Motors and Drives
Motor-driven systems account for approximately 50 percent of all electricity generated in the world. This fact is what first attracted Advanced Energy to motors in the late 1980s, and what continues to push us today to make them as energy efficient and reliable as possible. Our team of motor and drive system engineers, combined with our internationally accredited test lab, provides a unique set of independent and unbiased services to governments, original equipment manufacturers, motor and drive manufacturers, distributors, motor repair facilities, utilities and others.
Services
Testing
Testing motors and drives is the foundation of everything we do. Do you need to validate a new motor and/or drive for your application? Have a challenging motor design problem to solve? Need motor efficiency or safety compliance for codes and regulations? Interested in variable frequency drive performance? Have motor reliability concerns? Need to review warranty claims or gain confidence in your motor repairs? We can help!
Our test lab follows procedures that are well documented, traceable and repeatable. All of our accreditations are based on ISO 17025, which means we are always in calibration and highly accurate. ISO 17025 is specific to test laboratories and is the basis for how we maintain our lab and approach all of our testing. We offer more than 100 years of combined engineering experience and have performed detailed tests on more than 3,500 motors in our lab.
Additional Testing Information:
Certifications
We offer certification and designation services for:
- AHRI 1210
- AHRI 1210 is a voluntary standard that was written and developed by leading variable frequency drive manufacturers in the HVAC industry. We are the sole source in the world authorized to perform AHRI 1210 testing.
- NORMA Oficial Mexicana (NOM)
- Since 2012, we have been the only independent motor efficiency testing lab outside of Mexico to receive NORMA Oficial Mexicana (NOM) designation for electric motor testing.
- AEDM Subsequent Verification
- We help our motor manufacturer customers achieve efficiency compliance and stay in compliance to legally distribute electric motors in commerce in the United States. One way we do this is by providing complete Alternative Efficiency Determination Method (AEDM) compliance services to make sure our clients are prepared for a potential DOE inspection.
- DOE Motor Efficiency Compliance Certification
- Do you have questions about whether a motor is covered by regulation? We assist our motor manufacturer customers with filing motor listings with the DOE in order to receive a compliance certification number.
- Certification Body
- We are recognized by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) and the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) as a Certification Body to ISO/IEC 17065 for Energy Efficiency Verification Services including small electric motors, electric motors and generators.
Training
Reducing energy costs while improving motor-driven systems can be simple with improved motor management practices. Our educational workshops and trainings are tailored to your needs, combining classroom instruction with hands-on activities. We can bring our world-class training to you or host it in our state-of-the-art training facility. Professional development hours and Continuing Education Units are available with our motor and drive classes.
Our workshops are tailored to a variety of audiences interested in achieving energy savings and reliability improvements with motor-driven systems. Participants include motor end users, trade associations, utility account representatives, motor service centers, government contractors, professional engineers, technicians and others.
Additional Training Information:
Research
Our motors and drives experts get excited about solving problems no one else has solved. We have an entrepreneurial spirit to find solutions with real-world possibilities, and we embrace new ideas and ways of thinking. We also actively engage in cooperative partnerships to develop research opportunities.
Motor and drive technologies are continually emerging, and they require the development of test standards for clarification and comparison. We help to define these standards with expert testing and new methods. New permanent magnet motor designs, and others, are developing quickly for applications ranging from appliances to transportation. Efficiency regulations are expanding to new motor types and motor-driven systems. We help to make sure these products can be tested accurately and investigate the impacts they may offer for energy savings and reliability.
New ideas are also being considered and developed for motor and drive applications. We get an early look at many of these technologies and help to move them to the market through prototype testing. Working with inventors on new motor designs is some of the most fun and exciting work we do in our lab. We conduct and support research under grants from the U.S. Department of Energy, state agencies, utilities and industry.
Programs
Proven Efficiency Verification Program
Quality is important in any process, and especially in motor repair. If you are paying for motor repair, you should have a specification that your motor repair vendor can meet. If you are selling motor repair, you should have a documented quality process to meet the increasing demands of your customers.
We offer a quality assurance program for motor repair, called Proven Efficiency Verification (PEV), that mutually benefits motor repair purchasers and providers. When a motor service center completes the PEV program requirements, it is entitled to use the Advanced Energy Certification Trademark.
In the first year, PEV includes a thorough on-site evaluation of the motor service center’s ability to maintain efficiency during the repair process. Once completed, before and after repair testing is conducted to validate the motor repair service center’s capabilities. Additionally, there are annual renewal requirements to meet each year to maintain certification.
Additional PEV Information:
EASA Accreditation
The Electrical Apparatus Service Association (EASA) launched the EASA Accreditation program in June 2014. With input from a committee of industry experts, and based on the EASA/ANSI AR100 specification, the EASA Accreditation program was developed by the motor repair industry for the motor repair industry. With our experience in electric motor repair, we were selected as a third-party auditor for this program.
The EASA Accreditation program works on a three-year cycle. An on-site audit is required in the first year, and internal audits are required the following two years with auditor oversight. The program cycle repeats in the fourth year, when a second site visit by the auditor is required to maintain accreditation.
To get started, motor service centers must file an EASA Accreditation Application directly with EASA. From there, we will provide complete program guidance with pre-audit conference calls, clarification on program requirements and advice on our most common findings and how to avoid them.
We have been an Allied Member of EASA for 25 years. Over that long history, we have had the fortune to participate on the Technical Committee, speak at the International, Regional and Chapter-level conferences, and remain true to our cause of energy efficiency. Few relationships last this long, and it is because of the people and valuable services that all EASA members provide. If you are interested in the EASA Accreditation program and are considering your third-party auditor, why not work with a fellow EASAn?
Additional EASA Accreditation Information:
AHRI Certified VFD Program
We are the sole source in the world authorized to perform AHRI 1210 testing. AHRI 1210 is a voluntary standard that was written and developed by leading variable frequency drive manufacturers in the HVAC industry. To meet the standard, drive manufacturers must report values of system efficiency, total harmonic distortion, peak voltage and rise time to AHRI for each VFD model they want to be certified. A random subset of drives is then selected by Underwriters Laboratories Inc. and delivered to our lab for testing. We test each of the selected drives and send the results back to UL, who verifies whether they are compliant with those reported by the manufacturer. If they are, that model of drives becomes certified by AHRI 1210.
Additional AHRI 1210 Information:
AEDM Subsequent Verification
We help our motor manufacturer customers achieve efficiency compliance and stay in compliance to legally distribute electric motors in commerce in the United States. One way we do this is by providing complete Alternative Efficiency Determination Method (AEDM) compliance services to make sure our clients are prepared for a potential DOE inspection.
We offer two programs to help our clients maintain sufficient records. The first is for clients who have achieved or are working toward National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) compliance. This program involves testing a few basic models per year per AEDM in a chosen NVLAP lab, with reports sent to Advanced Energy for verification to the AEDM. Advanced Energy defines the motor test plan, reviews all test reports and creates the documentation necessary to maintain the “subsequent verification of an AEDM.”
Our second AEDM maintenance program is for customers who do not have a NVLAP lab or are not planning to obtain this accreditation (though we do offer programs to motor manufacturers interested in obtaining NVLAP accreditation for their own labs.) Under this program, we perform all of the items listed above along with testing from our own NVLAP lab. We help each customer select a few basic models per AEDM, test them and prepare the necessary documentation for record-keeping. We analyze the database of your motor models on file with the DOE each year and make sure we vary testing to include as many basic models (over time) as possible.
Accreditations
NVLAP
In 1997, our lab became the first motor lab in the world to be accredited for motor efficiency testing by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), under the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP Lab Code: 200081-0). We remain the only independent motor lab in North America to hold this accreditation, which makes us uniquely qualified to help evaluate and validate motors, drives and related products.
ANCE MRA Renewal & NOM Designation
We recently renewed our mutual recognition agreement with the Asociación Nacional de Normalización y Certificación, A.C. (ANCE) to test to two standards: NOM-016-ENER-2016 (for three-phase motors) and NOM-014-ENER-2004 (for single-phase motors). Since 2012, we have been the only independent motor efficiency testing lab outside Mexico to receive NORMA Oficial Mexicana (NOM) designation for electric motor testing.
ISO/IEC 17025 Test Lab
Our motors and drives lab is accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 through the NVLAP accreditation program (NVLAP Lab Code: 200081-0). Each year, we have demonstrated our commitment to quality and high competence in producing valid results. We follow these international guidelines to promote confidence in our results and our independence as a test laboratory.
ISO/IEC 17065 Certification Body
We are recognized by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) and the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) as a Certification Body to ISO/IEC 17065 for Energy Efficiency Verification Services including small electric motors, electric motors and generators. Get started by filling out our New Client Application Form below. Once complete, please send to kbutler@advancedenergy.org. Additional program documentation and a directory of certified products are available upon request, free of cost.
*Disclaimer: Completion of Advanced Energy training courses or use of other motor and drive services does not influence likelihood of achieving motor efficiency certification.
Contact Us
We are committed to continual improvement and would love your feedback! We pride ourselves on being easy to contact, prompt, accurate and helpful in our support. Give us a call or send us an email to speak directly with our technical experts. We also collect anonymous comments and complaints through our online feedback form.
Kitt Butler, Senior Business Developer: 919-857-9017, kbutler@advancedenergy.org
Michael Lyda, Engineer & Laboratory Technical Director: 919-716-6391, mlyda@advancedenergy.org
