Energy saver demo highlights huge opportunities

Inverters have been available for over 30 years, yet there remain many driven machines in industry that do not have them fitted. Matt Handley, who narrates the video, says: "I estimate up to 70 percent of the machines I see in UK production plants do not use an inverter with their drive motor. If fitted, most suitable applications would achieve payback in well under a year, then carry on saving energy for years to come.

"I think the trouble is that the decision to not fit inverters is often made by non-technical people. So we at Mitsubishi Electric have come up with the new demonstrator, which shows energy saving in a very simple and practical way. Delve a little deeper and you get the science behind the savings, which is summed up by the Cube Law."

The actual demo rig in Hatfield consists of two identical blower motors side by side, used to drive fans to support mini footballs in vertical transparent tubes. One motor is operated direct on line (DOL) and so runs permanently at full speed. A manually operated valve is used to restrict the airflow in the tube, mimicking many mechanical damping systems and the ball changes position accordingly.

The second motor is controlled by a Mitsubishi inverter drive, so its speed can be reduced to lower the ball. A Mitsubishi GOT series HMI touch screen is used to display and compare the power consumption of both motors.