Final answer:
The disconnecting means for a motor include circuit breakers, manual controllers, and emergency stops. A motor with no load, like a broken air conditioner belt drive, may not waste much energy due to back EMF.
Step-by-step explanation:
Disconnecting means for motors are essential for safety and maintenance in any equipment with an electrical motor. Examples of disconnecting means include motor circuit breakers, which protect the motor from overcurrent, manual motor controllers that allow an operator to manually disconnect the motor, and emergency stop devices that can quickly cease motor operation in dangerous situations. Furthermore, when a powerful motor is running freely, such as when a belt drive to an air conditioning unit breaks, it is not necessarily consuming a great amount of energy wastefully. Initially, a motor draws more current upon startup, but if it is running without load, it may not draw excessive power. Especially considering the concept of back EMF (electromotive force), when the motor reaches a certain speed without load, it generates an electromotive force that counteracts the driving voltage, therefore consuming less energy, mainly overcoming only the frictional forces.