Electric motors and variable speed drives

1. Scope

This Regulation establishes ecodesign requirements for the placing on the market or the putting into service of electric motors and variable speed drives, including where they are integrated in other products.

This Regulation applies to the following products:

induction electric motors without brushes, commutators, slip rings or electrical connections to the rotor, rated for operation on a 50 Hz, 60 Hz or 50/60 Hz sinusoidal voltage, that:

have two, four, six or eight poles;

have a rated voltage U _N above 50 V and up to and including 1 000 V;

have a rated power output P _N from 0,12 kW up to and including 1 000 kW;

are rated on the basis of continuous duty operation; and

are rated for direct on-line operation;

variable speed drives with 3 phases input that:

are rated for operating with one motor refered to in point (a), within the 0,12 kW-1 000 kW motor rated output range;

have a rated voltage above 100 V and up to and including 1 000 V AC;

have only one AC voltage output.

2. Exemptions

The requirements in section 1, and points (1), (2), (5) to (11), and (13) of section 2 of Annex I shall not apply to the following motors:

motors completely integrated into a product (for example into a gear, pump, fan or compressor) and whose energy performance cannot be tested independently from the product, even with the provision of a temporary end-shield and drive-end bearing; the motor must share common components (apart from connectors such as bolts) with the driven unit (for example, a shaft or housing) and shall not be designed in such a way that the motor can be separated in its entirety from the driven unit and operate independently. The process of separation shall have the consequence of rendering the motor inoperative;

motors with an integrated variable speed drive (compact drives) whose energy performance cannot be tested independently from the variable speed drive;

motors with an integrated brake which forms an integral part of the inner motor construction and can neither be removed nor powered by a separate power source during the testing of the motor efficiency;

motors specifically designed and specified to operate exclusively:

at altitudes exceeding 4 000 metres above sea-level;

where ambient air temperatures exceed 60 °C;in maximum operating temperature above 400 °C;

where ambient air temperatures are less than – 30 °C; or

where the water coolant temperature at the inlet to a product is below 0 °C or above 32 °C;

motors specifically designed and specified to operate wholly immersed in a liquid;

motors specifically qualified for the safety of nuclear installations, as defined in Article 3 of Council Directive 2009/71/Euratom

xplosion-protected motors specifically designed and certified for mining, as defined in Annex I, point 1 of Directive 2014/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council

motors in cordless or battery-operated equipment;

motors in hand-held equipment whose weight is supported by hand during operation;

motors in hand-guided mobile equipment moved while in operation;

motors with mechanical commutators;

Totally Enclosed Non-Ventilated (TENV) motors;

motors placed on the market before 1 July 2029 as substitutes for identical motors integrated in products placed on the market before 1 July 2021 for motors referred to in Annex I.1 (a), and before 1 July 2023 for motors referred to in Annex I.1 (b), and specifically marketed as such;

multi-speed motors, i.e. motors with multiple windings or with a switchable winding, providing a different number of poles and speeds;

motors designed specifically for the traction of electric vehicles.

The requirements in section 3, and points (1), (2), and (5) to (10) of section 4 of Annex I shall not apply to the following VSDs:VSDs integrated into a product and whose energy performance cannot be tested independently from the product, that is to say that an attempt to do so would render the VSD or the product inoperative;

VSDs qualified specifically for the safety of nuclear installations, as defined Article 3 of Directive 2009/71/Euratom;

regenerative drives;

drives with sinusoidal input current;

VSDs consisting of a single cabinet, comprising VSDs which are all in conformity with this Regulation.

3. Conformity assessment

The conformity assessment procedure referred to in Article 8 of Directive 2009/125/EC shall be the internal design control system set out in Annex IV of that Directive or the management system set out in Annex V of that Directive.

4. Entry into force and application

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 1 July 2021. However, the first paragraph of Article 7 and Article 11, shall apply from 14 November 2019.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

5. Harmonised standards

Commission Communication: Harmonised standards for electric motors

6. FAQ

FAQ – Ecodesign measures for manufacturers and importers (January 2023)