Keeping our world clean does not always require a brand new invention. It often simply requires a willingness to examine the efficiency and safety of products that already exist. Electric motors are not new. However, there have been improvements in the past decade that bring less mechanical breakdowns and huge cost savings.

Electric motors are used in windmills

Across the United States, windmills are being used to generate electrical power to communities. Wind energy creates electricity. Harnessing that natural current of wind makes for a very profitable energy source without harming the environment. Electric motors are used to rotate the heads of windmills 360 degrees to keep the blades in the wind's current. In the early 1990s, these particular electric motors used inferior technology and failed. Windmills use common electric motors that are easily overhauled. With improvements in the past decade, these updates that make them better than new.

Electric motors are used in gate-operated dams

Not only is wind being harnessed to create electricity, water is being used. Gate-operated dams require electric motors to open and close the gates. Nine times out of ten, these motors are obsolete. This makes it difficult to find replacement motors. Now, with the latest technological advances, these same motors can be upgraded. This saves time and money. Since the same motor housing can be used, there is no longer a need to change the mounting hardware, pulleys and wiring. Even the same electrical phase can be used. When these motors are upgraded, they are better than when they were new.

What improvements have been made to these motors?

It can truly be said that updating existing motors make them better than they ever were. Now that standards have been raised, old motors can be retrofitted into high-premium efficiency motors. Here is why.

Rewinding materials and techniques rise above the standards of decades past. Now, spike-resistant wire (also called inverter duty) replaces the older wires that failed sooner. The bearings used on the spindles and shafts are made of harder steel and alloys creating a longer-lasting bearing. The H-class insulation now used in the motor case can withstand higher temperatures and allows the motors to run cooler. This cooler motor will run more efficiently and last longer. The wire is now chemical resistant. Therefore, in those applications where harsh chemicals are used around electrical motor equipment, this improvement is very welcome. Heat-resistant polyurethane varnish reduces the amount of air that floats around the wire. When properly applied, this improved varnish improves the life of the wires, keeping your motor running efficiently and faster. Lithium grease, an old standard in electric motors is now being replaced in the higher heat applications. Newer, heat-resistant greases enable the motors to run with less friction in the more extreme elements.

With a renewed awareness on the environment and the desire to use natural, sustainable resources, the recent improvements in the electrical motor industry are welcome. The need to purchase new motors is now being reconsidered when existing motors can be updated with wiring, insulation and greases which create more efficiency. The forces brought by wind and water can be used with higher efficiency while keeping costs minimal.