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 News from

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 19, 2007 

For further information, contact: Bob Floyd 

 Floyd & Partners 

 260-469-3090 

 bob@floydandpartners.com

GE ECM by Regal-Beloit announces the ECM ICETM 59 Evaporator Fan Motor for 

Commercial Refrigeration: 

The industry's first smart motor offering up to 65% greater efficiency. 

May 19, 2007--National Restaurant Association Show 2007--GE ECM by REGALBELOIT has unveiled the next generation of its high-efficiency commercial refrigeration 

evaporator-fan motors, the ICE 59, which offers up to 65% greater efficiency than a 

shaded-pole motor, and up to 40% greater efficiency than a PSC motor. Designed 

specifically for evaporator-fan use in walk-in coolers and freezers, the 1/15 HP motor is 

a form-fitting, drop-in replacement for typical 3.3-inch motors. 

“The ICE 59 takes 20 years’ worth of experience in designing and refining ECM 

technology, and combines it with engineering solutions for the unique needs of 

commercial refrigeration,” says Tim Neal, Industry Leader for Commercial Refrigeration 

at GE ECM by Regal-Beloit. “The result is a motor that is more efficient, has better heat 

control, and offers intelligent features that give engineers better options in equipment 

design.” 

Unmatched Efficiency

The key to the ICE 59’s high efficiency is its brushless-DC, permanent-magnet design, 

which is inherently more efficient than the shaded-pole and PSC designs found in many 

commercial-refrigeration systems (please see the enclosed Motor Comparison Chart

for details). 

Induction motors only maintain peak efficiency when running at rated speed and a bestcase-scenario workload. The ICE 59, on the other hand, uses almost one third of the 

electricity needed by a shaded-pole motor, even at the induction motor’s design speed. 

The new motor also maintains its high efficiency across a wide operating range, 

meaning that the motor consumes even less electricity when running at slower speeds. 

For example, a manufacturer can program the ICE 59 to lower its speed whenever highvolume air movement is unnecessary, such as during the defrost cycle or in an 

overnight setting when traffic in and out of the walk-in cooler or freezer is minimal. In 

these secondary cycles, the already-efficient ICE 59 uses even less electricity. 
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According to the U.S. Department of Energy1, the best way to save money in any walkin cooler or freezer is to cut energy costs by replacing shaded-pole motors with more 

efficient ECMs like the ICE 59. This is due in part to the natural efficiency of an ECM, 

but temperature control also plays an important part in the energy equation. 

Here’s how it works: instead of a wound rotor, the ICE 59 uses permanent magnets and 

therefore the motor does not have to induce the magnetic field which results in higher 

efficiency and allows it to run cooler and more quietly. In contrast, induction motors are 

plagued with heat losses when they induce current across the air gap between the rotor 

and stator. 

An inefficient motor causes more than its own fair share of problems. Heat loss, for 

example, acts as a “double” inefficiency: it raises energy use in the motor, but it also 

adds to the total amount of heat that must be removed by the refrigerator. Despite the 

fact that a typical shaded-pole evaporator fan uses less electricity than other refrigerator 

parts, its heat output creates a domino effect that makes the entire system less efficient. 

“Says Neal, “For every extra BTU of heat generated by an induction motor, the entire 

refrigeration cycle gets longer, the compressor is given more work, and more stress is 

put on the equipment overall.” 

Green for the Environment, Green for the Wallet 

When retrofitting shaded-pole motors, ECMs can have a payback in as little as six 

months of its 10-year expected lifespan. Since lower operating costs come back to 

businesses directly as profit, it’s not surprising that many restaurant and grocery-store 

owners are installing GE ECM refrigeration motors to existing equipment. 

“We have been seeing some businesses even retrofit brand new equipment with more 

efficient ECM motors,” says Neal. “It makes good financial sense, and more and more 

businesses make the change in order to show their customers a corporate commitment 

to more environmentally friendly green technologies.” 

Governments and utilities are beginning to take interest as well. Many municipalities 

offer tax incentives to those who buy ECMs, and many energy providers have rebate 

programs for businesses that make the switch. 

In Washington, Arizona, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey and California, laws that 

require ECM have already been passed. In Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode 

Island, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New York, and several Canadian provinces legislation 

has been proposed. For example, the California Energy Commission recently passed 

legislation that requires all new walk-in refrigerators and freezers to have ECM 

evaporator fans by January 2008. 

 

1 Energy Savings Potential for Commercial Refrigeration Equipment, section 1-2, available online at 

http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/info/documents/pdfs/comm_refridg_equip.pdf
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“The need for energy conservation isn’t going away any time soon,” says Neal. “With 

ever-rising government efficiency standards, continually rising costs for electricity, 

expanding consumer demand for businesses to become more eco-friendly, we expect 

that ECM will completely replace induction motors in new walk-in coolers and freezers 

by the year 2010.” 

Improved Reliability 

The ICE 59 offers many features that ensure reliability, both within the motor and in the 

refrigeration system as a whole. For example, the motor’s ability to contribute less heat 

into the refrigeration cycle means better long-term equipment reliability because there is 

less stress on all of the system components. 

Another way that ICE 59 improves whole-system performance is its regulated speed 

mode. The motor monitors changes in the refrigerator environment (such as external 

pressure changes caused by opening and closing the cooler doors, or changes to line 

voltage on the motor input) and adjusts in order to deliver the programmed fan speed. 

Consistent fan speed means that walk-in refrigerators maintain more even 

temperatures, which is vital to ensuring fresher, longer-lasting perishables. The ICE 59 

has an improved mechanical platform that addresses the ever-present threat of 

moisture. All electronic motor controls in the ICE 59 are completely surrounded by 

waterproof potting material, which protects all sensitive parts of the motor. 

Another potential problem for any refrigeration motor is that external parts can get 

coated in ice, which can cause a lock-up even after the system defrost cycle. The ICE 

59 utilizes an internal rotor construction, which protects all moving parts from freezing. 

The ICE 59’s robust electronics allow the motor to operate trouble-free in the event of 

most power irregularities. ICE 59 is the first smart ECM of its size to have earned both 

UL and CSA recognition, and the motor is also fully compliant with the European 

Union’s RoHS Directive. 

Smart Motor Features 

“Over the past 20 years, ECM technology has already revolutionized what equipment 

can accomplish in terms of energy efficiency, but there has never been a smart motor 

available in refrigeration – until now,” says Neal. “The ICE 59 opens up a new realm of 

possibilities to manufacturers by offering them an intelligent motor with premium 

features.” 

The ICE 59 is the first motor in the commercial refrigeration industry to offer premium, 

smart-motor features to manufacturers. Three major advances distinguish the ICE 59 

motor from standard ECM products: BlaKBoxTM Diagnostics, a wide range of operating 

speeds, and the GE ECM Toolbox development software. 
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The ICE 59 is the first commercial refrigeration motor to employ BlaKBoxTM diagnostics, 

a built-in data recorder that provides design engineers with the information they need to 

improve equipment features and performance.

“BlaKBox is going to revolutionize the reliability of refrigeration systems throughout the 

industry,” explains Neal. “Like a flight-recorder in an airplane, BlaKBox will allow us to 

capture crucial field performance data. This unprecedented access to field history will 

help system designers create more efficient next-generation technologies and 

equipment that is more reliable.”

GE ECM by Regal Beloit provides all manufacturers with a full suite of development 

software for customizing ICE 59 motor settings. The GE ECM Toolbox software allows 

system designers to create motor programming quickly and easily in a Windows-based, 

real-time, dynamic environment. Developers can also use the tool to test and verify 

motor performance based on the programming they have created. 

Just as in conventional motors, all ECMs can be controlled by a simple line-voltage 

input, giving the motor a plug-and-play installation capability. However, the ICE 59’s 

smart motor capabilities also give manufacturers the chance to add multiple-speed 

settings to their equipment, without sacrificing the motor’s high level of efficiency. 

In addition to a pre-determined speed controlled by line voltage, manufacturers have the 

option of running at a second discrete speed by modifying line voltage – an easy-toimplement multiple speed solution. The ICE 59 can also be run from a pulse-width 

modulation (PWM) input, which lets the motor change speeds in real-time between 500 

and 1800 RPM. 

The ICE 59 has been built from the ground-up to be easy to use, whether for a 

contractor replacing an existing motor in the field or an engineer remodeling 

refrigeration equipment. By offering a form-fitting 3.3-inch configuration and accepting 

both line-voltage and PWM, the ICE 59 allows a manufacturer to quickly and easily 

adapt existing equipment to ECM technology. In most cases, system designers will be 

able to simply plug the motor in and go. For contractors working with the ICE 59 in 

retrofit applications, the motor is an easy-to-install drop-in solution. It does not require 

any dipswitch settings or adjustment terminal configurations and is configured to be 

mounted in any position without using external adapters. 

For more information about the ICE 59 ECM, visit: www.theDealerToolbox.com. 

GE ECM by REGAL-BELOIT is the residential HVAC industry leader in ECM technology. 

REGAL-BELOIT CORPORATION (NYSE:RBC) is a leading manufacturer of mechanical and 

electrical motion control and power generation products serving markets throughout the world. 

REGAL-BELOIT is headquartered in Beloit, Wisconsin, and has manufacturing, sales, and 

service facilities throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia. For more 

information, visit the company’s website at www.theDealerToolbox.com.

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