The Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment (SEAD) initiative has announced the winners of its Global Efficiency Medal competition for super energy-efficient electric motors.
As motors account for 40% of global electricity consumption, greater efficiency can provide significant opportunities for decreasing energy consumption, carbon emissions and reliance on fossil fuels.
9 October 2014: The Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment (SEAD) initiative has announced the winners of its Global Efficiency Medal competition for super energy-efficient electric motors. As motors account for 40% of global electricity consumption, greater efficiency can provide significant opportunities for decreasing energy consumption, carbon emissions and reliance on fossil fuels.
Chad Gallinat, SEAD, said that making small changes in a central component, such as an electric motor, greatly impacts the sector’s economic and environmental performance. Bengt Toresson, Swedish Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications, explained that electric motors are “easy to ignore” as most of them are hidden, but making them more efficient will lead to significant global energy savings.
The competition focused on mid-sized general purpose induction motors, which are used in the industrial, commercial and residential sectors to drive pumps, fans, compressors and conveyors in such applications as water, chemicals, iron, steel, food and commercial buildings. Medium-sized motors are currently the most important electric motors, consume a lot of energy and therefore are of particular concern. According to a 2011 International Energy Agency (IEA) study, mid-sized motors accounted for more than two-thirds of the electricity consumed by all motors worldwide in 2010.
The awards went to electric motors from, inter alia, Nanyang Explosion Protection Group Company Limited from Henan Province, China, and Siemens Limited from Mumbai, India.
The SEAD Global Efficiency Medal competition encourages the production and sale of super-efficient equipment, appliances and electronics by recognizing the most energy-efficient products. This is the third competition, with the first recognizing energy-efficient flat-screen televisions, and the second recognizing energy-efficient computer monitors. Winners will be announced for the fourth competition will reward energy-efficient lighting and winners will be announced in April 2015.
SEAD is an international collaboration of 16 countries and an initiative under the Clean Energy Ministerial. [Clean Energy Ministerial Press Release] [SEAD Website]