Techno-Economic Evaluation of Energy Efficiency Measures in Iranian Industrial 3-Phase Electric Motors

Review of electric energy consumption in different countries shows that electric motors are among the most intensive electricity consumer equipments. Statistics indicate that about two third of industrial electricity in Iran is consumed through motor driven systems. Thus, it seems that these consumers would have considerable potential for energy conservation. In order to promote energy efficiency in these equipments, various methods have been developed during recent years. This research work dedicated to cost-benefit assessment of utilizing these methods in 3-phase electric motors of Iranian industries. Comparison among these measures has been done in a long time horizon (2004-2029) and by considering techno-economic parameters of electric motors, their energy efficiency measures, demand for motive power in industry and electricity price in this period. The results have been sensitivity analyzed in various scenarios of electricity price and costs of energy efficiency measures. The results of major scenarios suggest that utilizing these measures has noticeable benefits for national economy and in the 25 years of the study period leads to 74.8 GWh reduction in electricity consumption, elimination the need to 570 MW power plants capacity and $1.6 billion reduction in total costs of the energy sector. Using high efficiency electric motors, adjustable speed drives and current voltage controllers are most important recommended results of the study.