HOUSE WINS, MANUFACTURERS WIN
Motor drive saves energy by matching consumption to load
If you’ve ever taken the lobby escala- tor at Caesars Palace or the Bellagio Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, you
were probably more concerned about
the change in your pocket than the
change underfoot, but beneath the elevator belt is new motor drive technology that reduces energy consumption
by roughly 36 percent.
According to the U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE), electric motors are the
largest end users of electricity in the U.S.
Many motors waste enormous amounts
of energy. This is because when motors
are lightly loaded or operate under “
variably loaded” environments, they tend to
be inefficient. For example, motors in
escalators are designed for the heavi-est-case scenario—usually two passengers alight on each and every step. But
this rarely happens, which means the
motor often is lightly loaded and wasting
electricity.
While induction motors are designed
to run efficiently at high loads, in many
applications they can run at less than
40 percent of full load for significant
periods of time.
Power Efficiency Corp., Las Vegas,
designs, develops, markets, and sells
motor efficiency controllers that reduce
energy consumption in AC induction
motors. The company’s proprietary
technology platform, called E-Save
Technology®, saves energy in constant-speed motor applications, effectively
providing “cruise control” for a range of
variable-load motors.
Recently NV Energy, Nevada’s elec-
tric utility, performed a 10-day energy
savings test on two 40-HP escalators
(one up, one down) at Caesars Palace
Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Power
Efficiency’s motor efficiency controller
lowered the average kilowatt usage on
the up escalator from 6.08 to 4.01 k W
( 34 percent energy savings) and on the
down escalator from 6.08 to 4.00 kW
( 36. 5 percent energy savings) for an av-
erage energy savings of 35. 25 percent,
$3,062.49 annually at a rate of $0.08/
k Wh, and CO2 reduction of 29 tons.
them with the optimal amount of power
required to perform a given mechanical task—thereby reducing energy use
without changing the motor speed.
The company estimates that its technology can save the U.S. manufacturing
industry $1.7 billion annually in electricity costs for large motors in industrial and commercial applications, such
A motor efficiency controller cut the average kilowatt consumption on escalators in Caesars
Palace and Bellagio casinos by more than a third. The same technology improves energy
efficiency in conveyors, elevators, crushers, and shredders.
A similar test was conducted at the
Bellagio Resort and Casino on two 20-HP
escalators (one up, one down). Average
savings were 37. 14 percent, $2,131.70
annually at a rate of $0.09/kWh, and
annual CO2 reduction of 18 tons.
E-Save Technology uses patented al-
gorithms to monitor motors and provide
as crushers, shredders, conveyors, and
elevators. The controller can be includ-
ed in new equipment or retrofitted onto
existing equipment.
Power Efficiency Corp., 3960 Howard Hughes
Parkway, Suite 460, Las Vegas, NV 89169,
800-975-9111, sales@powerefficiency.com,
www.powerefficiency.com
