Baldor is launching an innovative range of IEC-frame AC motors that emphasises extreme operating efficiency to help users meet carbon emission and energy conservation targets, as well as reducing operating overheads.
Called the Metric-E+ range, Baldor's new motors are dedicated to energy conservation, and employ innovative technology to achieve outstanding energy efficiency levels of up to 96.3 per cent. Baldor offers EFF1 specifications - in line with Europe's existing 'high efficiency' standard - plus a further choice of premium efficient motors it calls EFF1+ that are up to two per centage points more efficient.
Rising energy costs pose a major threat to industry competitiveness. We now view Europe's existing motor energy efficiency standards as too conservativehelping to confuse users and keep inefficient products in use"says Andrew Stephenson of Baldor. "Australasia and North America are showing Europe just what is possible in this area. We urgently need to raise the barand we believe that EFF1 is the minimum standard for most continuous processes and heavy-duty applications. With this launch we have also introduced a higher efficiency levelto offer a truly optimum solution."
The new range spans 17 power ratings from 4 to 200kW (metric frame sizes from D112M to D315M)with a choice of three speed options at each rating: 9501450 and 2850 RPM. In each caseusers can choose from EFF1 efficiencies or Baldor's proprietary EFF1+ premium option.
Maximum EFF1+ efficiencies at full load start at 90.1 per cent for a 4kW motor and go up to 95.8 per cent at 90kW (the end point for EFF1 labelling)continuing onwards to 96.3 per cent at 200kW - the highest rated motor in Baldor's new range. Comparative EFF1 figures for the same motors are 88.5 per cent at 4kW and 95.1 per cent at 90kW.
In addition to meeting and exceeding EFF1the motors comply with Australia's minimum efficiency performance standards or MEPS: AS/NZS 1359.5-2005/2006 (which covers motors up to 185kW).
Baldor achieves the higher efficiency levels by a more focused motor designpaying particular attention to the active materials. Significant efficiency improvements can be attributed to adding more copper to the windingsupgrading the laminations to premium-grade low-loss steelenhanced lamination designsprecision air gaps between rotor and statorand reducing fan and other losses in the motor.
The new motor range features cast iron frames for durability and will run from 50Hz380-420V three-phase supplies. The motors are additionally rated for use at 60Hz/460V and comply with Epact efficiency levels - making them suitable for use in the USA as well.
All Metric-E+ motors are wound with Baldor's exclusive ISR (inverter spike resistant) magnet wiremaking them up to 100 times more resistant to transient voltage spikeshigh frequenciesand short rise-time pulses commonly produced by inverters. This results in all Metric-E+s being 'inverter ready'. These motorswith improved insulation materialscan withstand peak voltages up to 1600V peak for extended reliability. Every Metric-E+ motor is also balanced to Baldor's own very high standard; this results in fewer mechanical stressesparticularly on motor bearingsthereby extending life. Baldor is so confident in the design and build quality of these new motors that it is offering them with a three-year warranty.
Baldor is investing in a large stockholding of Metric-E+ motors at its European logistics centrecovering all power ratings. For the majority of European usersit means that their IEC frame motor requirements can be supplied anywhere within 48 hours - or even same-day in some instances.
As the capital cost of a large electric motor is typically only two per cent of its lifetime costthe new Metric-E+ motors will provide a major return on investment. In addition to savings electricity costsusing the motors will make a major contribution to meeting governments' Kyoto commitmentsas some two-thirds of industrial electricity is typically used by electric motorswhichin turnaccounts for around 10 per cent of a country's CO2 emissions.
In the UKfor examplethere are over 11million motors installed with a combined capacity of approximately 90GW. By increasing the average efficiency of the country's motor base by just 1 per centthe result is an annual energy saving of almost 1.5TWh and a reduction of over 600000 tons in CO2 emissions.
For more informationvisit www.baldor.com
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