1. Introduction

Electric motors are used in various applications in domestic, commercial and industrial situations. Every organisation runs at least one motor, if not hundreds or thousands, to drive pumps, conveyors, refrigeration equipment and other processes that require motive (moving) force.

In a typical organisation, running costs can be up to 100 times the purchase price of a motor over its service life. The electricity consumed can account for more than half an organisation's energy costs. Inefficient and poorly maintained systems can also lead to reduced profits, unnecessary downtime, and even safety risks.

Best practice leads to improved motor system reliability and efficiency, significant and cost effective savings, higher profits, and lower energy costs and ultimately lower greenhouse gas emissions.

In Australia more than 1.7 million three phase electric motors run in industrial and commercial facilities, and account for nearly half of the energy used across all types of industry. Efficient operation of each and every motor will make a considerable contribution to cost savings in particular to running costs and greenhouse emissions.

The savings opportunities are enormous considering that the energy consumed by electric motors costs industry close to $3 billion a year and produces 37 million tonnes of carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels like coal, gas, diesel, petrol to run the generators that power motors.

Organisations can cut the energy a motor requires by between 10 and 25 percent through better selection and management practices. For Australian industry, each percentage point improvement in motor system efficiency translates to savings of nearly 370,000 MWh (mega watt hours) of electricity and an associated 380,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. This is like taking 9000 cars off the road.

Total operating costs are also reduced through careful selection. A motor bought for $1600 may cost as much as $13000 a year to run and amount to a total operating cost of $195000 over a 15-year lifetime. Best practice selection can reduce the total operating cost by as much as $16000, or ten times the initial purchase price.