政府法规很少转化为全球市场的巨大收入增长。但是，在积分马力低压（LV）电动机市场中，情况并非如此，在该市场上，在IE2高效率和IE3高级效率电动机上的监管推动表明，全球范围内IE1标准效率市场的即将下降。
The IE1 market is still the largest regulated LV motor market in the world in terms of both revenues and units. But revenues for IE3 (and the equivalent NEMA Premium) are on course to almost double by 2018 to more than $8 billion globally.
The majority of the IE1 market is concentrated in Asia-Pacific and China, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Russian Federation and CIS, where there are no energy efficiency regulations for LV motors. Major regions have been shifting out of the IE1 market since the U.S. began to in 2002, and this has catalyzed revenue growth in the form of more expensive IE2 and IE3 LV motors. However, because of exemptions in current regional regulations, IE1 and IE2 motors are still sold in significant quantities in the IE3 markets of North America well beyond their initial phase-out dates. The same is true for IE1 motors in the IE2-centric markets of Brazil, South Korea and Western Europe.
Typically, a regional transition to the next higher efficiency class of LV motor can take six years or more after the official start date has been announced, with the peak of the transition occurring in year three or four. Such is the case with the IE3 market. The U.S. and Canada are currently phasing out IE1 and IE2 motors, and the European Union, Japan and China will follow suit in 2015, late 2016 and 2017, respectively.
IE3 revenues have been growing at three-digit rates since 2010. The current IE3 markets are fortuitously located in regional markets that have been quick to recover from the global recession, and have not experienced further economic difficulties as seen in the IE2 markets of the European Union and Brazil over the past few years.
Additional new regulations have been finalized in the second half of 2014 by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and in late 2013 by the European Commission’s updated ErP Directive (Article 1 of the EU MEPS), which are expected to address the lingering persistence of exempted lower-efficiency class motors in these two regions. Discussions were held in both regions in 2012 focusing on the best way to amend the existing regulations and close the unintended loopholes that are allowing these phased-out motor types to continue to be sold legally. Initially, the focus of the discussions was centered on increasing the horsepower/kilowatt range above the current power-rating ceiling of 500 hp/375 kW. However, the outcome of these discussions has been quite different.
DOE的解决方案涉及包括更多电动机类型，例如用于电梯和自动扶梯中的齿轮电动机，以及用于水/废水和灌溉用途的垂直轴泵电动机。欧盟委员会的解决方案涉及为环境空气温度和运营高程设定更高的水平，并为水冷电动机设定较低的温度范围。
The new regulations will have a positive effect on revenue growth in both the IE2 and IE3 markets by requiring formerly low-cost/unregulated motor types to achieve a higher efficiency level. This provides justification for manufacturers to charge a higher selling price across some of their more specialized LV motor product lines.
The IE3 market is forecast to be almost equal in revenues to the outgoing IE1 market by 2017. It is interesting to note, however, that unit sales for IE1 are still predicted to be double the units in the IE3 market at that point. It is clear to see the revenue-enhancing effect of energy efficiency regulations that operate independently of the market’s demand.
According to forecasts, high-revenue growth in the IE3 market will begin to cool off significantly in North America just as it begins to heat up in the Eurozone, Japan and China, barring any further major economic downturns to these newest players in the IE3 market.
