First Mining Drc-Zambia Sep/Oct 2017 FMDRC-Zambia Sep Oct | Page 51

Products & SERVICES Don't underestimate your motors' hunger for power, warns Zest WEG Most readers will be surprised that over 40% of existing assets. A WEG IE3 motor driving a pump. global electricity is consumed by electric He says the cost of running a motor, even motors, and even more surprised that the gure viewed over just 12 or 24 months, is many times Zest WEG Group was the rst equipment for South Africa is higher still, according to Zest greater than the motor's original purchase supplier to move from IE2 compliant (high WEG Group sales engineer Machiel de Bruyn. price. efficiency) to IE3 compliant (premium “is is an indication that most farmers are not “Up to 90% of an electric motor's cost of efficiency) motors, raising the bar with WEG's t-for-purpose design for the African market. fully aware of how much their motors are ownership relates to the power it consumes, so Using even less electricity than the old IE2 costing them in electricity,” says De Bruyn. “In it may not make sense to keep repairing a low- units, WEG IE3 motors were introduced at no additional cost to Zest WEG Group customers. turn, this explains why many farms hang on to efficiency motor in the belief that this is a cost- old, inefficient motors for longer than they saving exercise,” he says. “In fact, modern high- should, thinking they are saving money.” efficiency motors can pay for themselves in a De Bruyn says many farmers have also reduced Farms incur particularly high electricity costs to relatively short time, and then start saving the energy costs by installing variable speed drives drive pumps in energy-heavy functions like farm money into the future.” (VSDs), which control the speed at which An effective strategy employed by some of the output at any stage in the pumping cycle. irrigation. While in previous deca