HOW WILL NEW ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS AFFECT YOUR BUSINESS?

DirectIndustry Takes You Beyond the Fear and Confusion

Read our special feature on changes to electric motor efficiency standards in our latest quarterly e-magazine. For many, the recent changes to energy efficiency standards represent an unwelcome burden, but this isn’t the full story, we talk to the experts who believe these changes can be a key driver for innovation. Energy typically “represents 97 percent of total motor operating costs over the motor’s lifetime,” therefore modest increases in efficiency can convert into significant savings for operators. As of January 1st 2015, only motors in the power range from 7.5 to 375 kW that comply with IE3 (90.4 percent efficiency), will be allowed in the European Union (EU).

The EU has gone even further with regulation EN 50598, which will come into effect later this year and “will for the first time define requirements for the energy efficiency of entire drive systems.” Some industry experts believe that business fears over new regulations are down to confusion and think more needs to be done to explain to people what the regulations mean. Others believe tougher regulations can act as a catalyst for innovation citing the many developments already achieved in the motor and drives industry thanks to energy efficiency regulations.