GAMBICA calls for greater VSD awareness in purchasing following IEA white paper

Steve Brambley of GAMBICA

~ UK automation trade body GAMBICA supports International Energy Agency findings ~ 

GAMBICA has responded to the International Energy Agency’s white paper ‘Energy-efficiency policy opportunities for electric motor-driven systems’ by calling for purchasing teams to take action to implement the IEA’s findings. The trade body also believes that machine builders and systems integrators can help reduce the energy demands of electrical motors by moving towards a standardised process for describing energy efficiency in quotations.

The IEA’s document argues that energy usage on electric motor applications is going to double by 2030, as a result of the anticipated need for more installations across the globe. However, the IEA also suggests that current energy usage could be cut by ten per cent despite this increase, if all appropriate efficiency measures were put in place to control the new motors. The paper provides a strong and global validation of GAMBICA’s previous position on energy efficiency policies in the UK.

The IEA paper shows the actions and deadlines by which the organization hopes to achieve its aims, in the form of a workplan, entitled “Torquing the Talk”. The top priority in the workplan is convening a technical working group by the end of 2011 to maximise the saving potential of variable speed drives, fans, pumps and induction motors. As GAMBICA has pointed out many times before, VSDs should be central to many company’s environmental and energy efficiency plans.

GAMBICA believes that that the actions of systems integrators and machine builders, the people who are often responsible for building variable speed drives into engineering applications, are crucial in implementing the IEA’s workplan.

“By including the lifetime energy cost of the application in their quote to the customer, these groups can both mark themselves out in comparison to their competitors and provide a better, more cost effective service to the end user,” explained Steve Brambley, head of GAMBICA’s Industrial Automation sector. “Ultimately I would like to see a consistent standard applied to all industrial systems that would clearly delineate their energy efficiency.

Something similar to the miles-per-gallon ratings used for vehicles would give a clear comparison and be easily understood by non technical people.

“GAMBICA has long held that engineers in the UK are aware of the benefits of using variable speed drives in industrial applications,” continued Brambley.

“However, we believe that more should be done to prompt purchasing teams to base decisions on lifetime energy costs as well as capital expenditure. This brilliant IEA document should be essential reading for anyone concerned with the level of energy use in their business.”