The calculations shown earlier use electricity rates stated in terms of dollars per kilowatt-hour ($/kWh). However, electric utilities use more complicated rate structures to bill their industrial customers. These typically include both energy ($/kWh) and demand charges ($/kW). Different rates depend on the level of consumption and the time of year. Demand charges are based on the peak demand for a given month or season and can have significant impacts on the electricity costs of some customers. Other components of industrial electricity bills, such as power factor penalties, can be affected by electric motor systems. For example, the use of lightly loaded induction motors can adversely affect the power factor of a plant and lead to higher bills. For more information, see the Efficiency Opportunity No. 6, Addressing In-Plant Electrical Distribution and Power Quality Issues. When the economic impacts of efficiency measures are calculated, the marginal cost of the electricity must be considered. This takes into account energy and demand charges, seasonal rates, power factor penalties, and different rates for different levels of consumption. Electric utilities can answer questions about electrical tariffs.
n
Maintenance Considerations and Life Cycle Costs
There are two principal types of maintenance: preventive or predictive maintenance (PPM) and repair. A PPM schedule can improve system reliability, reduce the risk of unplanned downtime, and help plants to avoid expensive failures. Repair involves both the parts and labor required to troubleshoot and fix equipment that is not performing
properly or has broken. In general, PPM is less costly than repair. A well-designed PPM schedule minimizes the need for repairs by detecting and resolving problems before they develop into more serious issues.
Similarly, effective design and equipment specification practices can help to minimize operating costs. Taking life- cycle costs into account during the initial system design phase or when planning system upgrades and modifications can both reduce operating costs and improve system reliability.
n
Motor Systems Market Study Life
A study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy has estimated that optimizing industrial motor systems through the implementation of mature, proven, cost- effective energy-saving techniques can reduce industrial energy consumption by 75 to 122 billion kWh per year, or up to $5.8 billion per year. These estimates include only the energy savings, and do not factor in other benefits likely to result from optimization, such as improved control over production processes, reduced maintenance, and improved environmental compliance. This study is based upon on-site surveys of 265 industrial facilities in the United States, in a probability-based sampling of the U.S. manufacturing sector. The study, United States Industrial Motor Systems Market
Opportunities Assessment, can be downloaded from the ITP
Web site at www.eere.energy.gov/industry/bestpractices, or obtained through the EERE Information Center.
Table 4 displays motor systems energy use and potential savings per establishment in the 10 four-digit SIC groups with the highest annual motor energy consumption. In these
industries, the annual cost of motor system energy in a typical plant exceeds $1 million; in steel mills, the energy cost is $6 million. Potential savings at the typical plant are also very large, ranging from $90,000 per year in the industrial organic chemicals sector to nearly $1 million per year in petroleum refineries.
The right-hand column of Table 4 shows potential energy savings as a percentage of operating margin. These figures suggest the potential impact of motor energy savings on the bottom line. The process industries listed in Table 4 operate on very thin margins, that is, the difference between revenues from sales and variable costs, including labor, materials, and selling costs. In 1996, operating margins for the 10 groups listed below ranged from 10% to 24%, and clustered around 16%. Thus, even relatively small increases in operating margin can have a significant impact on profitability.
Summary
A highly efficient motor system is not just one with an energy efficient motor. Rather, overall system efficiency is the key to maximum cost savings. Many motor system users tend to be more concerned with initial costs and obtaining the lowest bids for components than with system efficiency. For optimum motor system economics, motor system users should use a life-cycle cost analysis to select the best equipment and then carefully operate and maintain the equipment for peak performance.
Section 4: Where to Find Help
This portion of the sourcebook lists resources that can help end users increase the cost-effectiveness and performance of their motor and drive systems. These resources are organized in three main subsections: DOE’s Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) and Technology Delivery, Directory of Contacts, and Resources and Tools.
• Through its Technology Delivery strategy, ITP is
dedicated to improving the efficiency and performance of electric motor and other industrial systems nationwide. Resources include publications, software assessment tools, training sessions, and other resources that help industries improve the performance of industrial energy use.
• The Directory of Contacts section contains a list of associations and other organizations that can provide additional information on improving the performance of motor and drive systems.
• Resources and Tools provides information on books and reports, other publications, government and commercial statistics and market forecasts, software, training courses, and other sources of information
These resources can help motor system users make informed decisions when designing and purchasing motor and drive systems.