Sector Background
Increased energy efficiency and functionality will feature in equipment of all types over time. With society’s focus on reducing CO2 emissions and achieving a sustainable energy future, energy efficiency will be particularly in favour.
As one of the largest consumers of energy, a key area for energy efficient equipment development is in motors and drive systems, particularly in industry. Closely associated with this will be a growth in industrial process automation.
While the improvement in mechanical and electrical systems is important, the key enabling technology for improved energy efficiency is electronics. In this Section, we look in particular at power electronics.
Another principal area of development is in energy storage, in batteries and other devices. More effective energy storage associated with electricity generation can allow energy to be withdrawn at a time of day when other use is minimal, and to provide additional power when it is needed most, thus increasing the efficiency of electricity use overall. Where not associated directly with electricity generation, energy storage can be used to capture energy that otherwise would be lost.
Background
In this Section we provide forecasts on new markets for motors, specifically looking at CMR motors and shaped conductor motors. To identify the potential for these motors, we need to look at the underlying trends in the motor market, in particular new legislation requiring more efficient motors, and the context of motor driven systems where motors find their market.
One of the main ways in which motor driven systems are made more efficient is through the use of Variable Speed Drives (VSD). This is one of the main markets for power electronics, looked at separately as a market area in Section 4.3.3. Motors and VSDs can become part of a more efficient overall industrial operation through industrial process technology. We look at this market area briefly in Section 4.3.4.
Alternative Technical and Market Solutions
Motors and motor driven systems are huge consumers of electricity and, indirectly, are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. In total, motor driven systems are thought to account for 65% of the electricity consumed in the European Union. Although only 41% of total electricity consumption is in industry in the EU, nearly all of this is by motors and motor driven systems. The structure of electricity consumption in other parts of the world is similar.
Because of the huge potential, early in the last decade, the EU authorities and others focussed a great deal of attention on the potential energy savings to be achieved in industrial motor systems. Figure 113 shows a summary of the findings. It was found that, by taking a systems approach looking not only at the efficiency of the motor, but also at motor control and the equipment driven by motors, over 200 billion kWh of electricity per year could be saved.
Motors themselves accounted for a relatively small proportion of the total electricity savings that could be achieved (13.5%). Efficient motors, however, are better able to utilise the benefits of electronic control with variable speed drives (25% of saving), and a well balanced motor and VSD is better placed to achieve the full benefit of proper sizing and design improvement in motor driven equipment, of which pumps, fans and compressors are the main types. This, coupled with the fact that improvements in motor design are readily identifiable and measurable rather than being system specific, led to a concentration of energy efficiency legislation on motors themselves rather than other parts of the drive system.
The potential saving of a motor driven system overall depends on equipment type and configuration. Motor systems driving compressors have greater energy saving potential than those driving fans, for example. As a percentage of total electricity use, however, the potential savings are usually very large indeed for all equipment types. In the illustrative example of an industrial pumping system shown in Figure 115, a total saving of 57% of the input power to achieve a certain level of output is indicated.
Figure 113: Potential Electricity Savings in Motor Systems in the EU36
Figure 114: Electricity Savings Potential for Motor Driven Systems by Type of Equipment37
The same illustration indicates just how low is the increase in efficiency that can be attributed directly to the motor. Before the recent round of legislation, standard motors achieved 90% efficiency. Modern efficient motors may be 95% efficient. The difference would mean only 5% energy saving if the only thing that was different was the motor. The introduction of a VSD and better balanced motor driven equipment, however, multiplies the total energy savings by more than ten.
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