PUNE, India — The global variable frequency drives (VFDs) market is forecast to grow steadily at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 8 percent by 2020, according to a report from ReportsnReports.

The market report notes that low power rating drives of less than 1 MW are slowly gaining popularity and technological advances have enabled energy-efficient devices that use low power rating drives.

The prospects for growth in this market are being driven by the growing demand for electric motors in various applications. VFDs are increasingly being applied in HVAC systems as energy management tools. VFDs act as energy-saving devices in fans, pumps, air handling units, and chillers. They are increasingly used in equipment having variable load applications. Typically, energy savings vary from 30 percent to 50 percent when using a VFD.

In terms of geography, the Asia Pacific (APAC) region will be the largest variable frequency drives market during the forecast period. The growth of the chemical processing and manufacturing industries coupled with the significant growth of other industries like power, infrastructure, automobile production, and hydrocarbons will result in this region’s market share of more than 56 percent by 2020.

The ac drives segment currently dominates the market and is seen to further enhance its hold on the market by 2020 owing to its extensive utilization in all types of industries. Moreover, its augmented usage in heavy industries, such as metals and mining, oil and gas, cement, paper, power generation, wind energy, water and wastewater, and marine, will result in a substantial market share of more than 84 percent by 2020.

In the market study, analysts estimate the low-voltage variable frequency drives segment to account for more than 81 percent of the total market share by 2020. Since these drives have high flexibility, they can be configured to meet the precise requirements of industrial applications. Rapid development in the infrastructure and manufacturing sectors will lead to the healthy growth of this market segment during the forecast period.

According to the report, leading vendors in the variable frequency drives market are: ABB, Siemens, Toshiba, and Yaskawa. Other prominent vendors in the market are: American Electric Technologies, Amtech Electronics India, Delta, Emerson, Fuji Electric, Hiconics Drive Technology, Hitachi, Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Mitsubishi Electric, and Schneider Electric.

More information is available here.

Publication date: 1/26/2016

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