Energy Optimization for Adjustable-Speed Drive Applications: Increasing Efficiency to Cut Costs and Preserve Assets

Whether you believe there is a connection between carbon dioxide and global warming or not, reducing energy consumption by improving operating efficiency has the benefit of preserving natural resources, reducing production costs, and postponing investment in infrastructure, such as generating stations and transmission lines. Induction motors are a logical target since they are the primary machines in use and account for the vast majority of industrial loads. Loads driven by induction motors consume more than half the electrical energy generated. A small improvement in efficiency has a pronounced effect on overall energy consumption. When a process has a range of operating points, adjustable-speed drives (ASDs) are often employed to realize energy savings based on affinity laws. While this saves substantial energy, it can be further optimized with flux vector control and other techniques. This article examines the topic of optimal energy control, which results in additional energy savings.