Identification of Technoeconomic Opportunities with the Use of Premium Efficiency Motors as Alternative for Developing Countries

Abstract

More than 65% of electricity consumed worldwide by the industrial sector is used in electric-motor-driven systems. For this reason, the efficiency of electric motors is an important factor in improving the energy efficiency of the industry. Additionally, this contributes to reducing energy consumption, production costs, as well as CO2eq emissions. The replacement of motors with efficiency class IE1 by motors of efficiency class IE3 is one possible alternative to increase the efficiency of electric motor systems. When a program to replace motors with others of greater efficiency is initiated, it is necessary to casuistically evaluate all identified opportunities. Economic viability can be evaluated using a variety of methods. Often, the methods recommended by manufacturers or consulting entities focus on simple payback time without accounting for all influencing factors. This paper contributes to the academic discussion by proposing a methodology based on the calculation of energy-saving potential, by performing a preliminary an a priori evaluation and determining the economic opportunities. It avoids evaluating all motors in the studied facility and shows its effectiveness by using the cost of energy saved to distinguish which motors to evaluate. Finally, it provides a complete economic evaluation of the final decision on the basis of discounted cash flow methods. A short-production-cycle sugarcane industry was used in the case study.

Identification and characterization of decision-making factors over industrial energy efficiency measures in electric motor systems

“…According to the literature, given the high share of energy costs, energy-intensive firms are usually more concerned about energy savings [96,99]. The findings of the present study show that earlier approaches limited on technical and costeffectiveness analyses of EEMs (e.g., [145,146]) are not sufficient to justify the adoption in, e.g., non-energy intensive firms [53], where the influence on the production and the operations shall be carefully analysed. Our study also confirms earlier findings referring to the impact of the firm size on the adoption process due to the lack of procedures and internal competencies [147,148].…”

Assessing the impact of three‐phase rewinding of a failed single‐phase motor on efficiency improvement and energy saving

“…ð100þInf Þ − 1 [31]. This formula takes into account both the nominal interest rate (r) and the inflation rate (Inf) and allows for an accurate determination of the discount rate.…”

“…In this analysis, an 8% interest rate and 2% inflation rate are utilised, with consideration given to the 12-year lifespan of the motor. The NPV can be obtained by adding up all of the future cash flows with discount rate throughout the lifetime of the replacement motor project, can be calculated as [31]:…”

The smart grid concept applied to an industrial electrical system

“…The business and public sector want to reduce the costs of its products and services, and the residential sector wants to reduce the amount of its electricity bill. These realities impose a new way of managing energy resources [1], [2]. In the electricity sector, the implementation of various technologies included within the smart electric grids (SEG) concept contributes to achieving these purposes, since their implementation implies the application of advanced communication and control technologies and practices that improve reliability, efficiency, and security.…”