Energy efficiency improvements for small motors in household appliances: draft study of the italian market.

Over the last decades manufacturers have been continuously and more rapidly working on technological innovations, which have been considered like an outstanding differentiation factor providing a competitive asset on the marketplace. The energy consumption issue has represented a strong push in the quest for new and less energy-intensive solutions, especially considering how important this topic has become in the economic and political agenda of each country. This paper proposes an overview of the energy saving potential embodied in the improvement of the fractionary motors efficiency, by applying an easy-tounderstand methodology to assess both energy and emission savings. The results have been carried out with respect to the Italian situation of residential energy consumption, by relaying either on public or on private information, which have been disclosed by anonymous motors suppliers of national appliances manufactures, leaders in the Italian market. At this early stage the aim is to give consistency to such a misunderstood potential; despite of relying on a mix of data and sources, further checks on the bench are up to be scheduled in one of our laboratories, to give some data, currently taken for granted, a sound legitimacy. Various consumption scenarios for the residential sector have been proposed in the case of a programmed penetration of such motors and their replacement in the future appliances’ market. Although, the related LCC analyses have not been considered, yet they are scheduled to be performed later in the ongoing research. First encouraging results have shown that the perspective of such savings over 5 years could be compared with the year 2000 wind mills production in the country. Half of this value could come from improvements in the refrigerators’ and freezers’ motors. The results are also going to be commented from the forthcoming Italian energy legislation point of view (decrees April 24th, 2001 and subsequent guide lines).