The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Rosslyn, Va., continues to earn support for its new Premium Efficiency Electric Motor Program after the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) became the latest organization to endorse the program. This puts the utility industry stamp of approval on the program, considering that the Institute’s members serve more than 95% of all U.S. customers served by the shareholder-owned segment of the industry and generate approximately 70% of all the electricity generated by the nation’s electric companies. Additionally, the House of Representatives included language in the National Energy Conservation and Policy Act that would require government agencies to use the NEMA Premium efficiency motor specification as the standard for procurement.
According to NEMA, electric motors consume 10 to 25 times their purchase price in electricity each year; even small increases in efficiency can add up to energy savings that go directly to the bottom line. NEMA Premium is a program whose label makes it easy for purchasers to identify premium-efficiency electric motors. These motors—operating at efficiency levels 1% to 4% higher than the current energy-efficient motors in the marketplace—will save users money, optimize motor systems efficiency, improve reliability, and reduce electrical consumption and the pollution caused by electrical power generation.
In fact, the Department of Energy estimates the program will save 5,800 gigawatts of electricity and prevent the release of nearly 80 million metric tons of carbon emissions over the next decade—the equivalent of keeping 16 million cars off the road. NEMA Premium electric motor manufacturer partners represent about 80% of the U.S. electric motor manufacturing industry.
For more information, visit www.nema.org/premiummotors.
