Dwindling resources, spiralling energy costs, increasingly stringent international regulations, and the trend towards cutting carbon emissions has meant that technology leaders such as SEW-EURODRIVE are focusing more and more on optimising energy requirements.
In order to realise such savings, numerous system components have to be analysed to realise the full energy-saving potential of drive technology applications. It is important to bear in mind that energy-efficient solutions that save the desired energy in one application could lead to a higher overall energy consumption in another.
Therefore a ‘one-fits-all’ approach is not suited at all, which means that the customer-focused, total solutions approach offered by SEW-EURODRIVE results in optimal savings, comments National Sales Manager Norman Maleka.
“A comprehensive range of resources is available to plant manufacturers and operators to help identify energy-saving opportunities in the field of electric drive technology. This includes an energy consulting service, based on a modular and customisable concept in terms of optimisation and technical implementation,” Maleka comments.
An energy-saving calculator is offered as a free software tool, which allows customers to compare the energy consumption of standard and energy-efficient motors.
The payback period of the investment required can then also be calculated, with the results downloadable in .PDF format. In addition, the SEW Workbench project planning tool reveals the overall energy consumption for a specific application and its configured drive train in the form of an energy analysis report.
Global energy-efficiency regulations can be perused as a smartphone app, or by visiting www.ie-guide.de, where carbon dioxide and energy-saving potential can be calculated, in addition to full technical details of the changeover to energy-efficient motors, such as SEW-EURODRIVE’s introduction of the latest IE3-compliant DRN motor range.
In terms of some of the latest product developments, the MOVIGEAR® mechatronic drive system, which combines an energy-efficient gear unit, motor, and frequency inverter, has received the TÜV SÜD Energy-Efficient Plant Technology certificate. The MOVIDRIVE® MDR regenerative power supply unit and MOVIAXIS® multi-axis servo inverters are additional examples of energy-saving innovations from SEW-EURODRIVE.
The effiDRIVE® energy-saving solution allows customers to realise measurable success in this regard by optimising energy consumption in order to reduce costs. The solution allows the customer to select mature, energy-optimised components from a system of modular components as the best fit for a specific application. The determined energy demand, energy costs, and carbon dioxide emissions form the basis for creating a customised, energy-efficient, totally ‘green’ drive solution.