Environment and Resources Management
Voltage Controller
Most alternating current induction motors squander energy. Electric
motor drive systems are estimated to consume over half of all electricity
in the United States and over 70 percent of all electricity in industrial
applications. And to make a bad situation worse, energy costs are climbing.
Enter Power Efficiency Corporation's soft start energy saving motor controllers.
Based in Hackensack, New Jersey, Power Efficiency Corporation was specifically
formed to manufacture and market products exclusively developed from NASA
technology.
The original idea for a three-phase power factor controller with induced
electric and magnetic fields sensing was developed by Frank Nola, an engineer
at Marshall Space Flight Center. Patented by NASA in 1984, Power Efficiency
Corporation later licensed the technology.
Power Efficiency and two major distributors, Performance Control located
in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Edison Power Technologies of Paramus, New Jersey,
use the electronic control boards that represent the NASA developed technology
to assemble three different motor controllers.
These motor controllers are known by brand names: Power Commander, Performance
ControllerSM, and Energy Master. All three products have been
accepted by the marketplace. Customer lists include a large number of multi
-billion dollar companies, such as May Department Stores, Caesers Atlantic
City, Ford Motors, and American Axle.
Power Efficiency's Power Factor Controller (PFC) reduces excessive energy
waste in AC induction motors. The motor controller is a solid state unit
providing a reduced voltage start, reduced energy consumption and improved
power factor. The unit monitors the phase lag of the current and voltage
relationship in a motor that is operating at less than full mechanical
load. The controller cuts back the voltage to precisely what the motor
requires to maintain the rated speed and torque under the present load.
| Motor controller to reduce energy consumption
in AC induction motors was developed by NASA. The technology has been licensed
and is being widely used in many commercial applications. |
Volts, amps and watts are reduced and motor life is increased. The results
show up immediately as a financial savings at the utility meter. The significance
of the PFC lies in the fact that nearly a billion induction motors are
used daily. The motor controller is used in industries and applications
where motors operate under variable loads, including elevators and escalators,
machine tools, intake and exhaust fans, oil wells, conveyors, pumps, die
casting, and compressors.
In January 1997, Power Efficiency filed a patent application with the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its newly developed phase detector
technology.
"The reason for the change is based solely on the engineering changes
that have occurred in the manufacture of AC Induction motors," says
Power Efficiency Corporation president, Nicholas Anderson. "The original
NASA technology was excellent for the control of AC Induction motors manufactured
in prior years. The new patent applied for serves the specific purpose
of controlling motors that were not in existence when Frank Nola received
his patents, and the patent we have applied for would not exist without
the NASA patents and technology," Anderson says.
Recently, Power Efficiency Corporation became a public corporation and
is traded on the NASDAQ. While the offering was small, but successful,
the company is poised for future growth.
"We are truly indebted to NASA for our start and our success,"
says Anderson.
SM Performance Controller is a salesmark of Power Efficiency
Corporation.
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