The Commission of the European Union (EU) has amended its eco-design and energy efficiency requirements for electric motors to exclude certain motors designed for operation in extreme environments.
The Commission’s eco-design regulations are considered implementation measures under the EU’s Eco-Design Directive, 2009/125/EC. That directive gives the Commission the authority to establish minimum efficiency standards for those “energy-related products representing significant volume of sales and trade, having significant environmental impact and presenting significant potential for improvement in terms of their environmental impact without entailing excessive costs.”
Published in January 2014 in the Official Journal of the European Union, the amended requirements make note of the challenges in applying energy efficiency values to electrical motors specifically designed to work at high altitudes, in extreme high or low temperatures, or in potentially explosive atmospheres. Accordingly, the requirements now exclude from its scope motors intended for such use. In addition, the requirements now also exclude motors that are completely integrated into a product and whose energy efficiency cannot be independently evaluated.
