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Cut your electricity costs with correctly matched motors, gearboxes and variable speed drives.
Energy efficient motors, gearboxes and variable speed drives — correctly specified to reduce your electricity costs.
Electricity accounts for around 90% of an electric motor’s total lifetime cost. The purchase price represents a small fraction of the overall spend, improving efficiency across the drive train – even by a few percent, delivers a measurable return, often within months.
However, upgrading the motor alone is rarely enough, a new IE3 motor connected to a worm gearbox that loses 40% of its input energy as heat will still result in poor system efficiency. The motor, gearbox and drive need to be considered together.
Why the whole drive train matters
Every industrial drive system follows the same chain: mains supply, variable speed drive, motor, gearbox and driven equipment. Each component introduces losses, and those losses compound through the system.
Technidrive specifies the motor, gearbox and VSD as a matched system for each application, rather than selecting components independently. This approach ensures the drive train is correctly sized and optimised for the actual operating conditions.
How we can help
VSD retrofit
Fitting a variable speed drive to equipment currently running at fixed speed. Suitable for pumps, fans, compressors and conveyors where the load varies — a VSD reduces energy consumption by matching motor speed to actual demand.
Motor upgrade
Replacing older or failed motors with IE4 or IE5 high efficiency alternatives. The WEG W22 Prime delivers IE5 efficiency as a standard induction motor, with the same frame sizes and mounting dimensions as existing installations.
Gearbox replacement
Replacing worm gearboxes with helical or bevel-helical units. Worm gears can lose up to 40% of input power as heat. Helical gearboxes are significantly more efficient, and in many applications the gearbox replacement delivers greater energy savings than a motor upgrade alone.
Complete drive system
Motor, gearbox and VSD specified as a single package, sized to the application’s duty cycle and load profile. This eliminates oversizing and component mismatches that reduce overall system efficiency.
IE5 for critical processes
For equipment operating at high utilisation or in continuous duty, an IE5 motor and matched drive package provides the lowest available running cost.
Motor efficiency - IE3 to IE5
IE3 is the legal minimum for most industrial motors in the EU. IE4 has been mandatory since July 2023 for 75-200 kW motors. IE5 is now available from WEG as a standard induction motor – the W22 Prime and is designed to fit directly into existing installations without modification.
Upgrading from IE3 to IE4 reduces motor losses by approximately 20%. IE5 reduces losses further. For motors running 6,000 hours per year or more, an upgrade to IE4 or IE5 typically pays for itself within 12 months.
Learn more about WEG Motor Scan here
Gearbox efficiency - worm vs helical
Worm gearboxes are widely used but inherently inefficient. The sliding contact between worm and wheel creates high friction, with up to 40% of input energy lost as heat. Helical and bevel-helical gearboxes use rolling contact, resulting in significantly lower friction and energy losses across the full speed range.
Variable speed drives - where the biggest savings are
Running a pump or fan at full speed and controlling output with a valve or damper wastes a considerable amount of electricity. A variable speed drive adjusts motor speed to match actual demand. Reducing speed by 20% cuts power consumption by approximately half – a relationship known as the cube law.
Technidrive has applied VSD speed control to conveyor systems using PID feedback to automatically reduce belt speed under light load and stop the belt when empty. These installations have achieved energy reductions of over 30% with no reduction in throughput.
What could you save?
The WEG Payback Calculator allows you to enter your motor details, running hours and electricity cost to determine the payback period for an efficiency upgrade.
Open the WEG Payback Calculator →
For a detailed overview of the current EU Ecodesign regulations and compliance requirements, download our Ecodesign brochure.
To discuss your specific requirements or arrange a site assessment, contact our engineering team