The trend of increasing concern on energy cost has caused energy conservation all over the world. The price of oil has increased from $30 per barrel in July 2003 to approximately $60 per barrel in 2006. The end-users of electric motors are no more ignorant of the fact that they need to save electric energy to reduce operating cost and thus improve profit margins. Medium voltage drives offer the best solution possible for the end-users under their operating horsepower range.
With the energy price reaching all time highs, the demand for medium voltage drives is having a roar. Apart from energy conservation concerns, environmental protection by converting equipments from being engine driven to electrical motor driven systems, is also gaining importance. Better control is another reason for this shift. This activity has promised the medium voltage drives market a bright future on the face of demand.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, World Medium Voltage Drives Market, reveals that the market earned revenue of $530.9 million in 2004 and estimates to reach $827.7 million in 2011.

“However, with focus on the energy savings and increasing the level of efficiency across all the industries, medium voltage drives are increasingly being accepted and installed,” notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Arjun Bagri. “Longer life cycle and low maintenance costs of medium voltage drives reduces the operating costs of the end-users in comparison to other rival technologies.”
Certain end-users choose from a wide variety of inexpensive technologies like traditional valves, hydrostatic clutch, fluid couplings, dampers and others over a medium voltage drive. The primary reason for preferring such solutions instead of medium voltage drives is the vast difference in capital expenditure. The end-users also are offset by the long payback period of the medium voltage drive. In some instances, the end-users are forced to opt for these mechanical solutions due to lack of financial resources at that period.
The medium voltage drives technology, especially the power electronics field, was relatively new in the 1990s. Hence, there were concerns and issues regarding the technology and the use of medium voltage drives. Customers had preferred to use low voltage drives with step-up and step-down transformers. However, the acceptance rate of drives in the North American and European markets has been on the rise, as information about the cost savings and advantages of medium voltage drives becomes more broadly understood. In the Asia Pacific medium voltage drives market, most of the end-users are not yet aware of medium voltage drives and their benefits.
”Some of the end-users are still not aware of the benefits of medium voltage drives. This is particularly true in the Asia Pacific market, where the awareness is spreading slowly across all the industries,” says Bagri.
Medium voltage drives offer benefits such as improved efficiency, low maintenance cost, high reliability and low operating costs. Medium voltage drive manufacturers need to educate the end-users about the total cost of the drives and help them understand the benefits they stand to gain by installing medium voltage drives.


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