Ecodesign requirements clarified

Electric motors represent a significant volume of sales and trade of energy-using products (EUP’s) and can account for up to 70% of electricity consumed in manufacturing and production processes.  Currently, electric motors sold in the European Community are subject to compliance with certain efficiency requirements and design stipulations in accordance with the Ecodesign Requirements for Electric Motors Regulation EC 640/2009 as amended by EC 4/2014.

Without any negative effects on the market or end-users, the Regulation aims to reduce the energy consumption and the environmental impact of motors throughout the entire life-cycle of the product in the application of new cost-effective and eco-friendly technologies, reducing the total combined cost of purchase and operation. The Regulation encourages consumer uptake of more efficient models of motors and aims to gradually phase out inefficient products, effectively banning them from the market by raising required efficiency standards in stages of implementation.

1st January 2015 will see the implementation of the next stage of the Regulation across the European Community. This stipulates that from 1st January 2015 motors within the scope of the Regulation with a rated output of 7.5-375 kW placed on the market must either meet the IE3 energy efficiency level, or, if meeting IE2 efficiency levels be equipped with a variable speed drive (VSD). A VSD has the capacity to adjust the speed of the motor in order to adapt to the requirements of the application.

All Ecodesign requirements have to be met when the motor is placed on the market – which is defined by the National Measurement Office (NMO), UK’s enforcement agency, as "making a product available for the first time on the Community Market with a view to its distribution or use within the Community, whether for reward or free of charge and irrespective of the selling technique.”

BEAMA has clarified with NMO that a motor placed on the market prior to 1st January 2015 only needs to meet the IE2 efficiency level and is not required to be accompanied by labelling or instructions stipulating the use of a VSD. Only IE2 motors in the scope of the Regulation that are placed on the market after 1st January 2015 are required to have visibly displayed on the rating plate and technical documentation information relating to the use of a VSD – a key point to note for manufacturers.

The Regulation does not apply indiscriminately to all motors; certain motors are currently excluded from the scope of the Regulation, including motors that are specifically designed to be used in the transport of people or goods, specifically designed to operate immersed completely in liquid or those that are specifically designed for use in ambient air temperatures above 60°C and in maximum operating temperatures above 400°C.

Lot 30 Study Report

A preparatory study, Lot 30 was initiated in order to further research the implementing measures of the Ecodesign Directive. The aim of the study was to identify the environmental improvement potential of electric motors and associated products currently outside of the scope of Regulation 640/2009 as amended by Regulation 4/2014. It specifically addressed:

• Motors below 750W and above 375kW
• Special-purpose inverter duty motors
• Motors cooled by their fans
• Drives (soft starters, torque and variable speed drives).

The final report of the study was recently published, outlining the findings for consideration in expanding the scope of the Regulation and further regulating the efficiency of different types of motor groups and associated technologies in order to maximise energy savings. The results of the study are presented in five policy option recommendations aimed at the achievement of environmental and economic improvements across the European Union.

The study advocates as their policy option one expansion of the scope of the regulation to include Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) at level IE3 for small (120W and greater) and large (375kW up to 1000W) three phase induction motors, and at IE2 level for single phase (120W to 0.75kW) motors. This method would offer the highest energy savings of all the policy options proposed, and as such was rated as the number one option for the European Commission to consider in amending the Regulation. The final report also outlines the policy option to remove the current Regulation exemption for specialised explosion-proof motors and for brake motors, as the group found no technical or commercial reason why these types of motor should remain out of scope.

An introduction of a MEPS for VSD’s of IE1 has been proposed as the third policy option within the report. Although the energy losses from VSD’s are relatively small, it would align them as a product group with the overall Ecodesign Framework goals to remove from the market low efficiency energy-using products. The report also proposes the policy option of the possibility of the removal of the option to use an IE2 motor equipped with a VSD instead of an IE3 motor – this is the stage due to come into force on 1st January 2015. The study identified that removal of this stage would equate to significant energy consumption reductions, but would have repercussions on the motor industry and manufacturers of motors and VSD’s.

The final policy option of the report is for Regulation to stipulate medium and large motors to be raised to the MEPS of IE4, providing energy savings and encouraging the uptake of more energy efficient machines for larger installations and uses.

A working document has already been produced in accordance with the findings of the Lot 30 Study, addressing some of the policy options proposed. The inclusion of new motor types in the proposed Regulation is recognised as a key improvement in the overall environmental impact of motors, and also perceived to increase the market penetration of technologies that can provide substantial energy savings.

In accordance with the study findings the working document proposes that by 1st January 2018 brake motors and motors designed to specifically operate in potentially explosive atmospheres with a rated output equal to or above 0.75kW and equal to or below 375 kW are subject to MEPS of IE3 or IE2 with the use of a VSD.
These Policy Options and the working document will be discussed in a European Council Consultation Forum due to take place in September.