Increased discussion about global warming and energy dependency is leading to massive push toward energy-efficient systems. And electric motors account for about 60% of the total industrial power use in Europe.

Slowing down a motor to its optimum speed could lead to significant energy savings and help in reducing carbon footprints. Carbon emissions are directly linked to climate change (global warming), which demands strong reduction in energy usage. The road to greater energy efficiency starts with highly efficient electric drive systems. There is a simple business sense for being more energy efficient as it has a direct impact on our investments. Lower the energy consumption, lower are the energy bills, reducing the need for energy production, contributing to lower carbon emissions. Reducing energy waste leads to decline in energy spent. Most businesses can account their contribution in balancing global warming by cutting down their energy consumption. Usage of electric drives can reduce the overall energy consumption of a plant by up to 50%, depending on how efficiently the system is implemented.

Global Warming – Statistics and Impacts:

Frost & Sullivan estimates that in the current scenario, about 25,000 million tons of CO2 is released by the industries across Europe and despite several measures this has projected an increase year on year. The need for energy has been rising steadily and as per International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) publication, if the current policies were to be in effect in the future, the emission would increase by 120% in 2050, while oil demand would rise by 65%. The effect of global warming has already started to show adverse effects on the environment. Numerous long-term changes have already been recorded for example, increase in global average air and ocean temperatures, meltdown of Arctic and Antarctic snow and ice, leading to increase in the sea level.

Global Warming – Mitigation and Measures:

The Industrial sector is responsible for consumption of about 41.6% of the total electricity produced in Europe.

Recent years have witnessed an influx of regulations applied to all manufacturing industries across Europe. In 2001, the climate change levy was introduced, followed by climate change agreements. The European Union Emission Trading System (EU ETS) came into effect from 2005, followed by the environmental permitting regime in 2008. The most recent, Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme is now being widely implemented across Europe, starting from April 2010. The new set of motor efficiency regulations namely IE1, IE2 and IE3 is another big step in controlling carbon emissions. All the motors entering the market on or after 16 June 2011 must comply with IE2 standards. From 1 January 2015, motors of power rating between 7.5 kW to 375 kW being placed in the market must comply to IE3 efficiency standards or IE2 standards if they are equipped with variable speed control. From 1January 2017, motors of power rating between 0.75 kW to 375 kW being placed in the market must comply to IE3 efficiency standards or IE2 standards if they are equipped with variable speed control.

Chart1: Energy Consumption: Per cent Distribution by Application Sectors (Europe), 2010

Undoubtedly, the biggest impact on energy savings can come from applying variable speed drives to many of the electric motors used throughout industries across Europe. Realizing this, Carbon Trust – an independent non-profit organization set up by the UK Government- has taken a large step in controlling CO2 emissions through its Big Business Refit program, which encourages industries across UK to invest and implement newer and more environmental-friendly technologies like variable frequency drives and energy efficient electric motors, by extending interest-free loans from £3,000 to £500,000. In the first half of 2009, Carbon Trust extended interest-free loans to hundreds of SMEs to equip their businesses with the latest energy-saving technology. Carbon Trust claims that they are saving an average of £14,000 each on their annual energy bills.

Variable Frequency Drive:
A variable frequency drive (VFD) allows a motor’s speed to be varied electrically, instead of mechanical means. The insulated gate bipolar transistor technology, which creates the variable voltage and frequency to control a motor’s speed, technically, has much greater efficiency and offers wide flexibility of operation. Apart from saving a great deal on electrical power consumption, it also offers soft-start capability, where-in the motor is slowly ramped up to the desired speed, instead of being thrown abruptly upon switching on. This reduces the mechanical stress on the motor and increases its life. The motor’s speed can be easily adapted to changing process conditions using a variable frequency drive, thereby achieving greater process control. Optimizing the speed of a motor using a VFD can result in enormous energy conservation, reducing the cost of recurring investments.

Usage of VFDs can also contribute in the reduction of other secondary cost cutting factors. For example, heating a business premise consumes significant amount of energy. It is estimated that for every 1oC of extra heat increase, there is an increase in the energy consumption by 8%, thereby adding 8% to the energy bills. Employing several electric drives, spread over the premises, can contribute to overall heating of the premises, reducing the energy required for HVAC devices.

Adopting Green Technology:
The implementation level of VFDs across European industries is estimated to be only about 45% to 50%, by 2010. This has resulted in a reduction of CO2 emissions by 6,000 million tons per annum. With increasing presence of VFDs in diverse markets across Europe, further reductions in CO2 emission is inevitable. The return of investments for today’s advanced drives is less than a year. This makes the usage of VFDs relatively economical and enables companies to be environmentally responsible, thereby making the technology sustainable.

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This is first in a DrivesMag Exclusive series of articles on the business of drives from global research company Frost & Sullivan.