Vacon : AC drives helped save 24 hours of global electricity production in 2014

09.03.2015 08:00:00 CET

Vacon Plc, Press Release, 9 March 2015 at 9.00 (EET)

Global AC drives manufacturer Vacon estimates that its products helped save approximately 62 TWh of energy in 2014. Also, the amount of energy produced last year from renewable energy sources with Vacon's AC drives was approximately 25 TWh.

About 62 TWh (55 TWh in 2013) of electrical energy was saved last year with the help of Vacon AC drives. This corresponds to the amount of energy produced by approximately eleven 700-MW nuclear power reactors in a year, or the annual electricity consumption of approximately 13.8 million households in Europe. This also corresponds to approximately 24 hours of the world's annual electrical energy generation1.

In addition, in 2014, the amount of energy produced with the help of Vacon's AC drives from renewable energy sources was approximately 25 TWh (22 TWh in 2013). This corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of approximately 5.5 million households in Europe, or approximately 9.5 hours of the world's entire annual electrical energy generation1.

An AC drive adjusts the speed of an electric motor according to the real process need, which typically reduces energy consumption by 20-50%. According to studies, the payback time of AC drives has continuously shortened. For example, in pump and fan applications the payback time can even be less than one year. In addition, AC drives technology can also be used for power conversion in renewable energy applications.

"Vacon has delivered AC drives since 1995. From the technological perspective, AC drives will be more energy efficient and offer better performance in the future. Competing or substitute technical solutions do not exist for AC drives and are not within sight," says Vesa Laisi, Vacon's President and CEO.

1 World's electricity production data: Key World Energy Statistics 2014, International Energy Agency (IEA).

• Vesa Laisi, President and CEO, Vacon Plc, phone +358 (0)40 8371 510, vesa.laisi(at)vacon.com

• Sebastian Linko, Director, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, Vacon Plc, phone +358 (0)40 8371 634, sebastian.linko(at)vacon.com

Vacon in brief:

Vacon is driven by a passion to develop, manufacture and sell the best AC drives and inverters in the world - and provide customers with efficient product lifecycle services. Our AC drives offer optimum process control and energy efficiency for electric motors. Vacon inverters play a key role when energy is produced from renewable sources. Vacon has production and R&D facilities in Europe, Asia and North America, and sales offices in 32 countries. Further, Vacon has sales representatives and service partners in nearly 90 countries. In 2014, Vacon's revenues amounted to EUR 409.4 million, and the company employed globally approximately 1,600 people. The shares of Vacon Plc (VAC1V) are quoted on the main list of the Helsinki stock exchange (NASDAQ OMX Helsinki). Vacon is part of the Danfoss Group.

Driven by Drives, www.vacon.com

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