Magnetics Business & Technology - Summer 2018 - 14

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

The Changing Landscape of Electric Motor
Eﬃciency Standards
By Steve Constantinides, Founder and Principal,
Magnetics & Materials, LLC

life represents approximately 95% of the total cost of ownership.
The trade-off is higher initial capital cost versus lower continuing operating expense. Large motors, >5 HP, offer considerable
saving opportunities.

I was surprised to learn the extent of activity around motor efficiency improvement and the related new or updated standards.
The following article should be considered an introduction to the
topic. Many useful documents with links are shown in the references for those who wish to pursue the subject further.
Why is motor efficiency a "hot topic"? There are two separate
and compelling reasons to promote improvements in motor
systems to increase efficiency. The first is to meet more stringent government efficiency mandates. Motors consume a lot
of energy and large industrial motors, running 24/7, are both a
major user of electricity and an opportunity for significant reduction in energy consumption. The EPA in its review of electricity
customers in the United States, informs that 50% of electricity
consumption in manufacturing is by motors. [25] Furthermore,
according to EIA, IEA, ABB, Siemens and others, global consumption of electric energy by motors accounts for about 45%
of total electric generation with about 28% consumed within
industry. The numbers we see vary by region with developing
countries using a higher percentage of electric energy in motors
due in part to widespread use of lower efficiency motors. Additional statistics are offered by Ferreira and de Almeida in their
2016 paper Overview of Energy Saving Opportunities in Electric
Motor Driven Systems. [4]
Quantities used to describe energy production and consumption are very large: one familiar term is kilowatthours (kWh) and
presented figures are in billions or trillions; another energy term
is quads (a quadrillion BTU).
According to statistics for the USA published by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories:
*
In 2017, electric power generation used 38% of all
energy consumed in the USA to produce 12.5 Quads (quadrillion BTU) of usable electrical energy and 24.7 Quads of waste
(mostly heat). The 12.5 Quads of electrical energy was distributed to residential, industrial, commercial, and transport users.
[1]
*
Of the 12.5 Quads, 3.23 Quads were distributed to
industrial use of which approximately 68% was used by electric motor-driven systems for such processes as refrigeration,
process pumps, fans, compressors, material handling, materials
processing and facility HVAC systems. [2]
*
Therefore, net power input to industrial motor systems
was 2.2 Quads (equal to 6.45x1011 kWh).
*
Demand for electricity is forecast to grow. Per EIA and
IEA forecasts, global demand will rise at an average annual rate
between years 2015 and 2040 of approximately 1% in developed
countries and 2.8% in emerging market regions with an overall
average of 2.3%. [3]
The second compelling reason to improve motor efficiency is that
it is, more often than not, economically justifiable. The operating cost of purchased electricity for an industrial motor over its

Magnetics Business & Technology * Summer 2018

Figure 1. OECD and non-OECD net electricity generation in trillion kilowatthours. (The OECD is the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development and consists of 35 countries). [3]
For comparable electric rates, run-time, and percent load, savings are approximately linearly related to horsepower. Thus, a
1 HP motor might save only $22.80 per year (at $0.10 per kWh)
whereas a 1,000 HP motor might save $22,800 per year in cost
of electricity. The savings are calculated based on an operating
efficiency improvement from 91% to 94%. In a simplistic calculation, over the 20-year life of the 1,000 HP motor, assuming no
increase in cost of electricity, savings of $456,000 would accrue!
[4] The DOE offers a tip-sheet with advice on "when to purchase
premium efficiency motors". [21]
What products are covered by the new/developing standards?
Products covered by the several evolving efficiency standards
are defined as low voltage, either <600 volt or <1000 volt, single
or 3-phase, and open or totally enclosed, 50 or 60 Hertz. Motor
sizes also vary by standard and are typically between about 1 to
either 750 or 1000 HP. (More details are below).
Due to the greater power consumption and energy savings
potential, large motors with an extended "on" period, are the
primary industrial targets for R&D to achieve efficiency gains for
new motor installations and in replacement of existing motors.
Who is engaged in setting standards? Standards organizations
from Europe, Brazil, China, the USA and others have formulated
efficiency standards.[5] International Standard IEC 60034-301, Edition 1.0, 2014-03[7], is the current applicable standard
adopted by many countries including the USA. If the complete
standard is not required by you or your organization, ABB has
published an excellent summary [8] as also has Siemens.[9] In
the USA, the standard is incorporated by NEMA in the US Code
of Federal Regulations, e-CFR Title 10, Chapter 11, Subchapter
D: Part 431 Subpart B. [12]
IEC standard 60034-30-1 covers rotating machines:
*
Line operated AC motors
*
Rated power from 0.12 kW to 1 000 kW
*
Rated voltage above 50 V up to 1 kV
*
Have 2, 4, 6, or 8 poles
*
Are capable of continuous operation at rate power
*
Ambient temperature of -20 °C to +60 °C
*
For use at an altitude up to 4 000 meters above sea
level

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