Electric motors and drives

Machines that turn electricity into motion, using about half of the world's electricity.

Conversion and use · Conversion devices · No. 100

• Conversion and use
• Typical efficiency: 90% and above

Electric motors use 53% of the world's electricity, and electricity is about 99% of a factory motor's lifetime cost.

Chart: Illustration: Electric motors and drives

Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Current in a wire inside a magnetic field feels a sideways push, and motors add up millions of such pushes into torque.

Three things to know

1. Motors are not heat engines, so the best IE4 machines reach 96.7% efficiency at 355 to 400 kW.
2. Small motors are always less efficient: an IE4 motor must reach only 85.7% at 0.75 kW but 96.3% at 110 kW.
3. A 100 hp motor running nonstop uses about 6.8 times its purchase price in electricity every year.

The journey

1. 1 Grid powerFixed-frequency AC from the mains
2. 2 DriveOptional electronics set the speed
3. 3 StatorCopper windings create a rotating field
4. 4 RotorPulled round by magnetic force
5. 5 MachinePumps, fans, compressors, conveyors, cars

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