Electric Motors

Electric motors account for a large share of industrial and commercial electricity use, powering essential services across economies — from pumping water and moving elevators to driving industrial processes. As demand for motor-driven systems continues to grow, improving motor efficiency offers some of the most cost-effective opportunities to reduce electricity use, operating costs, and emissions across sectors.

Efficient motor systems are critical to:

Reduce electricity demand in industry, buildings, and infrastructure
Lower operating and maintenance costs for businesses and utilities
Improve system performance through better control and optimisation
Support energy efficiency across a wide range of end uses

The Energy Efficiency Opportunity

Optimising motor systems — including the use of high-efficiency motors and variable speed drives — can deliver substantial energy savings while maintaining or improving performance.

Motors are embedded in everyday services 
Electric motors power essential services such as water pumping, elevators in buildings, and industrial equipment, making them one of the most widespread sources of electricity demand. 
Large efficiency gains are already achievable 
Optimised motor systems can deliver efficiency improvements of around 20–30%, particularly when motors are correctly sized and paired with variable speed drives. 
Electricity demand for motors is rising
Without policy action, electricity consumption from electric motors could increase by over 40% by 2040. Efficiency policies and improved system design can significantly limit this growth.
Major system-wide benefits by 2040
Improving motor efficiency could deliver nearly 187 TWh of annual electricity savings by 2040, avoid the construction of around 85 large power plants, reduce CO₂ emissions by approximately 185 million tonnes annually, and save consumers around USD 26 billion on electricity bills.