Saving Energy with Eco Drive Systems

The share of total energy consumption of all industries for electric drive systems is 70 per cent, according to expert estimates. This is not only a significant cost factor – there is also a large optimisation and savings potential hidden here. The NORD ECO service helps companies to reveal this potential and to find the most efficient drive solution for their application.

“The first step is the comprehensive collection of measurement values”, Jörg Niermann, Head of Marketing at NORD, explains. For this purpose, the so-called NORD ECO BOX, a mobile inverter cabinet, is connected between the motor and the power supply. The NORD ECO BOX consists of an energy measuring device with data logger function, current transformer and cable connections.

Over a period of about two weeks, the box records data in real time about permanent loads, load peaks and irregular conditions. Once the survey is completed, the results are uploaded to software developed by NORD that automatically evaluates the data.

Identifying over-dimensioning and optimising systems

NORD offers the ECO service for systems with both its own and third-party components. “The measurements over time make it possible to create a load cycle for the system. This shows whether a system’s dimensioning corresponds to the requirements of the respective application, Niermann explains. “We often see drive systems that are oversized for the corresponding application.” If a system is driven with the drive recommended by NORD, the company offers to carry out a remeasurement. As part of a TCO analysis (Total Cost of Ownership), the most cost- and energy-efficient solution can then be determined.

Variant reduction for more efficiency

For large systems with several drives, such as in intralogistics, the analysis with the NORD ECO service can significantly reduce the number of different drive systems. This helps to minimise administrative costs and streamlines production, logistics, storage and service processes. NORD offers high-efficiency motors with constant torque over a large speed range, which are ideally suitable for variant reduction.

With over 4,800 employees today, NORD DRIVESYSTEMS has developed, produced and sold drive technology since 1965, and is one of the leading global full-service providers in the industry. In addition to standard drives, NORD delivers application-specific concepts and solutions for special requirements such as energy-saving drives or explosion-protected systems. In the 2021 financial year, annual sales amounted to 870 million Euros. NORD has 48 subsidiaries in 36 countries and further sales partners in more than 50 countries. They provide technical support, local stocks, assembly centres and customer service. NORD develops and produces a wide range of drive solutions for more than 100 industries, gear units for torques from 10 Nm up to over 282 kNm, supplies electric motors in the power range of 0.12 kW to 1,000 kW, and supplies the required power electronics with frequency inverters of up to 160 kW. Inverter solutions are available for conventional control cabinet installations as well as for decentralised, fully integrated drive units.