AC motors gaining at expense of DC, survey says
Original article date: November 1997
Competitive prices, small design improvements, a continuing need for replacement and consistent demand across Europe can all be expected to benefit revenue growth in AC motors, says a new Frost & Sullivan survey.
The commercialisation of technology offering greater efficiency and reliability in the AC market is significantly contributing to rising demand in the European market for integral horsepower motors, according to a study by international marketing consulting company Frost & Sullivan.
Interest in DC technology continues to decline, although in many countries revenue growth is being maintained, albeit in marginal terms. Business is becoming more specialised and competitive pressures in the DC field are thus more subdued.
Mik Sabiers, Industry manager at Frost & Sullivan says “The main increase in demand is expected to occur in the AC motor market. AC are continuing to take share from the DC market, especially at lower power ratings as a result of design developments and cost factors. The strongest increase in demand is expected to be for AC at lower power ratings which already account for the largest percentage of market demand and revenues.”
“Interest is expected to be led by good general demand in the pumps, valves and compressors sector, which represents the leading application with nearly 27% of revenues. Other significant areas are industrial machinery, process plant, HVAC and machine tools.
Suppliers of integral horsepower AC motors are also benefiting from rising customer interest in and demand for inverter technology and this has contributed to expanding market potential.
DC motors are becoming an increasingly mature product with interest progressively focusing on specialised and niche applications. Demand for DC technology is recording a more gradual fall following marked declines seen over the course of the economic downturn. The greatest falls are continuing to be recorded at lower power ratings where AC has become a much more cost-competitive solution.
Competitors are continuing to exit this market or place a lesser focus on DC designs as customer demand rises more strongly for AC solutions. However, one area which continues to remain important for DC technology is the field of battery-driven vehicles, which continue to utilise DC. Developments are continuing in this field and an area for possible growth potential remains electric motor vehicles where DC continues to be used in on-going trial designs by the leading automotive manufacturers.
Other trends reported in this study include small design improvements, increasing globalisation of business, rising emphasis on customer service, wider application coverage and the continued badging of products.
One of the most important recent and continuing developments in the AC sector has been the move towards motors offering higher efficiency, reliability and performance. The initial cost of the motor is only a fraction when compared with the motor’s running costs, thus customers have been looking for means to reduce overall costs.
In response, suppliers have been focusing on developing motors to meet demands for higher energy efficiency. New products offering slight improvements in efficiency levels have been commercialised in the market and customer interest is increasing more strongly for motors exhibiting these characteristics.
A gradually increasing emphasis is being placed upon specialised or customised rather than standard designs. This is being reported across the market as a whole and is a trend that is led by OEM customers. Specialised demands both at high and low power ratings and increasingly in the volume end of the market, can be expected to continue. Suppliers are expected to have to adapt business to meet this requirement, and specials can be expected to account for an increasingly larger amount of company business by the end of the forecast period.
The DC market is experiencing rising interest for brush wear detection, which is continuing to maintain the competitiveness of DC solutions in certain fields. Suppliers are commercialising modifications allowing wear of brushes to be detected, thus saving overall maintenance time and avoiding the danger of commutator damage.
Other competitive issues affecting the market include greater emphasis on application expertise and continued price pressures in the AC motor market.
- The European Market for Integral Horsepower Motors. Report Number 3436
- Frost & Sullivan
- Tel: 0171 915 7824.
November 1997