases the while the least expensive energy-
intensity of the magnetic field and lets efficient motor of this size costs $900
the motor deliver the same torque at re- less and is about 2.8 percent more effi-
duced power. Increasing the length of cient.
the stator and rotor can also increase
the magnetic field. Case Study: Motor Retrofit at
Manufacturing Plant Yields Big
Improving the design of the rotor
bar and other components to reduce
other losses.
100-hp
©
PG&E Energy Efficiency Information “Efficiency Improvements for AC Electric Motors” Page 3
Benefits
Applicability
A firearms maker provides an example
of the significant savings that retrofitting Table 1 lists some examples of the
energy-efficient motors can provide. The myriad of motor commercial and indus-
company replaced 68 motors on its trial applications. Common uses are
drilling machines. The original AC mo- listed within each system type, but mo-
tors had efficiencies of 75-80 percent, tors can be found in many other appli-
while the energy-efficient models had cations than those shown below.
efficiencies of 87-90 percent. Purchas-
ing in quantity, the company negotiated
a more favorable price with the motor Field Observations to
supplier. The project cost $20,444,
yielded annual energy savings of Assess Feasibility
$5,500, and a utility rebate of $13,048
dropped the simple payback from 3.7 to This section discusses field observa-
1.3 years. This project also enabled the tions and questions that will help identify
company to standardize its motor stock appropriate situations for energy-
and significantly cut maintenance costs efficient motors.
and equipment downtimes.
©
PG&E Energy Efficiency Information “Efficiency Improvements for AC Electric Motors” Page 4
Related to Applicability
Opportunities to specify energy-efficient
motors may exist if the customer is:
Considering rewinding failed motors 2. What is the duty factor and load
profile for these motors? The higher the
Replacing oversized (underloaded) duty factor, the larger the potential sav-
motors ings. Any motor that operates at 25 per-
cent or more duty factor (around 2,000
Implementing an energy manage- hours per year) should have a
ment or preventative maintenance pro- well-documented load profile. Ways to
gram determine motor duty include monitoring
hours of operation per month (if the
Able to obtain utility rebates motor controller has a run-hour meter)
or attaching a recording current meter.
Energy-efficient motors sometimes have Unfortunately, determining motor load-
lower starting torque and/or power fac- ing is not a trivial matter, and directly
tor. If these factors are critical to a measuring motor efficiency is possible
customer’s application, energy-efficient only through very rigorous test proce-
motors may not be appropriate. dures.
Related to Energy Savings There are several ways to estimate
motor loading, each subject to its own
To establish opportunities for energy sources of inaccuracy. The preferred
savings, get answers to these ques- method for most users is to use a
tions: wattmeter to measure the total motor
input power. Multiplying this by the ap-
1. How many motors are in the system
proximate motor efficiency (from the
and of what size? This information may
motor nameplate or manufacturer’s
already exist in facility maintenance rec-
data) yields the motor load. Reference 3
ords, or may be acquired by a facil-
contains additional information about
ity-wide audit. Figure 3 shows a typical
estimating motor loading.
motor nameplate. Note that the nominal
horsepower is listed in the upper left- 3. How efficiently are these motors op-
hand corner. erating? Efficiency estimates require
either reliable nameplate information or
©
PG&E Energy Efficiency Information “Efficiency Improvements for AC Electric Motors” Page 5
manufacturer's data. Unfortunately there Motor Load
are no inexpensive ways to measure Size Type Full 75% 50% 25%
motor/drive efficiency in the field. The 100-hp Efficient 95.3 95.6 95.2 92.7
Standard 92.9 92.5 91.2 86.5
user's best recourse is starting with
Spread 2.4 3.1 4.0 6.3
nameplate efficiency and subtracting 10-hp Efficient 90.8 91.6 91.1 86.8
approximately one percentage point of Standard 87.0 87.9 86.6 79.9
efficiency for each motor rewind. Spread 3.8 3.7 4.5 6.9
1-hp Efficient 84.7 84.8 82.6 74.6
4. Which motors can be feasibly and Standard 77.2 74.9 69.2 54.7
economically retrofitted to improve en- Spread 7.5 9.9 13.4 19.9
ergy efficiency?
Table 2: Standard vs. Efficient Motor
Efficiency Comparison
Estimation of Energy (Source: E-Source)
Savings where:
©
PG&E Energy Efficiency Information “Efficiency Improvements for AC Electric Motors” Page 6
operating with varying loads can be over-voltage, and phase imbalance.
analyzed by totaling the hours per year Many motors, however, fail because of
of operation at each load (for example, mechanical damage, hostile environ-
50, 75 or 100 percent load) and running ments, or poor alignment. Energy-
the analysis separately for each load. efficient motors would not necessarily
have longer service life in such cases.
A hypothetical example can be drawn
from the firearms maker case study de- Factors That Influence First
scribed in the Characteristics section. Cost
Assume that 19 of the 68 motors in the
project were 10 hp with efficiencies of The paragraphs below discuss the eco-
77%, and that each ran for 4,000 hours nomics and applicability for energy-
annually at 80% of full load. These 19 efficient motors in new installations, as
motors would consume 19 10 hp 0.8 replacements for failed motors, and for
0.746 100/77 4,000 hours, or retrofitting standard motors.
589,049 kilowatt-hours a year. If these
were replaced with motors with 88% ef- New Installations
ficiencies, then the kilowatt savings
would be 19 motors 10 hp 0.8 In most new installations, it is almost
0.746 (100/77 - 100/88), or 18.408 always economically attractive to pur-
kilowatts. The annual energy savings chase energy-efficient motors over
would be 18.408 kW 4,000 hours, or standard-efficiency models, whether the
73,631 kilowatt-hours. Energy con- energy-efficient motor is the same size
sumption would be reduced by 12.5%. or smaller. Since installation costs will
be the same, the economic analysis
need only consider any additional cost
for the high-efficiency motor. This cost
Cost and Service Life averages 15 to 30 percent; but careful
shopping or volume purchasing may re-
Factors That Influence Service duce this to about 5 percent. The incre-
Life mental cost is recovered quickly in all
except very low-duty applications. Since
In general, energy-efficient motors will electric motors typically use 4 to 10
be longer-lived than standard motors times their initial cost in electricity costs
under otherwise identical conditions, each year, even small improvements
because they typically run cooler. This provide attractive returns.
translates into fewer winding failures,
increased bearing life, longer periods Replacements for Failed Motors
between scheduled maintenance, and
fewer forced outages. When motors fail, they must be repaired
or replaced quickly to avoid lost produc-
Energy-efficient motors withstand stall- tion. Often—with some advanced plan-
ing and overloads better, and usually ning—it is economically attractive to re-
run quieter and operate with lower place these motors rather than incur the
no-load losses. They are also less sen- expense of rewinding.
sitive to abnormal conditions such as
impaired ventilation, under- and
©
PG&E Energy Efficiency Information “Efficiency Improvements for AC Electric Motors” Page 7
Though common practice is to replace While the benefits of energy-efficient
failed motors below 20 horsepower and motors for new applications and in lieu
repair those above 20 horsepower, re- of rewinding are well known, it is not as
placing all failed motors up to 50 hp is widely known that it often pays to re-
almost always economic. Replacing move existing standard motors and ret-
larger failed motors is also often rofit with high-efficiency units.
cost-effective, depending on how heav-
ily the motor is used. Because it re- Since the economics of a retrofit must
duces capital costs, the return from up- include the cost of removing the old
grading to a one size smaller energy- motor and installing the new one, high
efficient replacement instead of rewind- duty factor applications are much more
ing is even more attractive than re- likely to be economically attractive. Of-
placement with a same sized energy- ten the old motor can be relocated to
efficient motor. standby, reserve, or light applications
that don't justify an energy-efficient
Many existing motors have been re- motor. This preserves the capital in-
paired more than once, with typical loss vestment in the original motor, while the
of 0.9 percent in efficiency at each re- retrofit increases overall efficiency.
wind. Thus existing standard-efficiency
motors may be much less efficient than The economics are often favorable for
nameplate comparisons would sug- retrofitting existing standard-efficiency
gest—making them particularly attrac- motors with smaller energy-efficient
tive for replacement at or before their models. Many existing motors are over-
next failure. sized for their applications, resulting in
efficiency loss and excessive energy
It is more common to rewind larger mo- use. Replacing them with smaller en-
tors due to their high capital cost. But ergy-efficient models improves effi-
these motors usually operate at very ciency and also reduces the capital cost
high duty, and even modest efficiency of the retrofit. Since the new motor will
improvement is economically rewarding, operate at closer to full load, its speed
increasing the incentive to consider re- will be less, reducing the energy con-
placement with a more efficient new sumed in equipment such as fans and
motor. centrifugal pumps. It is important in
these situations, though, to verify that
Planning is the key to replacing a failed the fan or pump can operate at a lower
motor with a new energy-efficient speed and still provide sufficient output.
model—the new motor must be close at
hand when the original fails, or the op- Typical Service Life
portunity will be lost. The careful user
will consider the options for each motor The PG&E CEE program assumption
before failure and plan accordingly. If for service life is 15 years.
vendors are given sufficient encour-
agement, they may stock the energy- Operation and Maintenance
efficient replacement in anticipation. Requirements
Retrofit Proper maintenance increases the lon-
gevity of energy-efficient motor invest-
©
PG&E Energy Efficiency Information “Efficiency Improvements for AC Electric Motors” Page 8
ments, generally 10-15 percent. Some Current standards Standards after 10/1997
Horsepower ODP* TEFC* ODP* TEFC*
key aspects of a solid maintenance pro- 1 77.0 72.0 82.5 82.5
gram include: 1.5 82.5 81.5 84.0 84.0
2 82.5 82.5 84.0 84.0
motor loading, duty factor, and power TEFC: motor with totally enclosed, fan-cooled enclosure
supply.
Table 3: NEMA Standards for Electric
Motor circuit analysis. Motor Efficiencies
©
PG&E Energy Efficiency Information “Efficiency Improvements for AC Electric Motors” Page 9
to the power source, while the secon- Information
dary winding on the rotor carries in-
duced current.
1. American Council for an Energy-
Load Profile: Time distribution of a Efficient Economy, "Energy-Efficient
motor’s load (measured in percent of full Motor Systems--A Handbook on
load), usually expressed on an hourly Technology, Programs, and Policy
basis over a day, but sometimes on a Opportunities," 1991.
seasonal basis over a year. The load
2. Bonneville Power Administration,
on a motor can vary dramatically--for
"High Efficiency Motor Selection
example, a 15 hp motor could be loaded
Handbook," October 1990.
at 6.3 bhp (brake horsepower) one mo-
ment, then at 16.2 bhp seconds later. 3. E-Source, "Drivepower," Technology
Atlas Series, Volume IV, 1996.
Rewinding: Repairing induction
motors by removing the old windings 4. PG&E, "Advanced Electric Motors
and installing new ones in the stator, Applications."
rotor, or both.
5. U.S. Department of Energy, "Motor
Rotor: The center part of a motor; Challenge Sourcebook," 1996.
in most designs it is attached to the out-
put shaft and rotates.
Major Manufacturers
Stator: The fixed outer portion of a
motor that surrounds the spinning rotor. Baldor Electric Company
P.O. Box 2400
Synchronous Motor: An AC motor Fort Smith, AR 72902
in which the operating speed is exactly Tel (501) 646-4711
proportional to the rotational speed of Fax (501) 648-5792
the applied stator magnetic field.
General Electric
Torque: The twisting force exerted P.O Box 2222
by the motor shaft on the load, meas- Fort Wayne, IN 46801
ured in units of force times length Tel (219) 439-2000
(pound feet). For smaller motors, torque Fax (219) 439-2780
can be measured in inch-pounds or
ounce-pounds. Magnetek/Century/Louis Allis
1145 Corporate Lake Drive
Windings: In motor stators, the St. Louis, MO 63132
winding is a number of turns of insulated Tel (800) 325-7344
wire, usually copper, wrapped around Fax (314) 692-0792
the core of steel laminations.
Marathon Electric
P.O. Box 8003
References to More Wausau, WI 54401
Tel (715) 675-3311
©
PG&E Energy Efficiency Information “Efficiency Improvements for AC Electric Motors” Page 10
Fax (715) 675-6561
Siemens
4620 Forest Avenue
Norwood, OH 45212
Tel (513) 841-3100
Fax (513) 841-3407
©
PG&E Energy Efficiency Information “Efficiency Improvements for AC Electric Motors” Page 11