Motor Efficiency Management: In The Beginning
Energy efficiency in electric motor systems present significant opportunities, increases of 10% to 15% or more are possible. Efficiency “Best Practices” have included both energy and condition analysis to provide reliable and efficient electric motor systems. In the early ‘90s, the U.S. Department of Energy (D.O.E.), recognized the potential socio-economic and energy independence impact, and funded and supported software tools to support motor efficiency management. The tool with the highest commercial and industrial industry acceptance was MotorMaster+, developed in collaboration with Washington State University Extension Energy Program (WSU).
MotorMaster+
MotorMaster+ was a life-cycle motor maintenance and replacement tool used to identify inefficient, undersized, and oversized electric motors and then calculate the energy and demand savings associated with the selection of more energy efficient replacements. MotorMaster+ initially had a catalog of approximately 17,000 commercially available National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) Premium® (IE3) and Super Premium efficiency (IE4) motors. Noteworthy is that the participating Original Equipment Motor Manufacturers had committed to maintaining the currency of the MotorMaster+ motor catalog on an annual basis. Tens of thousands of commercial and industrial users as well as Utilities used MotorMaster+ since it’s initially availability.
Albeit the tool was widely accepted and used, the D.O.E. discontinued funding of MotorMaster+ in 2012. Since then, the tool has become obsolete (operates on a 32 bit system) and the motor catalog is no longer current. Due to the financial commitment which would be required to make MotorMaster+ current, the non-alignment with the D.O.E. core competencies, and the knowledge of the commercial availability of comparable functionality via the evolution of WSU’s MotorMaster+ intellectual property, the D.O.E. made the decision in July 2016 that they would no longer directly support the tool.
So what is the commercially available alternative to MotorMaster+?
The Solution: The “Next” Generation of MotorMaster+
In July of 2013 WSU entered into an Agreement with our company to develop the next generation of MotorMaster+, Motors@Work.
The first release of Motors@Work was based on providing comparable, technically current, MotorMaster+ functionality while addressing the typical motor energy management market barriers by the the following:
1) Strengthening management focus on motors and driven-systems energy
2) Injecting organizational discipline across functional silos and stakeholders (intra and inter organization)
3) Providing requisite domain expertise
4) Creating a cultural shift encouraging commitment across an organization
5) Introducing and sustaining a systematic approach to motor efficiency into day-to-day operations and maintenance
6) Identifying resources to meet energy efficiency goals
7) Providing management controls based on measurement, verification and validation, visibility, and communication.
Subsequent Motors@Work releases have built on Release 1.0, addressing motor-driven system management while being additive to the customer’s technology investment and being coincident to the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT). Motors@Work energy optimization brings together all of the interdependent disparate data, near real-time operating measurements, certified analytics and patent-pending innovation to provide the operating intelligence needed to optimize the Customer’s motor and driven-system’s energy use and expense.
Let’s Compare: MotorMaster+ vs. Motors@Work
Motors@Work puts the power of the Internet of Things (IoT) into practice to solve these problems. Motors@Work energy optimization brings together all of the interdependent disparate data, certified analytics and patent-pending innovation to provide the operating intelligence needed to optimize the customer’s motor and driven-system’s energy use and demand expense. The following Table, albeit not all inclusive, illustrates the Motors@Work added value proposition as compared to MotorMaster+.
The Bottom Line
The decision is obvious! Motors@Work provides sustainable systematic motor-driven system energy intelligence. With Motors@Work, the Customer now has access to equivalent MotorMaster+ functionality and more. Motors@Work information and intelligence will save energy, estimated at 20% to 30%, reduce maintenance costs, and improve asset performance, and they can be up and running in days or weeks as opposed to months or longer.