A California-based company has developed a new form of high-efficiency switched reluctance motor which, it claims, will dramatically improve the performance of HVAC, refrigeration, pumping, and other applications.
In a webinar on Monday, March 12 2018, Software Motor Company (SMC) and the National Renewable Energy Labs (NREL) will present preliminary results from an independent refrigeration retrofit study involving WalMart and SMC motors.
Register for the webinar here!
The study measured comparative efficiency of SMC motors vs. installed induction motors at WalMart stores. SMC claims its motors will cut energy use by 20–50% compared to Nema Premium motors in the 1-5hp (0.75–3.7kW) range, and will typically pay for themselves within 6 to 36 months.
SMC, founded in 2013, is using a modified switched reluctance (SR) technology that it acquired from academics at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). Although existing SR motor designs are well-proven in harsh environments where high reliability is essential – such as mines and nuclear reactors – historically they have not been particularly efficient. SMC says that it has invented a combination of hardware improvements and novel control techniques that together deliver “unprecedented” reliability and efficiency.
Ryan Morris, SMC’s executive chairman, says “SMC aims to disrupt an industry that has seen little innovation over the last 40 years.” Morris says of their programmable motor with a matching smart drive: “It is fully programmable unlike anything else on the market,” he says. “We have made developments and improvements in the hardware and software – which is our secret sauce.”
The webinar will be presented at 2pm Eastern/11am Pacific (US) on March 12.
Register for the webinar here!
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