Using Permanent Magnet Motors In Variable Speed Appliances

Look around your house and you are likely to find a large number of electric motors. There is probably one in every appliance, from the hand mixers in the kitchen to the lawn mower fixing up the front yard. These days, electric motors are found in just about every room of the house.

Generally, the motors fall into one of three types. Brush motors are the most traditional and provide the highest torque with their variable speed operation. Brushless motors use induction to create spin. They are silent, sturdy and last for years. A third type uses microcontrollers and new magnet technology to offer the best of both worlds: a quiet, sturdy motor that provides variable torque.

We are familiar with the presence of micro controllers in control panels, like the dashboard of our car. We are now starting to see them in the motors that these panels control, as well. As we find it more and more important to work within the ecology of the planet, it becomes increasingly important that our motors are efficient, quiet and simple. The new electric motors provide all of that.

Whether you are running a food processor or a Poulan chainsaw, variable speed is what you need for optimum efficiency. Speed control can boost efficiency, in some cases by as much as 30 percent. These smaller motors also allow manufacturers to charge less for their products.

For large motors, like those used in washing machines, the microcontrollers are not a viable solution. The controllers are just too expensive. Instead, these motors are built with the new permanent magnet technology. They run at variable speeds, they run quietly, they don’t produce much waste heat and they save energy. They save water, too!

In fact, these permanent magnet motors are getting more and more popular. Because they use less raw material, such as copper and steel, their price points are less affected by the swings of the commodities market. And as their popularity grows, the overall prices of the magnets comes down, as well. Even now they are used in everything from cars to cell phones.

Of course, these wonders won’t work in every appliance. You won’t find one in your Homelite chainsaw any time soon, for example. But you will start seeing them more and more in refrigerators, drills, washing machines, pumps. With the high torque of traditional motors combined with the silent dependability of an induction motor, we have a perfect match.