coppertalk

The U.S. Department of Energy has New Energy Efficiency Requirements for Commercial-Size Motors

By David Brender, Copper Development Association (CDA) National Program Manager

David Brender has provided power quality and energy efficiency expertise to the copper industry for the last 15 years through his work with the CDA. A licensed professional engineer in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, he is certified as a Power Quality Professional from the Association of Energy Engineers.

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) goes into effect this year. The Act aims to slow down and eventually reduce America’s energy consumption. It’s important to understand EISA if you plan to purchase an electric motor this year. Under the law, motors of a commercial size become regulated as to energy efficiency. EISA expands on previous energy policy acts, expands the range of motors covered and the mandated efficiency of some of them.

An example of a cast copper rotor motor by Siemens

 Any new motor manufactured and sold after December 10, 2010 has to be of a certain minimum efficiency standard. Although this is a small provision in the Act’s 822 pages, the change could bring about a very large reduction in wasteful energy use.

That’s because electric motors account for nearly 50 percent of total U.S. energy use, and two-thirds of energy use in industrial settings. The savings in kilowatt-hours and in dollars for both individual users and the U.S. as a whole could be great.

In terms of the copper industry, that’s a good thing. Higher efficiency motors need a lot more copper. It’s also good for users because the more efficient motors will save them money in the long run.

And they don’t have to wait until the end of the year. If users were really smart, they would start planning on being compliant with the law now. There’s no reason to wait because you can pay back the initial investment quickly and the product is on the market now. NEMA Premium^® is the designation now used to identify high efficiency motors. Look for the NEMA Premium label if you plan to buy a new motor. (NEMA stands for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association.)