The permanent magnet motor technology from Control Techniques & Leroy-Somer, paired with a Leroy-Somer Powerdrive high-power modular drive, allowed a Belgium-based producer of dairy products to achieve energy saving of at least 18% in its refrigeration process. As part of an investment package, Inex, a company founded in 1898, acquired four new industrial refrigeration systems, equipped with three compressors supplied with standard Leroy-Somer IE2 (90kW) asynchronous AC motors, and one with a Leroy-Somer IE4 (105kW) synchronous permanent magnet motor from the Dyneo range.
The refrigeration systems cool down milk after pasteurization or sterilization, operating almost continuously but at variable load, an optimal application for permanent magnet motors which performances retain almost constant at partial load. Power measurements done by Control Techniques and Leroy-Somer’s experts on site in Inex showed that comparing two refrigeration units working at the same conditions, the one featuring the synchronous magnet motor running at 1.500 rpm and Leroy-Somer Powerdrive achieved energy savings between 18-21%, tested across a range of different load profiles, compared to the one housing a standard asynchronous motor running at 1.487 rpm with a competitor drive.