NEMA Launches Electric Motor Program

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Rosslyn, Va., along with the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE), recently launched “NEMA Premium,” a set of national electric motor efficiency standards projected to save more than 5800GWh of electricity and prevent the release of almost 80 million metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere over the next 10 years. The standards are generally 1% to 2% stronger than minimum federal standards set by the Energy Policy Act of 1992. Motors meeting the new specifications will be called NEMA Premium.

According to NEMA, many users and motor repair shop workers have been confused over the lack of consistency in terms describing integral motor “premium efficiency” performance by third parties and manufacturers. In response, the U.S. electric motor industry reached consensus earlier this year on a specification defining premium-efficient motors. The definition will appear in the NEMA electric motor performance and application standards. By directly relating motor efficiency to systems application needs, manufacturers using the NEMA Premium program expect to reduce user confusion.