COOL, CALCULATED EFFICIENCY

Plant operators are keen to identify potential savings in the current economic climate but when it comes to deciding whether to repair or replace motors the variables can be so numerous that making an accurate calculation is often a daunting prospect. The decision as to whether to maintain or replace a motor can also be clouded by emotional or ‘gut’ feelings about what might be the best route to take. The best option is to take a coolly logical approach; if you have the attitude, and the means, to be objective and take into account all the variable factors, you can then reach a decision that will deliver the most cost-effective result for the plant.

However, there is a third factor at work that has made this decision-making task a historically difficult one to achieve. Even with the right attitude and an iron will to make the most informed decision, plus the tools with which to provide yourself with enough data, there has simply not been enough hours in the day to collate all this information, or to combine it and provide a useable result.

With a daunting decision to make, the easiest option has often been to repair the current motor, the view being that this will probably demand the least headaches and upheaval, not to mention the fact that a repair is frequently thought to be cheaper than a replacement. If you are running motors frequently, this is unlikely to be the case; however, in some situations, the decision to take the repair option, arrived at through simple gut instinct, can be the best. Even so, it is not an objective decision put to the test by calculation; it is a haphazard choice that may have prevented the plant from making long-term efficiency and cost gains by exploring other possibilities. For while maintaining an existing motor is likely to be cheaper, in the short term this consideration has little to do with Total Cost of Ownership.

ERIKS has developed an extremely effective online tool that enables engineers to make an objective, cost-effective decision when repairing or replacing a motor because it works out the best option based on total cost of ownership, demonstrating ERIKS’ unbiased repair and replace capabilities. The ERIKS Online TCO Calculator uses data relating to your current motor to calculate key statistics, such as annual running cost, carbon footprint, energy usage in kilowatt hours, and so on. The user can then view the total cost of ownership for the year, or for fifteen years, or any period of years in between.

The results provided by the the cost of repairing and running your existing motor, replacing it with a standard IE2 motor, or replacing it with an energyefficient IE3 motor. The TCO even includes the Enhanced Capital Allowance claim value and the end-of-life scrap value.

Supporting such an unbiased decision may not be in the interest of other suppliers who do not both repair and replace motors. However, ERIKS believes that neutrality in choosing between repair or replace options is key to making the most costeffective decision. The demo version of the ERIKS Online TCO Calculator is currently available here: http://motordemo.eriks.co.uk, with the full version being offered to customers with a motor management contract, with all their personal specific information pre-loaded onto the tool.

ERIKS’ innovative online tool represents another step forward in providing engineers with sophisticated, convenient tools with which to support plant performance and efficiency.

The potential for online calculators to produce comprehensive reports, comparing a wide range of variables, based on usage and component specifications, continues to provide the best motor replace and repair options for any application, including multiple motor installations. In the future it looks likely that we will see much greater use of these tools, and sometimes on the move, given the ability of smart phone apps. Armed with a comprehensive set of figures relating to your specific operations provided by online calculation tools, you can then make an informed decision that protects plant profitability and performance.