Under Cover: House wins, Manufacturers win

August 1, 2010

A motor efficiency controller cut the average kilowatt consumption on escalators in Caesars Palace and Bellagio casinos by more than a third. The same technology improves energy efficiency in conveyors, elevators, crushers, and shredders.

If you’ve ever taken the lobby escalator at Caesars Palace or the Bellagio Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, you were probably more concerned about the change in your pocket than the change underfoot, but beneath the elevator belt is new motor drive technology that reduces energy consumption by roughly 36 percent.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), electric motors are the largest end users of electricity in the U.S. Many motors waste enormous amounts of energy. This is because when motors are lightly loaded, or operate under “variably loaded” environments, they tend to be inefficient. For example, motors in escalators are designed for the heaviest-case scenario—usually two passengers alight on each and every step. But this rarely happens, which means the motor often is lightly loaded and wasting electricity.

While induction motors are designed to run efficiently at high loads, in many applications they can run at less than 40 percent of full load for significant periods of time.

Power Efficiency Corp., Las Vegas, designs, develops, markets, and sells motor efficiency controllers that reduce energy consumption in AC induction motors. The company’s proprietary technology platform, called E-Save Technology®, saves energy in constant-speed motor applications, effectively providing “cruise control” for a range of variable-load motors.

Recently NV Energy, Nevada’s electric utility, performed a 10-day energy savings test on two 40-HP escalators (one up, one down) at Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Power Efficiency’s motor efficiency controller lowered the average kilowatt usaage on the up escalator from 6.08 to 4.01 kW for a (34 percent energy savings) and on the down escalator, from 6.08 to 4.00 kW (36.5 percent energy savings) for an average energy savings of 35.25 percent, $3,062.49 annually at a rate of $0.08/kWh, and CO2 reduction of 29 tons.

A similar test was conducted at the Bellagio Resort and Casino on two 20-HP escalators (one up, one down). Average savings were 37.14 percent, $2,131.70 annually at a rate of $0.09/kWh, and annual CO2 reduction of 18 tons.

E-Save Technology uses patented algorithms to monitor motors and provide them with the optimal amount of power required to perform a given mechanical task—thereby reducing energy use without changing the motor speed.

The company estimates that its technology can save the U.S. manufacturing industry $1.7 billion annually in electricity costs for large motors in industrial and commercial applications, such as crushers, shredders, conveyors, and elevators. The controller can be included in new equipment or retrofitted onto existing equipment. 

Power Efficiency Corp., 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 460, Las Vegas, NV 89169, 800-975-9111, sales@powerefficiency.com www.powerefficiency.com