Evaluating Motor Efficiency Under a Variety of Operating Conditions

CE-CERT’s Motor Efficiency Laboratory is the first independent electric motor testing center in the State of California capable of providing unbiased evaluation of motor efficiency at various operating conditions. This facility is available for use by the industry professionals, academics and other stake holders. This testing facility is capable of efficiency and load testing of electric motors up to 25 hp capacity. This facility is capable of testing either new and old HVAC motors, as well as the Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) or Adjustable Speed Drives (ASDs) up to 100 hp used for energy savings in many HVAC applications, as well as measure electrical system harmonics.

Research in the lab is focused on quantifying energy waste due to the: (i) use of lower efficiency motors,  (ii) use of oversized  motors in existing buildings, and (iii) selection of oversized motors in the architectural and engineering design stage of new buildings.  It is vitally important to make the information available to consumers, who can then use the information to make informed choices.  An additional, though longer-term goal, is to work with motor manufacturers and OEMs to produce future HVAC products which are proven energy savers. A third research objective is to evaluate commercial and in-house software used by architectural and engineering firms designing HVAC systems for inflated safety factors used in calculating three-phase motor sizes for buildings.