Continuous Progress in Efficiency of Electric Motors, Pumps, and Fans and Variable Frequency Drives in Switzerland and the European Union

Based on four consecutive annual market surveys in Switzerland, continuous progress in sales of efficient motors, variable frequency drives (VFD), pumps, and fans can be monitored. Similar developments have been observed with less detailed data in the European market. The Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) is responsible as regulator for establishing Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) and conducting market surveillance in Switzerland. SFOE has established a market monitoring program for a wide range of energy-using products. Since 2017, the market analysis for industrial products (motors, VFDs, pumps, and fans) was mandated within the Swiss Topmotors program ( www.topmotors.ch/en ) to Impact Energy, Zurich, in collaboration with the international market research company OMDIA. The market survey for these products that have to follow Swiss MEPS (synchronized with the respective European Ecodesign regulations) is based on direct surveys of and interviews with relevant manufacturers and importers. The subsequent energy efficiency analysis is the basis for the annually published Topmotors Market Report. The Topmotors Market Report presents an overview of the continuous development of the efficiency, numbers, poles, and size of low-voltage electric motors with a nominal power from 0.12 kW to 1000 kW sold in Switzerland from 2016 to 2019. The most recent 2020 edition of the Topmotors Market Report covers the market in 2019. It reports on Swiss market sales of motors, pumps, fans, and VFDs. Specific average selling prices are reported in comparison with the preceding year for motors (0.7%) and VFDs (1.1%). The impact on annual electricity consumption of the replacement of inefficient old motors by new ones is estimated at savings 120–200 GWh of electricity in 2019. Furthermore, the development of the market is analyzed based on the collected data of the four consecutive years from 2016 to 2019. For example, the market share of Super Premium IE4-motors rises by 46.4%, and the average efficiency of sold motors rises by 0.175 percentage points. A cost-benefit analysis indicates that under current market conditions in Switzerland (2019 motor prices and electric energy costs), electric motors of 0.5 kW to 500 kW in industrial applications under regular load conditions are typically more cost effective in the efficiency class IE4 than IE2- or IE3-motors. For the market in the European Union (EU), sales figures of motors, pumps, and fans are reported. Total sales amount for motors in 2019 to 7.6 million units. According to sales figures from CEMEP, the European Committee of Manufacturers of Electrical Machines and Power Electronics, IE3-motors are leading with a market share of 59%.