The implementation of China's new motor energy efficiency standards will help many industries achieve the "double carbon" goal

Under the national goals of "carbon peaking" and "carbon neutrality", improving energy efficiency is a severe challenge faced by all electricity-related industries. As the power source for electrical appliances and various other machinery, motors are not only widely used in various industries, but are also large consumers of electricity. According to statistics from the United States and the European Union, the electricity consumption of motors accounts for about 42% to 50% of the total electricity consumption. The electricity consumption of three-phase asynchronous motors accounts for about 90% of the total electricity consumption of motors. Motors with 37kW and below account for the total electricity consumption of motors. About 50% of the battery capacity. Setting reasonable motor energy efficiency limits will not only help China achieve its "double carbon" goal as scheduled, but also promote the energy efficiency upgrade of motor products. #1
The standard has a wider scope of application and energy efficiency is comprehensively improved.
With the advancement of motor production technology and energy-saving technology, the energy efficiency indicators and energy efficiency grade requirements of GB 18613-2012 and GB 25958-2010 can no longer satisfy the latest motor technology development. This is the fundamental reason for the birth of GB 18613-2020.
The new standard is revised based on the two old standards GB 18613-2012 and GB 25958-2010, so it has a wider scope of application. "Electrical Appliances" reporters found that the new standards stipulate the energy efficiency levels, energy efficiency limit values and test methods of three-phase asynchronous motors, single-phase asynchronous motors, and motors for air-conditioning fans.
Compared with GB 18613-2012, the new standard deletes the target energy efficiency limit value of the motor and the motor energy saving evaluation value, and increases the requirements for the energy efficiency limit value of the three-phase asynchronous motor, from the original IE2 to IE3. At the same time, the new standard revised the scope of application. Among them, the new standard reduces the minimum power of three-phase asynchronous motors from 0.37kW to 0.12kW, increases the maximum power from 375kW to 1000kW, and increases the energy efficiency level of 8-pole three-phase asynchronous motors. Compared with GB 25958-2010, the new standard improves the energy efficiency index requirements for capacitor-start asynchronous motors, capacitor-run asynchronous motors, and dual-value capacitor asynchronous motors; deletes the energy efficiency index requirements for air-conditioning fan motors, and adds capacitor-run motors for air-conditioning fans. Energy efficiency index requirements for brushless DC motors used in air-conditioning fans.
For three-phase asynchronous motors, the energy efficiency indicators of the new standard are consistent with IEC 60034-30-1. The energy efficiency levels 1, 2, and 3 in the standard correspond to IE5, IE4, and IE3 of the IEC indicators respectively.
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It is difficult to meet the standards, and companies face cost pressures
If motor manufacturers want their products to meet the requirements of new standards, they must be fully prepared to produce and sell more energy-efficient motors in terms of technology, equipment, processes, materials and sales. From the perspective of three-phase asynchronous motors, companies need to increase costs, especially the cost of materials, to comprehensively improve motor energy efficiency. Compared with the IE2 model, the cost of the IE3 model has increased by about 20%; the cost of the IE4 model has also increased significantly compared with the IE3 model. Especially with the current high prices of raw materials such as steel and copper, the challenges faced by motor companies are obvious.
Although it is difficult to meet the standards, motor companies still use various methods to improve energy efficiency while balancing cost and performance. Take VICTORY as an example. VICTORY mainly optimizes the design of the motor from the electromagnetic aspect: first, it uses lower-loss electrical steel sheets and more advanced iron core manufacturing processes to reduce iron loss; second, it uses multiple measures to reduce impurities. The third is to use optimized air path structure and high-efficiency bearings to reduce mechanical consumption. In addition, to improve motor energy efficiency, motor companies can also make targeted improvements in production processes (such as processing accuracy) and production equipment.
Regarding the significance of the implementation of the new standards, starting from the GB 18613-2006 version, China's motor industry has officially begun to catch up with the motor energy efficiency levels of developed countries. GB 18613-2012 China’s motor energy efficiency level is basically close to the energy efficiency level of major developed countries. The launch of the new standard marks that China has officially become a leader in motor energy efficiency. The energy efficiency limit value specified in the new standard is higher than the current energy efficiency standards of most countries. The implementation of this standard will have a huge impact on the entire motor industry. The increase in motor energy efficiency limits will greatly raise the threshold of the motor manufacturing industry. A large number of motor factories with weak technical strength will be eliminated. Industry concentration will increase. At the same time, motor The mainstream products in the market will gradually change from IE3 and IE4 to IE4 and IE5.