His research interests include electrical machines and devices, power quality, and power-system protection and control. Boštjan Polajžer is the head of the Power Engineering Institute at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Maribor.vii
Preface to "Energy Efficiency in Electric Devices, Machines and Drives"Energy efficiency is one of the issues that cannot be avoided when dealing with electrical devices, machines, drives, and systems. Products that do not achieve the minimum efficiency levels specified in standards cannot be sold and every increase in energy efficiency reduces energy consumption and thus the cost of energy supply. Improvements in energy efficiency on a global scale reduce the energy demand and increase the energy supply, which indirectly reduces greenhouse gas emissions.The key element in improving the energy efficiency of electrical devices, machines, and drives is the reduction of losses, which can be achieved using various methods. The development of new materials seems to be the most challenging. New solutions in design, design improvements, and optimization can contribute significantly to improving energy efficiency. When an electrical device or machine is manufactured, further improvements in energy efficiency can be achieved by an appropriate selection and matching of power electronic components with the inherited characteristics of machines or devices. Proper control of systems consisting of electrical devices or machines, and power electronics components based on advanced system models can further improve the overall energy efficiency of systems. When electric devices, machines, and drives operate within a system, a properly implemented energy management system, based on in-depth knowledge of the technological process, can improve energy efficiency at the system level. Some cases of the aforementioned approaches to improving energy efficiency are discussed in this Special Issue.