Electric Motor Asset Management
Electric Motor Asset Management
Electric Motor Asset Management
Document History
Issue 1 Date 07/07/2011 Initial publication Purpose
Disclaimer
While this publication has been prepared with care, European Copper Institute and other contributors provide no warranty with regards to the content and shall not be liable for any direct, incidental or consequential damages that may result from the use of the information or the data contained.
Copyright European Copper Institute. Reproduction is authorised providing the material is unabridged and the source is acknowledged.
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CONTENTS
Summary ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 Why asset management for electric motors? ........................................................................................................ 2 What does motor asset management take into account? ..................................................................................... 2 The advantages of motor asset management ........................................................................................................ 3 Estimating the intensity of motor use .................................................................................................................... 3 A model for the repair/replace decision................................................................................................................. 4 Comparing various scenarios .................................................................................................................................. 4 Four examples from real life ................................................................................................................................... 7 New York State water treatment plants .................................................................................................. 7 Bryant University ...................................................................................................................................... 7 QubicaAMF bowling pin manufacturer .................................................................................................... 7 NYCO Minerals ......................................................................................................................................... 7 Recapitulation ......................................................................................................................................................... 8 Interesting links and papers ................................................................................................................................... 9
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SUMMARY
Electric motors are available for a wide range of applications and in a variety of power outputs. They are the ideal drivers for a huge number of operations. Electric motors are the primary mover for a vast majority of industrial and tertiary sector activities. Some motors are visible as a separate entity; others are built into boxed applications such as air compressors, heat pumps, water pumps, and fans. Electric motors account for approximately 65% of the electricity consumed by EU industry. Despite their importance, they are rarely viewed as a production asset in their own right. However, they should be since the manner in which they are purchased, maintained, and replaced can make a major difference in profitability. When motors are not managed optimally, the result is higher energy losses and even more significantlya reduced reliability and availability at the production site. Early replacement of electric motors is a rare practice. In most companies, motors run to failure. Once failure occurs, they are repaired or replaced as quickly as possible. Replacement typically takes place without considering more than the basic technical requirements. A more detailed look at all cost factors reveals however, that an early replacement of an electric motor is often paid back in a very short time. This payback is fed by improved energy efficiency, by reduced maintenance costs, and by avoiding unplanned outages and their associated losses. Electric motors are a forgotten asset. By making them subject of a full asset management programme, companies can improve their performance and gain a competitive advantage.
A motor with low energy efficiency will dissipate its losses as heat. This phenomenon does not only increase the energy cost significantly. In the course of time, the heat will also affect the motor condition, reducing its energy efficiency even further and increasing the risk of unplanned failure. In most production environments, the cost of the resulting motor downtime can mount to several times the original purchasing value of the motor.
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c. d.
2) Estimating the operating time: This varies greatly, depending on the application of the motor. An accurate estimation of the time requires data logging over a representative period, which is costly and time-consuming. In most cases, a knowledgeable plant manager will be able to make fair estimates, based on the weekly operating hours of the plant (single shift/double shift, continuous operation or not, et cetera).
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Repairing a motor also degrades its energy efficiency, except when it is carried out with extreme care and by highly skilled technicians. By making small improvements to the motor design, a motor can even be made more efficient during repair works, but this is unfortunately a fairly rare practice.
Scenario no 1
Motor Initial motor efficiency at Daily running cost loading Energy cost hours % /kWh Hours 2000 87,0% 0,1 12
Scenario no 1
Cost of downtime 0
Motor Replacement Motor Rewind motor replacement motor rewind cost efficiency cost efficiency % % 1200 86% 2200 89%
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The line of Zero change in TCO is the rewinding at the point of failure scenario. The line of the early rewinding scenario goes up because of the higher energy losses after rewinding. The lines of both of the replacement scenarios go down because of the reduced energy losses. At the point of failure, a rewind cost is reduced from all three curves. Since the rewind in the baseline scenario occurs at this point, all three of the other scenarios include an avoided rewind cost here.
We see that: 1) The early rewinding scenario has a higher TCO than the baseline scenario because of its loss in energy efficiency. 2) Replacement at point of failure is more advantageous than rewinding at point of failure. 3) The lowest TCO comes from the early replacement scenario.
In the second calculation, a $5,000 cost is assumed for the downtime during an unanticipated motor failure. All the other conditions remain the same as in the initial calculation. This downtime cost assumption may seem high, but it is actually still moderate. A case study at a Canadian Pulp mill revealed an hourly production value of $25,000. In such a production environment, 5,000 represents a downtime of only 20 minutes.
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Scenario no 1
Motor Initial motor efficiency at Daily running cost loading Energy cost hours % /kWh Hours 2000 87,0% 0,1 12
Scenario no 1
Motor Replacement Motor Rewind motor replacement motor rewind cost efficiency cost efficiency % % 1200 86% 2200 89%
Now we see that: 1) Downtime cost completely dominates the TCO. 2) As might be expected, early action (before failure) results in the lowest TCO. The most advantageous is an early motor replacement, followed by an early rewinding. 3) Replacement at the point of failure is a bit more advantageous than rewinding at the point of failure, but as the downtime cost is dominant, the relative difference between those two scenarios has diminished.
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BRYANT UNIVERSITY
To keep computers cool and students comfortable, Bryant University in Rhode Island, USA requires a large HVAC system, containing a large number of electric motors. The university has had an energy efficiency programme in effect for several years. As a result, most of its motors meet the NEMA Premium efficiency requirements. The only exceptions are a few special purpose models. Conscious that small savings can add up to big returns over time, the following actions have been carried out: Four hot and cold water circulation pumps of 18.75 kW were replaced. The old motors were installed in 1988 and had a high efficiency for that time. However, the motor market has evolved rapidly since then. Replacing the motors with new and up-to-date high efficiency models led to an annual saving of $679 each, resulting in a pay-back period of only 1.5 years. A 30 kW motor with standard efficiency driving the water pump of a condenser was replaced with a new more efficient model. This resulted in an annual saving of 10.3 kWh and $1,059. The payback time was 1.5 years.
NYCO MINERALS
NYCO Minerals is a leading producer of Wollastonite, a form of calcium silicate widely used in a number of applications. The Willsboro operation in the state of New York, USA, runs 24/7 nearly every week of the year. The company recognized early on that the shortest path for reducing their energy costs was to utilize the most efficient electric motors available. They changed all of their motors for EPAct models in the 1990s, and to NEMA Premium motors later on. Recently, a new programme was initiated aiming to replace every motor with an efficiency of less than 90%. The initial purchase included 150 motors with power ratings between 0.75 and 15 kW.
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The following table shows the annual cost savings for each motor size:
Load Factor Annual Hourly Usage Utility Rate, $/kWh Old Eff., New Eff., % % New Motor Price NYSERDA Rebate Annual Savings Payback, Years
hp
1 1.5 2 3 5 7.5 10 15 20
RECAPITULATION
Electric motors are quite often overlooked as a production asset. Even though they are the primary driver in most industrial and tertiary sector companies, electric motors are rarely managed optimally. Improving their energy efficiency, reliability, and availability, usually results in large gains in their TCO. It takes a genuine motor asset management scheme to achieve this, one incorporating a model for the early replacement of motors. Waiting until the motor fails is seldom the best option, since the cost of motor downtime can mount very rapidly to a high level and will in most cases dominate the TCO. Repairing the motor instead of purchasing a new one is advantageous only if it improves the energy efficiency, which is rarely the case. The best option in the large majority of the cases is an early replacement of the motor. A calculation model can provide the required information for taking sound replace/repair decisions. These models require the average load and operation time of the motor as input. Measuring those values is time-consuming, but they can be estimated with sufficient accuracy. An additional advantage of the early replacement practice is that it becomes unnecessary to keep a large stock of spare motors on site. Moreover, part of the investment cost of the new motor can be recuperated by the higher resale value of the old one.
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