{"id":5102,"date":"2016-11-15T12:41:07","date_gmt":"2016-11-15T11:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.motorlan.es\/electric-motors-and-efficiency-should-they-be-repaired-or-replaced\/"},"modified":"2016-11-15T12:41:07","modified_gmt":"2016-11-15T11:41:07","slug":"electric-motors-and-efficiency-should-they-be-repaired-or-replaced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.motorlan.es\/en\/electric-motors-and-efficiency-should-they-be-repaired-or-replaced\/","title":{"rendered":"Electric motors and efficiency. Should they be repaired or replaced?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Electric motors use almost 50% of the electricity in Europe and are subject to the EU’s ecological design requirements<\/strong>. These requirements fulfill energy efficiency criteria and are mandatory for all manufacturers and suppliers that wish to sell their products in the EU.<\/p>\n

By using more efficient motors, it would be possible to save around 135 TWh of electricity in Europe by 2020<\/strong>, which is the equivalent of Sweden’s entire annual electricity consumption. This means that we would eliminate more than 60 million tons of CO2 emissions.<\/p>\n

Regulation IEC 60034-30-1 (2014) currently defines four levels of energy efficiency for electric motors, covering a power range between 0.12 kW and 1000 kW.<\/p>\n

\"grafico\"<\/p>\n

There is also another Ecodesign Directive ErP or Directive 2009\/125\/EC that indicates in two separate points the need to provide information about the energy consumption of products<\/strong>, as well as their reuse for the purposes of sustainable development:<\/p>\n

(12) In order maximise the environmental benefits from improved design, it may be necessary to inform consumers about the environmental characteristics and performance of energy-related products and to advise them on how to use the products in a manner which is environmentally friendly.<\/em><\/p>\n

(14) ‘Reuse’ means any operation by which a product or its components, having reached the end of their first use, are used for the same purpose for which they were conceived, including the continued use of a product which is returned to a collection point, distributor, recycler or manufacturer, as well as reuse of a product following refurbishment.<\/em><\/p>\n

At Motorlan, we have responded to the need to address these points in the following manner.<\/p>\n

\"Eficiencia<\/p>\n

On the one hand, we draft a full efficiency report<\/a> to determine the real performance of the motors that we receive for repair or reconditioning.<\/strong> You can download a summarized sample of these reports here<\/a>. The full report includes a cost comparison and amortization in the event of replacing the motor with a more efficient model.<\/p>\n

Logically, if the motor is burned out, the performance tests cannot be conducted until it is rewound and repaired.<\/p>\n

Another factor to consider is that, after repairing and rewinding, the efficiency of the electric motor is generally affected by poor repair practices in workshops around the world.<\/p>\n

In many countries, a significant part of the installed stock of electric motors fails every year, and most are repaired and put back in service. In China, for example, it is estimated that 10% of all electric motors installed in industrial applications fail during operation every year. 87% are repaired and placed back into service.<\/p>\n

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The motors are generally repaired 3 or 4 times before being replaced. The potential energy savings resulting from improved motor repair practices in the economy are enormous.<\/p>\n

In the early part of the 2000s, there was the common belief that rewinding or repair of an AC induction motor systematically generated as much as a 2% loss of its original energy efficiency, depending on the classification of the motor. However, there are different non-traditional repair procedures that prevent reducing the level of energy efficiency as compared to new motors.<\/p>\n

At Motorlan, we use these procedures to prevent the degradation of the motor’s efficiency during repairs. This requires us to:<\/p>\n