The current big issue of ‘energy efficiency’ is being discussed by the general public, the daily press and the media. Hence, public debate is dominated by buzzwords and phrases related to automobile CO2 emissions, energy saving light bulbs in homes, and the effective insulation of public and private buildings. In truth the goals in question are of a much broader scope, as can be seen in Austrian government’s ‘energy efficiency action plan’ released in 2007; a national response to the EU directives in the EU ‘end energy efficiency guideline 2006/32/EG’.

The aforementioned EU guideline set a target for the nine years from 2007 to 2016 during which each EU member state is expected to cut back its annual energy consumption by 9% of the average measured for that country between 2001 and 2005. For Austria this equates to an overall saving of 80.4 PJ (Petajoules). By the end of 2010 the saving is expected to be 17.9 PJ or 2% of the average annual consumption. To achieve these targets Austria has compiled its first ‘energy efficiency action plan’. Among other things the plan includes a series of measures for the manufacturing sector. These are aimed at programmes, energy services and other steps designed to improve energy efficiency in those industries, trades and businesses not bound to emission trading.

The VIENNA-TEC 2010 is the largest and most comprehensive, and overall the most important domestic trade fair for trade and industry. At the third edition of the show on the 12th – 15th October 2010 visitors are now to be presented with broad coverage of the key issue of energy efficiency.
Especially as these issues are being discussed in all corners, and yet the debate is often fairly one-dimensional and theoretical, the organisers, Reed Messe Wien have worked closely with the fair’s advisory committee to give an issue with such significance for the future as ‘energy efficiency’ a very strong practical grounding; one which is to be evident in all six areas of the VIENNA-TEC.

Sharp focus will be placed on ‘real’ products such as building components, parts, equipment, tools, and machinery, as well as complete systems. The core idea and goal is to make the new central ‘energy efficiency’ theme the focus of attention of the VIENNA-TEC 2010 in order to introduce visitors to the relevance and significance of energy efficiency measures and, above all, to showcase the modern technologies and innovative solutions currently available with the potential to increase energy efficiency by featuring several concrete developments and practical examples.

Overall this core issue deals with the broad range of business and industrial activities connected with energy efficiency, showcasing ways in which the solutions can contribute to the long-term success of a company, as can be seen in tangible return-on-investment. Hence, energy efficiency is also a question of cost efficiency.

There has been a conscious effort not to set limits to the spectrum of measures aimed at increasing energy efficiency. On the contrary, the variety of issues dealt with at this fair allows visitors to gain a comprehensive overview of the numerous solutions on offer.

This starts at the IE INDUSTRIEELEKTRONIK trade fair in the components sector in which the various elements are becoming ever smaller and more efficient at saving energy, while emitting even less heat.

High, medium and low voltage technology is showcased at the ENERGY-TEC trade fair. Current progress can be seen in the new low-wastage switching devices and the shrinking sizes of appliances, as well as in the latest giant steps made in panel system development for refrigeration technology. These appliances can now offer immense potential for saving energy.

The manufacturing segment is served by the INTERTOOL and is a great hunting ground for energy saving potential. The energy management of modern tools and machinery is one field, followed by the continual development of new dry-cutting tools, and leading to the subject of low friction surface technology and lubricants designed to make marked cuts in mechanical energy wastage.
An increasingly decisive sales argument in drive and fluid technology is how electric, hydraulic and pneumatic drive systems and valve clusters can help operators save energy and, thus, help to lower general running costs.

The fair for welding technology, the SCHWEISSEN/JOIN-EX, offers highly sophisticated welding solutions that create far fewer sparks and waste; weld much faster and greatly improve gap bridging with the controlled use of heat.

One of the central tasks of electrical automation has always been to raise productivity and optimise process efficiency; so plenty of automation can be seen at the AUTOMATION AUSTRIA. The use of the latest CAx programme releases for construction tasks and object-orientated configuration and programming, and the benefits of ultramodern automation software for engineering, are all large areas of energy saving potential. Numerous new software tools have lead to power consumption transparency for entire machine parks and plant set-ups, and are capable of predicting the effects of any proposed optimisation. Powerful field bus systems in industrial communication have replaced the tiresome setting up of networks and tons of wires and cables; and Ethernet and modern, standardised interfaces offer practical connectivity solutions and reduce the effort involved in installation.

Very special status in the energy efficiency debate is accorded to electric drive technology. Several new and more powerful three-phase asynchronous motors (see new IE standards) have been introduced onto the market, as have a number of low-wastage servo drives and new, intelligent frequency converters with an ever broader range of functions.