A Las Vegas-based cleantech company said it has developed a technology that can deliver up to 35% energy savings in constant-speed motor applications, effectively providing “cruise control” for a range of variable load motors.
The company is called Power Efficiency Corporation, and the technology is called E-Save Technology®.
According to the Department of Energy (DOE), electric motors are the largest end users of electricity in the U.S., and many motors waste enormous amounts of energy. This is because when motors are lightly loaded, or operate under “variably loaded” environments, they tend to be inefficient. For example, motors in escalators are designed for heaviest-case scenarios, in which two passengers alight each and every step. This rarely happens, which means the motor is often lightly loaded and wasting electricity.
“While electric motors are designed to run efficiently at high loads in many applications they can run at under 40% of full load for significant periods of time,” says Steven Strasser, Chairman and CEO of Power Efficiency Corporation said. “Amidst all the speculative talk about solar, wind, and hydrogen power, improving motor efficiency is a huge, relatively untapped green resource.”
“E-Save Technology® uses patented algorithms to monitor motors and provide them with the optimal amount of power required to perform a given mechanical task–thereby reducing energy use without changing the speed of the motor,” explains Mr. Strasser. “We estimate that this technology can save the U.S. manufacturing industry alone a whopping $1.7 billion in annual electricity costs.”
Power Efficiency Corporation said utility NV Energy (NYSE: NVE) recently performed a test on two 40-horsepower (HP) escalators (one up, one down) at Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The company said its motor efficiency controller lowered the average kilowatts (kW) used on the “Up” escalator from 6.08 kW to 4.01 kW for a 34% power savings. The average kW on the “Down” escalator went from 6.08 kW to 4.00 kW for a 36.5% power savings.
“With forthcoming carbon emissions cap-and-trade legislation in the offing,” says Mr. Strasser, “those significant savings will be good for business, good for the environment, and good for the pocket book.”
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