Energy savings and emissions reductions for rewinding and replacement of industrial motor

Electric motors consume 30-80% of total industrial energy around the world. This study estimates the economic viability of replacing rewound and standard motors with high efficiency motors (HEMs) in the industrial sector. The efficiency of a motor is degraded when it is rewound and it is better to rewind a larger motor compared with a smaller motor. It was found that a HEM can save on average 5.5% of energy compared with a standard motor. In addition, the payback period was found to be reasonable when a motor is operated at a 50% load. HEMs will also save a sizeable amount of energy and reduce emissions. It was estimated that 67,868 MWh/year energy and US$ 4,343,531 per year could be saved by introducing HEMs. By contrast, 44,582 tons of CO₂, 333 tons of SO₂ and 122 tons of NO_x emissions could be reduced through the aforementioned energy savings. This study found that rewound motors of a larger size and HEMs are economically viable.