Chapter 20 - IGBT Social Impact

Abstract

Huge energy savings have been derived by insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT)-enabled technologies. The development of electronic ignition systems using IGBT has improved fuel efficiency by 10%. The cumulative fuel savings derived from this over the last 30years exceeds 1.5 trillion gallons of gasoline. This has saved consumers worldwide more than $7 trillion and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 35 trillion pounds. Two-thirds of the electricity in the world is used to run motors for air conditioning and refrigeration. Adjustable-speed motor drives developed using IGBTs have improved efficiency by more than 40%. The cumulative energy savings from this technology during the last 30years add up to 73,000 TWh. This has saved consumers worldwide more than $15 trillion and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 81 trillion pounds. One-fifth of the electricity in the world is used for lighting. Replacing a 60W incandescent lamp with an equivalent compact fluorescent lamp reduced power consumption by 45W. A total of 22 billion CFLs that use IGBT-ballasts are now in use around the world. The cumulative energy savings from this technology add up to 59,900 TWh. This has saved consumers worldwide more than $12 trillion and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 66 trillion pounds. An even greater impact is expected in the future with the replacement of fossil fuel electricity generation with renewable energy sources enabled using IGBT-based inverters by 2050. This will reduce carbon dioxide emissions annually by 19 trillion pounds. Replacement of all fossil fueled automobiles with electric vehicles that use IGBT-driven motors by 2040 will reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by 12 trillion pounds.