June 1st is almost here, and many within the electric motor industry are scrambling under the pressure of what that means for manufacturing and production standards. Finalized May 2014, the New Integral Motor Rule is effective starting next month. This rule now requires 1-500 hp motors to meet Premium Efficiency requirements—prior to this, only classification of “Energy Efficient” was necessary.
Estimated to reduce carbon emissions by almost 400 million metric tons, this new rule only applies to AC motors 1 hp or larger and affects motors equipped with sealed, waterproof, or encapsulated windings. Also, unlike previous legislation, this regulation influences non-standard and customized AC motors.
In other words, many AC induction motor designs have been and will continue to receive rather substantial overhauls in the name of efficiency, energy independence, greenhouse gas reduction, and energy costs. However, this new rule only applies to a small percentage of the larger electric motor spectrum that extends beyond AC motor applications.
Motors not affected by this legislation include the following:
- Fractional Horsepower motors (motors less than 1 hp)
- DC motors
- Synchronous AC motors
- Permanent-magnet rotor AC motors
- Servo motors
- Motors with intermittent duty cycles
Since the majority of Groschopp’s motors fall within the Fractional Horsepower category, or rather, are smaller than the motors that this legislation governs, Groschopp is able to continue producing the electric motors many have come to rely on.
Creating motors with better efficiency simultaneously creates larger motors, potentially causing mounting, space, and weight compatibility problems (which, in turn, affects the speed and torque produced). Because Groschopp specializes in motors less than 1 hp (although we have created custom Universal motors as large as 2 ½ hp) customers won’t have to worry about these problems.