Electric drives are becoming more common and could prove useful in construction equipment on the jobsite. Electric drives allow contractors to get real-time information on the performance of their key equipment.
As a result of their growing visibility, analysts are projecting the global electric drives market will grow to $19.11 billion by 2021, increasing at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of almost 5 percent through the forecast period.
AC drives are the most popular device type in the market, responsible for generating more than 93 percent of the total revenue.
Geographically, EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa), the Americas, and APAC (Asia Pacific) have almost equal market shares, with EMEA having a slight lead over the other two regional segments. The highly-evolved water and wastewater treatment industry, the presence of mandates regulating energy efficiency, and rising investments in renewable energy are expected to ensure the region’s lead through the forecast period.
The top three emerging trends driving the global electric drives market are:
- Regulation on energy efficiency
- Increasing demand for IoT (Internet of Things)
- Emerging demand for sensorless drives
Various energy regulation policies have been formulated by governments around the world to promote the use of energy-efficient products. Developed regions like North America and Europe have already taken a step to ensure maximum usage of renewable energy by 2050. Regulatory bodies such as the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy are involved in the creation of benchmarks for optimal energy efficiency for motor and electrical devices to achieve target efficiency levels. The standards that have been imposed and incentives that are being provided by governments are pushing for the increased adoption of energy-efficient drives into existing systems.
In today’s world, most of the electronic devices which have access to the Internet are interconnected and capable of exchanging data, which is broadly termed as the IoT. Many vendors are incorporating IoT to their product offerings to differentiate their products from competitors.
Customers of the electric drives market are dependent upon expert opinion for maintenance and service, which vendors are capitalizing on. Vendors are using IoT to provide the real time performance of the machine to consumers, and a user-friendly platform customers can use to obtain timely information for the maintenance of electric drives. Additionally, connectivity of machines driven by mobile apps should give an added push to the market.
The sensorless drive is another trend, which is expected to accelerate the adoption of electric drives during the forecast period. Electric drives are mostly operated through a microcontroller-based device, and all the smart robots have sensors and respond to the transmitter for signals. The growing requirements for remote control at field locations have led to the introduction of sensorless drives.
The microcontroller-based integrated chip inside electric drives can directly receive a signal through the Internet without using transmitter-receiver sensors. The use of such devices aids in the reduction of extra burden resulting from the use of inaccurate physical sensors. The increasing adoption of such automated products is likely to revolutionize the electric drives market. This technology will be a benefit to the jobsite for contractors.
