Inefficient industrial motors costly
By William McCall
Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. — Almost a fourth of the electricity in the United States is consumed by electric motor systems that hum along in buildings and factories with little notice by the top executives who sign off on their purchase or repair.
Associated Press
Energy experts say that if those executives did the math, they'd find out that even a 1 percent improvement in efficiency could translate into millions of dollars in savings.
Professor Annette von Jouanne speaks with student Mike Phillips, left foreground, while evaluating test results for electric motors in the Motor Systems Resources Lab at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore.
"Manufacturers tend not to care what it costs to operate a motor so long as it's productive," said Ted Jones of the Consortium for Energy Efficiency, a nonprofit national organization based in Boston.
When an industrial motor fails, the chief concern of plant managers is to get it back into service as fast as possible without considering whether it can be made more efficient or replaced to save money in the long run, Jones said.
Purchases of new motors tend to be driven by the price of the equipment, not the electricity it will consume, he said.
But the actual cost of a big industrial motor typically amounts to just 3 percent of the total cost to operate it over its lifetime, which can extend up to 20 years.
"So what you're paying for energy over that time is 97 percent of your total cost," Jones said.
The consortium is trying to raise the level of awareness among top managers and corporate executives with a national campaign called "Motor Decisions Matter." The group hopes to show them that investing a little more money for a motor certified as more efficient by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association will be paid back within a year or two in energy savings.
