Boosting Your Bottom Line: No Time To Estimate Savings? No Problem!

Have you ever considered upgrading the efficiency of your motors but assumed it would take too much time to calculate potential energy savings? As it turns out, a product-neutral tool that quickly provides a back-of-the-envelope estimate of possible savings is just a few clicks away: Check out the recently updated “MDM Simple Savings Chart” (SSC) on the Motor Decisions Matter (MDM) Website, www.motorsmatter.org.

The SSC tool calculates estimated annual energy costs and potential savings from upgrading to a higher efficiency motor. Calcu-lations are based on two simple pieces of information that you enter: cost of electricity and annual operating hours. With these inputs, the SSC provides a side-by-side comparison of estimated annual operating costs and savings for 1-500 hp general-purpose motors, including 1200 RPM, 1800 RPM and 3600 RPM in both totally enclosed fan-cooled (TEFC) and open drip-proof (ODP), at different efficiency levels.

For 1-200 hp, the SSC calculates the costs of operating your motor currently (based on your electricity price and hours of operation), then compares the costs and potential savings associated with operating motors with the following different efficiency levels: Pre-Energy Policy Act (estimated motor efficiencies prior to 1997); Energy Policy Act (federal minimum efficiency levels required by the 1992 law, effective 1997); and Energy Independence and Security Act (higher federal minimum efficiency levels required by the 2007 law, effective 2010). For 201-500 hp motors, costs and potential savings associated with different efficiency levels are similarly calculated.

Consider a 200 hp, 1800 RPM, TEFC, general-purpose motor, running 8000 hours annually with electricity costs of $0.08 per kWh: Using the SSC, we can see that this costs approximately $102,083 per year, if the unit has a pre-Energy Policy Act efficiency level. The cost would be approximately $99,260, if the motor has an EISA efficiency level. The $2823 difference between these operating costs could be your annual savings if you upgrade to a higher-efficiency unit.

As this example demonstrates, using the right tools, it can take just a minute to consider higher efficiency—which could lead to thousands of dollars in savings annually. At the very least, you’ll gain peace of mind just from understanding your options. As most managers know, you can’t manage what you can’t measure, so why not take a minute to get started with an easy, virtually “on-the-fly” (but effective) measurement. Who knows how much you could be saving!

Download the updated Simple Savings Chart today from MDM’s Website and start estimating ROI from upgrading to higher-efficiency motors.
For other proactive motor management tools, visit: www.motorsmatter.org/tools/index.asp. MT