Spring 2007

A New Partnership to Help Smaller Plants Become "Leaner and Greener"

Two successful programs are teaming up this year to help small and medium-sized U.S. manufacturing plants improve their energy efficiency, competitiveness, and environmental performance. Under a new agreement, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Industrial Assessment Centers (IAC) will work with the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) in the U.S. Department of Commerce to provide assistance to eligible plants.

Approximately 196,000 small and mid-sized U.S. plants are paying a total of $70 billion per year in energy costs. "This initiative has the potential to help these manufacturers reduce energy costs in some cases by up to 30% per year," DOE Assistant Secretary Alexander Karsner says.

The new IAC-MEP partnership extends the reach and resources of both programs, so industry can benefit from the best of both. Individually, they work with hundreds of plants each year, but together they can provide services, expertise, and information at no cost to many more plants throughout the nation.

Announced in March, the agreement provides a mechanism for renowned energy experts and their staff members at 26 university-based IACs to carry out improvement projects with knowledgeable MEP staff in more than 440 locations nationwide. Although some IACs have worked before with nearby MEP centers on efficiency projects, the new partnership will foster more extensive collaborations. These collaborative projects can range from providing energy- and money-saving information resources to conducting in-plant energy assessments of energy and process efficiency.

Industrial Assessment Centers are administered by the DOE Industrial Technologies Program (ITP). The Manufacturing Extension Partnership network is part of National Institute for Science and Technology (NIST) in the Commerce Department. Both programs help smaller plants boost their productivity and profitability. And each has an impressive track record of providing benefits to manufacturers. So, in many ways, the new partnership is a "natural" for them.

IACs Help Manufacturers Improve Energy Efficiency

DOE selected the 26 Industrial Assessment Centers through a competitive solicitation process. Their primary mission is to provide eligible small- and medium-sized manufacturers with no-cost energy assessments and to serve as training grounds for the next generation of energy engineers. Plants eligible for IAC assessments are usually within 150 miles of a center, have gross annual sales of less than $100 million, and employ fewer than 500 employees at a site.

Since 1976, IAC assessment teams have provided benefits such as these:

• Saved participating plants an average of $55,000 a year.
• Saved enough energy to power a city the size of Boston for a year.
• Recommended efficiency measures, which plants later implemented, with paybacks averaging about 12 months.
• Saved U.S. companies more than $700 million in all through efficiency and productivity improvements.
• Helped create and maintain more than 1.5 million U.S. industrial jobs.

During an energy assessment, trained engineering faculty and students from an Industrial Assessment Center visit a plant and analyze its energy use to identify opportunities for savings, often using ITP's suite of sophisticated software assessment tools. Within 60 days, the IAC team sends a full report to the plant recommending proven ways to boost energy and operating efficiency and reduce waste.

Benefits Go Beyond Energy Savings

Helping plants save energy is just one of the goals for the Industrial Assessment Centers. At the same time, engineering students at higher undergraduate and graduate levels gain hands-on experience with actual industrial systems. IAC energy assessments are by no means simply "school projects," however. Small plants with relatively high energy bills often find that reducing energy and operating costs can mean the difference between surviving and thriving in today's competitive manufacturing environment.

There are environmental benefits, as well. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, industrial and commercial energy use accounts for nearly 30% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing the amount of electricity and fuel needed to power boilers, produce steam, and run industrial processes also reduces associated greenhouse gases, which helps small manufacturers reach their energy-use and environmental goals more quickly.

That's what Mitsubishi Motors' manufacturing plant in Normal, Illinois, was hoping for when Eric Ross, a student engineer in Bradley University's IAC, worked on a project there recently. After receiving training in industrial pollution prevention and energy management, Eric designed and helped implement a project to reduce electricity use at the plant by 2.4 million kilowatt-hours annually, saving the company $60,000 per year and reducing carbon dioxide emissions (CO₂) by 1,300 metric tons.

Eugene Schlueter, Central Engineering General Manager at Mitsubishi in the Manufacturing Division, says that Eric's knowledge, skills, and ability to listen and communicate well with staff during the project contributed greatly to its success.

IACs Uncover More Than $100 Million In Opportunities

In 2006, the first year of ITP's Save Energy Now initiative, IACs conducted more than 550 in-plant energy assessments and identified more than $100 million in savings opportunities. Plants that implement assessment recommendations will help to reduce the nation's total CO₂ emissions by hundreds of thousands of tons per year.

DOE has funded assessments for small and medium-sized manufacturing firms through Industrial Assessment Centers (formerly Energy Analysis and Diagnostic Centers) since 1976. Data from assessments conducted from 1980 to the present are available in the IAC Database, which contains detailed information on more than 13,400 assessments.

MEP Network Helps Plants Streamline Operations

The Manufacturing Extension Partnership is a not-for-profit network of several hundred business and manufacturing specialists who are associated with nearly 60 MEP centers around the nation. The MEP centers are funded by federal, state, local, and private organizations to provide specially tailored services and products to small and medium-sized U.S. plants. MEP assistance often begins with an evaluation of a plant's business operations. Then, industrial specialists provide helpful services like these:

• Helping plants become more "lean" so they can produce more using current resources by eliminating activities that are not value-added.
• Providing guidance on strategic management, with a focus on planning and executing effective business strategies.
• Assisting in establishing quality systems, from product design to distribution.
• Helping plants expand profitably through innovative products, processes, services, and business models.
• Fostering supply chain management, a critical management function.
• Improving the environment by helping plants avoid wasting materials and energy.

Linked through NIST, MEP centers serve all 50 states and Puerto Rico. They offer business solutions either through direct assistance from MEP staff or recommendations from outside consultants. In FY 2006 alone, MEP provided information and services to more than 24,700 U.S. manufacturers.

Boosting the Bottom Line through Innovation

In just one example, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Louisiana (MEPoL) recently provided assistance to several local companies in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. One company, It Straps On, Inc., manufactures stainless steel strapping and fasteners and is based in Covington. Among other services, MEPoL helped the company obtain funding for the entire staff to attend an on-site MEP "Lean" training course under a Small Business Enterprise Training grant offered through the Louisiana Department of Labor.

Company owner Steve Smith says, "MEPoL directed us to multiple programs that have assisted us in researching innovations to improve our product line, saving us the costs up front, which resulted in millions of dollars in sales."

The IAC-MEP partnership plans to reach about 1,800 plants in the first year of the collaboration. For information about hiring the engineering students who have completed their extensive IAC training, see the related artlcle in this issue of Energy Matters.

Employers Benefit from Hiring IAC-Trained Engineers

Along with transferring energy-efficient, environmentally sound practices and technologies to U.S. industries, the DOE Industrial Technologies Program's 26 university-based Industrial Assessment Centers (IAC) are preparing world-class engineers for the U.S. workforce. It's a win-win situation: IAC alumni obtain good jobs while employers gain experienced, highly competent employees.

A recent survey of former IAC students included these findings:

• More than 78% reported that IAC participation improved their ability to communicate in writing and work in teams.
• More than 70% increased their ability to solve problems within time, money, and human resources constraints.
• At least 50% are registered Professional Engineers (PE) or Engineers-in-Training (EIT).

Since its inception in 1976, more than 2,500 students have participated in the Industrial Assessment Center program, providing hundreds of eligible small- and medium-sized manufacturers with no-cost energy assessments each year. Currently, about 250 students are trained per year, and 120 to 180 of them will graduate from the program in a given year. This training augments a traditional education in electrical, industrial, or mechanical engineering. About 40% to 50% of graduates move on to careers in energy-related fields.

Before they tackle their first energy assessment, Industrial Assessment Center students learn more about energy-consuming industrial equipment and systems such as air compressors, motors, boilers, pumps, and lighting, as well as how to estimate potential energy and cost savings for those systems. They also receive training in assessment methods, the use of instruments, and safety measures. After energy assessments are completed and analyzed, IAC teams send detailed reports to the plants and follow up later to find out what measures the plants have actually implemented.

In 2005, the plants assessed by IACs implemented measures that are saving an average of $32,000 in annual energy costs; overall, IACs have saved plants an average of $55,000 per year. Since 1976, thousands of engineering students have applied the fundamentals of industrial energy and resource efficiency at more than 10,000 small- and mid-sized U.S. manufacturing plants.

Two IAC Success Stories

One IAC alumnus, Marcus Wilcox, was the first student to join Oregon State University's (OSU) Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) in 1986; he went on to receive a master's degree in mechanical engineering from OSU in 1989. Today, he is one of three partners in Cascade Energy Engineering of Portland, Oregon, and Walla Walla, Washington.

Wilcox credits much of his current success to being involved with the IAC at OSU, where he gained valuable experience in "learning by doing." Wilcox still makes use of IAC resources in hiring new engineers for Cascade.

Another alumnus, Nasr Alkadi, was advised by a leading energy engineer to work on his Ph.D. at West Virginia University's IAC after he had earned two degrees in mechanical engineering. After graduating as an IAC Lead Student, Alkadi joined Detroit Edison to support energy efficiency and conservation activities in a team at General Motors, one of the utility's largest customers.

That team achieved energy savings of more than $344,000 at one GM facility in fiscal year 2004 alone. Blake Licht, manager of Energy Conservation Programs and Initiatives for GM, says that Alkadi's IAC field experience was a determining factor in his selection as an energy conservation engineer for GM.

"He has easily integrated into his new position and has become a critical part of the energy team at his facility," Licht says. GM and Detroit Edison are so impressed with the IAC alumni recruited by Alkadi that they have asked him to bring more graduates on board.

The Industrial Assessment Center program has several mechanisms for bringing prospective employers and graduating IAC students together. If your company is searching for an experienced, energy-savvy professional, please visit the Job Opportunities page in the online IAC Forum for Students and Alumni and consider posting your position description there. Or visit the Forum's current postings of résumés of qualified students and alums seeking professional positions.

Proposed New Motor Efficiency Standards Can Save Industry Energy and Money

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) have jointly developed and recommended new electric motor standards for Congress to consider in upcoming energy legislation. The proposed standards will help foster more widespread use of both energy-efficient and NEMA Premium™ efficiency motors, which have even higher efficiencies than either standard motors or those specified as energy efficient in the 1992 Energy Policy Act (EPAct).

In March, ACEEE and NEMA submitted their recommendations to the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for their consideration in preparing new energy bills. The two organizations recommended that efficiency standards be established or increased for three categories of electric motors no later than 36 months from the date of enactment of new energy legislation.

Both ACEEE and NEMA have worked with the U.S. Department of Energy's Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) to help industry save energy and money in motor-driven and other industrial systems through information, tool development, and collaborations on technical projects.

Neal Elliott, Industrial Program Director at ACEEE, points out that significant energy and cost savings will be possible under the new standards. "These standards will provide major energy and cost savings to industrial and commercial motor users while helping to moderate the growth in electricity demand in this country," Elliott says. "In the industrial sector, motors account for over two-thirds of the electricity consumed. These standards will save over 8 trillion kilowatt-hours by 2030, with a net cost savings to electric consumers of almost $500 million."

Recommendations in the Proposed Standards

First, ACEEE and NEMA recommend increasing current mandatory minimum efficiency standards for general-purpose, integral-horsepower induction motors to "NEMA Premium" efficiency standards (see Table 12-12 in NEMA Standards Publication MG-1, 2006) (PDF 199 KB). Download Adobe Reader. This efficiency level is already a requirement for new motors in federal facilities, under the purchasing guidelines of the Federal Energy Management Program.

Second, they propose establishing energy-efficient motor standards for seven types of low-voltage, polyphase, integral-horsepower induction motors not currently covered under federal laws. Specifically, they propose no longer excluding the seven motor classes that were excluded in 1992 EPAct standards for electric motors of 1-200 horsepower (hp). The seven classes are U-frame, NEMA Design C, close-coupled pump, footless, vertical solid-shaft-normal thrust, and 8-pole (900 rpm) motors, and all polyphase voltages up to 600 V (other than 230- and 460-V motors). This modification extends the coverage of the minimum energy-efficient motor standard to 200- and 575-V motors.

Third, they propose that NEMA Design B, general-purpose, 201-500 hp motors meet minimum full-load efficiency values for energy-efficient motors. These values are specified in Table 12-11 of NEMA Standards Publication MG-1, 2006 (PDF 199 KB). Download Adobe Reader.

Tax Credits Also Proposed

ACEEE and NEMA have also recommended that motor manufacturers and end users receive federal tax credits for producing or buying premium-efficiency electric motors even before the new standards take effect. This would help expedite production and use of the motors, and it would provide environmental benefits in terms of lower electricity use and fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

Since most premium-efficiency motors have a useful life of more than 20 years, purchasing them now can help manufacturers start realizing benefits right away and for many years to come, according to ACEEE. The organization estimates that the tax credits would result in an additional 700 million kilowatt-hours and $40 million in savings.

"This agreement demonstrates the mutual benefits that industry and the energy efficiency community can accomplish by working together," says Susan Coakley, Executive Director of Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP), which worked with ACEEE and NEMA on developing the proposed standards.

For more information, see the news releases from ACEEE and NEMA. And for some helpful resources in selecting premium-efficiency motors for your industrial applications, see ITP's MotorMaster+ software tool and the seven energy-saving tips in the related article in this issue.

Seven Ways to Increase Your Motor Systems' Efficiency

Electric motors consume more electricity than any other end-use technology in industrial and commercial applications. But today's energy-efficient and premium-efficiency motors (PDF 211 KB) can substantially reduce your energy use and costs. So, you don't have to be resigned to sky-high utility bills just because your plant relies heavily on motor-driven systems. Download Adobe Reader.

The answer to these savings (and lower environmental emissions) lies in the motor's efficiency—its shaft or mechanical output power divided by its electrical input power. Motor experts have shown that an improvement in efficiency (PDF 261 KB) of a single percentage-point is worth significant dollar savings, even for motors as small as 10 horsepower (hp). Download Adobe Reader.

For example, purchasing and using one premium-efficiency, 50-hp, totally enclosed, fan-cooled (TEFC) motor (1,800 rpm) instead of a motor just meeting the energy-efficiency requirements specified in the Energy Policy Act of 1992 can reduce your plant's electric bill by more than $190 per year. This savings assumes that the motor operates at 75% load for about 8,000 hours per year at a utility cost of $0.05 per kilowatt-hour. A 10-hp premium-efficiency TEFC motor used under the same conditions can save $60 per year per unit. So, when plants need to replace numerous smaller motors, the savings can add up quickly. (For more information on the energy-saving impacts of premium-efficiency motors, see the related article in this issue.)

Here are some helpful tips developed by experts on motor efficiency for the DOE Industrial Technologies Program. Each title below is followed by a link to a concise, two-page publication designed to help engineers, technicians, equipment operators, and others increase the efficiency of their motor systems. Download Adobe Reader.

• Eliminate Voltage Unbalance (PDF 199 KB)
• Replace V-Belts with Cogged or Synchronous Belt Drives (PDF 647 KB)
• Avoid Nuisance Tripping with Premium Efficiency Motors (PDF 241 KB)
• Estimating Motor Efficiency in the Field (PDF 261 KB)
• Extend the Operating Life of Your Motor (PDF 190 KB)
• The Importance of Motor Shaft Alignment (PDF 312 KB)
• When to Purchase NEMA Premium Efficiency Motors (PDF 211 KB)

Forming Energy-Saving Partnerships with U.S. Computer Data Centers

As the demand for computer processing power continues to grow, so does the demand for energy to keep large computer data centers running. The nation's computer data centers are thus prime candidates for energy-saving solutions like those proposed as part of a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and industry partnership strategy.

Many top U.S. economic, scientific, and technological organizations depend on large computer data centers for their essential computing needs. Running computer systems, servers, and components in computer data centers can require a considerable amount of energy. To support their computing systems, most centers provide redundant cooling and power distribution backed up by standby electrical systems. These have been shown to consume as much energy as the information technology (IT) equipment they support.

Small wonder, then, that In 2005, U.S. computer data centers consumed approximately 45 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, or about 1.2% of all the electricity used in the nation, according to a study by energy and environmental scientist Jonathan Koomey.

To help computer data centers operate more energy efficiently, the DOE Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) is working with the centers themselves and with equipment suppliers and staff in the DOE national laboratories to explore partnership opportunities that could lead to significant energy and cost savings, reduce the burden on the U.S. electricity grid, and increase the reliability of critical computer operations.

Outfitting computer data centers with energy-efficient technologies and providing energy-saving assessments and best practices can also help to curb increases in electricity demand and carbon emissions. And these measures can allow utilities to postpone the construction of new electricity generation capacity.

Meeting the Unique Challenges Posed by Data Centers

Today, computer data centers are using more compact and energy-intensive servers than the ones used in the past. As the number and size of the centers increase in response to the growing demand for processing power throughout the economy, so does the amount of energy they require. This rise in demand places an extra (and serious) burden on the already strained U.S. electricity grid and poses a threat to the centers' reliability. According to a recent survey, computer data centers average at least one serious power outage per year.

Maintaining reliability and managing the rapid growth in new technologies are priorities for computer data centers; energy-efficient technologies and best practices must take those priorities into account. Energy-saving practices must be updated continually to keep up with continual changes in computer technologies, which tend to evolve faster than the equipment needed to power and cool them. Moreover, the tools needed to model energy management and heat transfer in computer data centers can be complex and expensive.

With these considerations in mind, partnerships could include strategies such as these:

• Build on DOE's highly successful Save Energy Now program and the Energy Savings Assessment process to benchmark computer data center energy use and identify opportunities to reduce demand by 10% to 20% through energy-efficient practices.

• Perform energy savings assessments to identify near-term electricity demand reduction measures with short payback periods, and train computer data center managers and designers in energy management best practices and tools.

• In partnership with industry, develop and deploy a curriculum and process for certifying Data Center Specialists with the expertise to assist center operators in improving energy efficiency.

• Become a clearinghouse for disseminating information about energy-saving opportunities and best practices to computer data centers.

• Develop new software tools to profile computer data centers' energy use and analyze energy-efficiency needs to help uncover savings opportunities.

• Conduct research in methods to reduce computing system equipment loading and provide cooling and power more energy efficiently.

Identifying Energy-Efficient Technologies and Best Practices

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has been contributing to this effort by conducting benchmarking studies of energy use in actual computer data centers to help determine the savings potential. To date, LBNL has identified about 70 best practices for optimizing energy efficiency and performance in computer data centers. These practices are applicable to mechanical systems (airflow management, air handler systems, humidification, and plant optimization); IT equipment selection; electrical infrastructure; lighting; and commissioning.

In addition, case studies have been developed that highlight the considerable savings possible when computer data centers identify and implement energy-efficient equipment and practices. An example is the computer data center housed in Building 700 of the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. That center is home to a very large computing operation and thus has an extremely high heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) load.

The center's HVAC systems consist of eight air-handling units (AHUs), three chillers, two condensing units, and two hot water boilers, as well as chilled water and hot water pumping and distribution systems. A steam boiler provides humidification control for the computer rooms. Between December 2001 and November 2002, the Navy spent more than $503,000 for electricity and natural gas in Building 700.

A report (PDF 1.08 MB) issued in 2003 describes a study of Building 700 performed by AEPC Group, LLC, in conjunction with Cogent Energy, Inc., under the direction of LBNL staff. Download Adobe Reader. The study identified and recommended five potential HVAC energy-saving opportunities with both economic and operational benefits. These involved making energy-saving modifications to all eight AHUs, installing economizers on two AHUs, and installing variable-frequency drives on three chilled water pumps. An energy management and control system was also recommended.

Implementing those measures could reduce energy consumption in Building 700 by more than 1,537,600 kilowatt-hours of electricity, or 26% of the adjusted baseline, and nearly 56,000 therms of natural gas, or 42% of the adjusted baseline. In all, the recommended measures could trim utility costs by about $231,000 per year. At an estimated cost of about $506,000, these measures would have a simple payback period of about 2.2 years, and even less if rebates can be obtained.

Partnering to Improve Efficiency

You can be part of the effort to improve the efficiency of computer data centers by getting involved in this partnership. Visit the Industrial Technologies Program's Data Center Web site to learn how ITP and others are meeting computer data center efficiency challenges. Register to receive regular updates and to serve on a technical working group to participate in product and protocol development.

For more information, please contact the EERE Information Center, 1-877-337-3463, and read about creating energy-efficient computer data centers (PPT 2.7 MB).

Featured Technology: Oxy-Fuel Firing for High-Temperature Combustion

Using oxy-fuel firing technology in high-temperature combustion has considerable energy, cost-saving, and environmental benefits. This technology can reduce the amount of fuel needed in furnaces by up to 50%, in many cases. And oxy-fuel firing can trim nitrogen oxide (NO_x) emissions by as much as 90% in certain applications, as noted in a recent briefing by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Industrial Technologies Program for a PPG Industries glass manufacturing plant that participated in a DOE Energy Savings Assessment.

The oxygen content of standard atmospheric air is about 21% (by volume); oxygen enrichment increases this percentage and results in more efficient combustion. Oxygen-enhanced combustion technology actually appeared on the scene several decades ago, but it was not widely used at the time because of technical and cost issues.

Today, however, as a result of technological improvements (PDF 1.83 MB) in several areas, oxygen-enriched combustion and oxy-fuel firing are again being viewed as sound ways to increase productivity while reducing energy use and environmental emissions. Download Adobe Reader.

New Life for Oxygen-Enhanced Technology

This technology can be applied in electric arc furnaces, like those used in the steel industry, as well as in blast furnaces to enhance coal combustion. Studies have shown that the technology can also be successfully employed in the aluminum, chemical, copper, glass, pulp and paper, petroleum, and power-generation industries.

Most industrial furnaces that employ oxygen or oxygen-enriched air (PDF 250 KB) use either liquid oxygen to increase the oxygen concentration in the combustion air or vacuum pressure swing adsorption units to remove some of the nitrogen and increase the oxygen content. Download Adobe Reader. Some systems use nearly 100% oxygen in the main combustion header; others blend in oxygen to increase the oxygen content of the incoming combustion air. Still other systems use auxiliary oxy-fuel burners in conjunction with standard burners, and some employ staged combustion and vary the oxygen concentrations during different stages of combustion. Other systems "lance" oxygen by strategically injecting it beside, beneath, or through the air-fuel flame.

These are just some of the overall benefits of oxy-fuel firing:

• Increased efficiency. Flue gas heat losses are reduced because the flue gas mass decreases as it leaves the furnace. There is little or no nitrogen to carry heat from the furnace.

• Lower emissions. Certain burners and oxy-fuel-fired systems can achieve lower levels of NO_x, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and particulates.

• Improved temperature stability and heat transfer. Increasing the oxygen content allows combustion to be more stable and permits the higher combustion temperatures that result in better heat transfer.

• Increased productivity. Converting a conventional furnace can increase throughput for the same fuel input because of increases in the flame temperature and heat transfer to the load and reductions in the flue gas.

Learn more about the potential energy- and cost-saving benefits of oxygen-enhanced combustion technologies in these ITP resources:

• Oxygen-Enriched Combustion Performance Study (PDF 6.2 MB) Download Adobe Reader.
• Development/Demonstration of an Advanced Oxy-Fuel-Fired Front-End System (PDF 1.07 MB)
• Improving Process Heating Performance: A Sourcebook for Industry (PDF 1.2 MB)

And for more information, contact the EERE Information Center, 1-877-337-3463.

MotorMaster+ Builds a Solid Foundation for Energy-Efficient Motor Systems at Kodak Plant

Staff in Kodak's chemical and imaging technologies plant in Rochester, New York, launched a Total Motor Program (TMP) in 1995 that has evolved into a very successful strategy for saving energy and money. The key is to use more energy-efficient motors.

At first, the program's focus was to consolidate the plant's inventory of motors and spare parts. Then, the TMP began focusing on ways to improve the energy efficiency of plant motors. Since between 40,000 and 50,000 motors are used in the plant's production processes at any given time, there is tremendous potential for savings.

Using the U.S. Department of Energy's Industrial Technologies Program MotorMaster+ software tool, plant engineers established a system for assessing motor efficiency and evaluating the energy savings potential of new motors. Since 2002, the plant has installed about 600 new NEMA Premium™ efficiency motors, saving 5.8 million kilowatt-hours and about $664,000 annually in energy and maintenance costs.

The Rochester location houses Kodak's corporate headquarters and its largest U.S. manufacturing facility, among other functions. Originally developed more than 100 years ago, the site covers eight square miles and contains 20 million square feet of building space. The Rochester plant has shared its motor efficiency program and experiences with at least one other plant, in Windsor, Colorado. Establishing a program like Kodak's TMP could help many facilities better manage their motor systems and identify opportunities for energy efficiency and cost savings.

MotorMaster+ contains a catalog of more than 20,000 AC motors and includes motor inventory management tools as well as methods for maintenance log tracking, efficiency analysis, savings evaluations, energy accounting, and environmental reporting. Plants can obtain MotorMaster+ free of charge either online or by calling the EERE Information Center (1-877-337-3463).

For more, see the complete Performance Spotlight and others on the ITP Web site. (PDF 370 KB). Download Adobe Reader.

NOTICE: This online publication was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. Neither the United States government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or any agency thereof.