What The Tech: Is an EC motor more energy effi­cient than an AC motor?

When we compare an elec­tron­i­cally commu­tated EC motor with an elec­tric motor driven by an alter­nating current (AC) one thing becomes evident: The EC motor has a greater energy-saving poten­tial. An EC motor in combi­na­tion with a fan has a higher effi­ciency level, safes energy and protects the envi­ron­ment.

Let’s compare a light bulb and a modern LED. The LED saves 90 percent in terms of energy, which is good for the envi­ron­ment, and good for your wallet. The same applies to elec­tric motors in fans. With the same air perfor­mance, the EC fan is not only more compact and lighter – its higher effi­ciency level makes it much more effi­cient than the AC fan. Its true energy-saving poten­tial can be seen when several fans work together. AC fans usually have two states: on and off. If you want less air flow, you have to deac­ti­vate a few fans. EC fans are infi­nitely adjustable. If you want less air flow, you can run all the fans more slowly. And this is where the magic happens. Let’s say we want 50 percent air flow. We switch off half of the AC fans and save half the energy. We control the EC fans at half speed. And since fans consume expo­nen­tially more energy under top load, we can thereby save 87 percent of the energy. Almost as much as with the LED bulb.

And, as with the LED, the higher procure­ment costs pay for them­selves in a short time.
That’s why, if you want to save, you should change over to modern EC fans – and you can play your part in protecting the envi­ron­ment at the same time.