Bryan Kilgore, ERS, for Zondits Natural refrigerant solutions are booming in Japan. The number of transcritical CO2 systems installed in convenience stores and supermarkets has grown to over 2,400 installations – up from 190 in 2014. Japanese companies such as Panasonic, Sanden, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have developed and installed CO2 systems with outdoor condensing … Read more
Why bother with energy efficiency? Control Design, January 19, 2017 “The end user is looking for energy-efficient machines, but these users are also looking to do more work with fewer machines as a means of saving energy,” says Mark Sobkow, vice president of manufacturing solutions, RedViking in Plymouth, Michigan. “We do a lot of projects that focus … Read more
CO2 Utilization: A Look Ahead The Energy Collective, January 9, 2017 Finding ways to convert carbon dioxide from an energy and industrial sector waste product to a useful commodity could spur the development of new technologies, products, and industries while limiting emissions to the atmosphere of climate-altering pollutants. In 2016, U.S. policymakers demonstrated leadership in … Read more
The importance of drive train efficiency Control Engineering, December 6, 2016 Rather than breaking down the drivetrain into different sections and focussing on a single component, such as the motor, Bauer believes that a view should be taken of a single, ‘electro-mechanical’ package – one which must be fully integrated to achieve maximum performance. Despite … Read more
DOE Funds Projects to Develop Electric Motor Innovations ACHR News, December 8, 2016 The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced nearly $25 million for 13 projects aimed at advancing technologies for energy-efficient electric motors through applied research and development. The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Next Generation Electric Machines projects will address the … Read more
Novel refrigerator turns waste heat into sound waves to cool down stuff ZME Science, December 13, 2016 Japanese researchers have demonstrated an innovative refrigerator that employs a thermoacoustic engine to cool things down to a minimum temperature of -107.4 C. This sort of heat engines based on sound waves have been researched since the 1990s for … Read more
Boosting Energy Efficiency: Air Compressor Technology IEN, November 25, 2016 Faced with increasing competition, high energy costs, increased regulation and more aggressive sustainability goals, facility owners and plant managers are under extraordinary pressure to reduce costs, while achieving greater productivity and energy efficiency. Most industries use some form of air or gas compression to generate … Read more
NEXT GENERATION ELECTRIC MACHINES Department of Energy AMO’s Next Generation Electric Machines (NGEM) program is an RD&D effort leveraging recent technology advancements in power electronics and electric motors to develop a new generation of energy efficient, high power density, high speed, integrated medium voltage (MV) drive systems for a wide variety of critical energy applications. … Read more
Energy Efficiency of Computing: What’s Next? Electronic Design, November 28, 2016 For a long time, processor performance and peak output energy efficiency moved forward together at a rapid clip. The gains started well before 1965, the year Gordon Moore published his first projection. Peak output efficiency doubled about every 1.6 years from the dawn of … Read more
High Efficiency Motors Manufacturing Tomorrow, November 15. 2016 The final measured efficiency of a motor is calculated based only on the elements of the particular application they’re used in. For the motors themselves, without a load, manufacturers provide ratings based on standard formulas. To understand high efficiency motors you only need to know what makes … Read more