November 2014

Electro Static Technology

AEGIS Rings Make Sense for

The Environment and Your Bottom Line
VFDs Deliver Energy Savings, but
AEGIS Rings Make These Savings Sustainable

Download White Paper on

how to Specify AEGIS
Bearing Products

With the growing emphasis on green buildings and

processes and the quest for LEED certification, more
and more building designers, specifying engineers,
and process engineers are turning to variable frequency
drives (also known as VFDs or inverters). One of the
most promising energy savings technologies today,
VFDs can be used to control the speed of a motor,
thereby reducing the energy required to run it by 30%
or more. Consequently, they are being used more
and more in building and processing systems including
HVAC compressors, air handlers and fans, evaporators,
condensers, circulating water pumps, processing
and transfer pumps, and materials handling and
distribution systems.
But VFDs are not without their drawbacks. They induce
harmful voltages on the shafts of the motors they
control voltages that can discharge through
bearings, destroying them and severely diminishing the
reliability of entire systems. And, the cost of repairing or
replacing damaged bearings can wipe out any cost
savings generated by a VFD.

In their quest for energy efficiency, architects and

consulting-specifying engineers are turning to variable
frequency drives (VFDs) to reduce the power
consumption of motors. But VFDs can induce harmful
voltages on the shafts of the motors they control voltages that can destroy bearings, shorten motor
life, and leave critical building systems inoperable.

To make HVAC systems sustainable as well as energyefficient, proven long-term bearing protection is required.
Download Construction
Projects with AEGIS
Specified Brochure

Download AEGIS
HVAC White Paper

Proven in over a half million installations worldwide,

AEGIS Shaft Grounding Rings are the most reliable
and cost-effective method available today for protecting
motors from electrical bearing damage. Unlike discretepoint brushes, AEGIS Rings are designed with
continuous circumferential rows of conductive
microfibers that encircle the motor shaft to maintain a
low-impedance path from shaft to motor frame.
Because the microfibers ride on the shaft with barely
any friction, they do not require frequent replacement,
unlike conventional grounding brushes. Also unlike
conventional brushes, they remain effective in the
presence of moderate amounts of dirt, grease, and
other contaminants.
Thankfully, architects and engineers are becoming
better informed about the trade-offs from using VFDs
and the need for long-term bearing protection. Its no
wonder AEGIS Shaft Grounding Rings have become
the most specified solution to the growing problem of
electrical bearing damage.

Typical of unprotected motors, the waveform above

shows shaft voltage building up (to as much as
70 volts or more, peak-to-peak) until it overcomes
the dielectric properties of the bearing grease and
discharges destructively through the bearing.

To download a new white paper on how to specify

AEGIS Bearing Protection rings, click here.
For a sample of actual AEGIS specifications in
various construction specs, see our Construction
Projects Brochure.
Or for a case study for contractors on the costs of
failing to provide shaft grounding, click here.

In motors with AEGIS Bearing Protection Rings, harmful

shaft voltage is safely and continuously channeled to
ground, preventing bearing damage and extending
motor life.

Download AEGIS HVAC

Contractor Case Study

AEGIS Rings Deliver Dramatic ROIs

Installing AEGIS Rings not only makes sense from the
standpoint of process reliability and prevention of
downtime, it makes great sense financially even if you
consider only the costs of replacing damaged motors.
Consider the following facts:
Typically motor bearings are designed for L10 life of
40,000
- 60,000 hours (depending on type of bearing
Download Food Processing
Datasheet

and the conditions under which the motor/systems

operate). Assuming 24-hour per day operation, this
L10 life equates to 4.6 - 6.8 years of operation.

Electrical discharges produced by variable frequency

drives
(VFDs) can decrease life by 50-70%. As a

result, a motor that should last 4.6 - 6.8 years will, when
controlled by a VFD, typically last only 1.4 - 3.4 years!

For this analysis, we have ignored the installation cost

of the original motors. We have, however, assumed a
very modest labor cost of $100 for the installation of
each replacement motor.

Download Hospital
Datasheet

Return on Investment: Installing AEGIS Ring on 10HP VFD-Driven Motor

Motor Life
Shortest

Longest

Cost of Ownership WITHOUT AEGIS Bearing Protection

Cost of new motor WITHOUT AEGIS protection

L10 motor bearing life (running 24/7) hours/years
% of L10 bearing life WITHOUT AEGIS protection

Average motor life WITHOUT AEGIS protection hours/years

Motor replacements required to achieve the L10 life

Download HVAC
Datasheet

$1000

$1000

40,000 / 4.6

60,000 / 6.8

30%

50%

12,000 / 1.4

30,000 / 3.4

Cost of replacement motors (motor cost plus installation)

$3300

$1100

Total cost of new motor + replacement motors to reach L10 life

$4300

$2100

$935

$309

Annual Cost of Ownership (excluding downtime costs)

(continued on following page)

Protecting VFD-Driven Motors In:

(continued from prior page)

Distribution Centers

Return on Investment: Installing AEGIS Ring on 10HP VFD-Driven Motor

Faster Deliveries With Greater Energy Efficiency

In their efforts to minimize inventory and maximize ROI, many
companies have adopted just-in-time stocking practices. The
warehouses and distribution centers that serve these companies
have had to become fast and flexible. The use of VFDs on materials
handling and delivery systems not only saves energy, but
by precisely controlling motor speeds, it ensures smooth conveyor
operation and improves the materials handling process.

Motor Life

The Promise of VFDs

VFDs reduce energy consumption by allowing motors to run less
than full speed. When used to control conveyor, brake, and HVAC
motors, they can yield energy savings of 30% or more by running
motors at reduced speeds to compensate for changes in load.

The Need for Shaft Grounding on

VFD-Driven Motors
But, VFDs can damage the motors they control. They induce
currents on motor shafts that discharge through the bearings,
causing pitting, fluting, and catastrophic motor failure. Without
bearing protection, any savings from the use of VFDs can be
quickly wiped out by the cost of replacing motors and by system
downtime. To make conveyor systems sustainable as well as energy
efficient, a reliable method of bearing protection is required.

Applications:

Shortest

Belt or steel hinged conveyors

Incline or decline conveyors

Longest

Line shaft conveyors

Belt over roller conveyors
Powered roller conveyors
Live roller conveyors

Proven, Long-Term Bearing Protection

Brake motors

By diverting bearing currents safely to ground, AEGIS SGR Shaft

Grounding Rings ensure the reliable, long-term operation of VFDdriven motor systems, locking in energy savings and making these
systems truly sustainable and truly green!

HVAC systems and air handling units

Refrigeration systems,
condensers, and pumps

Cost of Ownership WITH AEGIS Bearing Protection

Ventilation fans

Cost of new motor WITH AEGIS installed

L10 motor bearing life WITH AEGIS installed hours/years

E l e c t r o S t a t i c Te c h n o l o g y | 1- 8 6 6 - 7 3 8 - 1 8 5 7 | w w w. e s t - a e g i s . c o m

Download Logistics
Datasheet

% of L10 bearing life WITH AEGIS protection

Motor replacements required to achieve the L10 life

Cost of replacement motors (motor cost plus installation)

$1150

$1150

40,000 / 4.6

60,000 / 6.8

100%

100%

$0

$0

$1150

$1150

Annual Cost of Ownership WITH AEGIS Bearing Protection

$250

$169

Annual Cost Savings WITH AEGIS Bearing Protection

$685

$140

% Annual Cost Savings

73%

45%

457%

93%

Total cost of new motor + replacement motors to reach L10 life

R
 OI from Using AEGIS Bearing Protection
Download Airport
Datasheet

Presenting AEGIS at ELECTRIC POWER CHINA

Adam Willwerth, Sales & Marketing Manager for
AEGIS, recently delivered a presentation on AEGIS
Shaft Grounding Rings at ELECTRIC POWER CHINA.
The 2014 International Exhibition on Electric Power
Automation Equipment and Technology was held on
October 22-24 at the China International Exhibition
Center in Beijing. More than 26,000 visitors from over 40
countries visited the exhibits and attended conferences
and presentations on topics such as Smart Grid
technology, power automation, green power generation,
and power transmission and distribution.
Mr. Willwerths presentation Bearing Protection and
Shaft Grounding Best Practices for Power Generation
and Large Motors was very well-attended and was
followed by a lively Q&A session.

Adam Willwerth, AEGIS Sales and Marketing

Manager, explaining the need for shaft grounding of
VFD-driven motors and the unique advantages of
AEGIS Bearing Protection Rings at ELECTRIC
POWER CHINA 2014. Adams presentation was
enthusiastically received and followed by a lively
question and answer session.

Traffic in the exhibit hall was brisk. So brisk, in fact, that

more than 80% of this years show exhibitors plan on
participating in next years ELECTRIC POWER CHINA
Exhibition and Conference, which will be held in
Shanghai in October 2015.

Electro Static Technology

31Winterbrook Road
Mechanic Falls, ME 04256

www.est-aegis.com

Toll-Free: 1-866-738-1857
TEL: (207) 998-5140
FAX: (207) 998-5143