IE2 motors are no longer permitted (beyond notified exceptions, such as ATEX motors) for sale within the EU unless used with a variable speed drive.
This changes the former requirement (the first phase of the scheme, implemented in June 2011), which prescribed high-efficiency IE2 for motors with a rated output from 0.75 to 375kW.
The new ruling will be extended in the next phase to include motors down to 0.75kW, from 1 January 2017 – again with the proviso that IE2 be permitted for VSD-based applications.
For electric motor manufacturers, efficiency must be measured using methods specified in IEC/EN 60034-2-1: 2014, with efficiency classes defined in IEC/EN 60034-30-1.
Companies selling industrial electric motors – including OEMs embedding motors in machinery – should by now have made the necessary changes, which will result in losses 15% less than with IE2 motors.
Watson-Marlow Pumps Group, for example, has upgraded its relevant product lines to higher-efficiency products and says there is now "the potential for significant savings in running costs".
For Bredel 50 to 2100 hose pumps, for instance, new motors for the range 7.5 to 375 kW, which were formerly IE2 have now been upgraded to IE3 equivalent.
Similarly, Masosine SPS, EC and MR sine pumps, when configured with 7.5 kW motor power or higher, have been upgraded.
Watson-Marlow says a Masosine system has been installed with an SEW IE3 motor to ensure that systems delivered satisfy the legal requirements.
Watson-Marlow says it regards the higher mandatory efficiency levels as "a vital step towards unified efficiency requirements for low voltage motors".