EU motor efficiency regulation: IE3, IE4 and CE

What the EU motor efficiency regulation covers

Regulation (EU) 2019/1781 (opens in a new tab) sets ecodesign requirements for electric motors and variable speed drives (VSDs), which adapt a motor's speed to its load. Adopted under the Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC and amended by Regulation (EU) 2021/341, it applies directly in all Member States since 1 July 2021 (Article 12).

A motor is in scope (Article 2(1)(a)) if it is an induction motor without brushes, commutators, slip rings or electrical connections to the rotor, rated for 50 Hz, 60 Hz or 50/60 Hz, and has:

• 2, 4, 6 or 8 poles;
• a rated voltage above 50 V up to 1,000 V;
• a rated output from 0.12 to 1,000 kW;
• a continuous duty rating (S1, or S3 or S6 at 80 % or more, Article 3(5));
• a rating for direct on-line operation.

VSDs with a three-phase input and one AC output, rated for one such motor and above 100 V up to 1,000 V AC, are covered too (Article 2(1)(b)). Motors outside these criteria, such as permanent magnet synchronous motors, are not covered.

IE2, IE3 or IE4: minimum levels and dates

8-pole, brake and explosion-protected motors stay at IE3 from 75 to 200 kW, Ex eb motors at IE2 (Annex I, point 1). For VSDs, IE2 means power losses at least 25 % below the reference values in Table 6 of Annex I.

Exemptions are narrower than they look

Article 2(2) lifts the efficiency requirements and most information duties for certain motors, among them:

• Completely integrated motors that share parts such as a shaft or housing with, for example, a gear, pump or fan, cannot be tested separately even with a temporary end-shield and drive-end bearing, and become inoperative if separated (point (a)).
• Compact drives (motors with an integrated VSD) that cannot be tested without it, and motors whose integral brake can neither be removed nor separately powered during testing (points (b) and (c)).
• Motors specifically designed and specified to operate exclusively above 4,000 m, in ambient air above 60 °C or below minus 30 °C, above 400 °C maximum operating temperature or with a water coolant inlet below 0 °C or above 32 °C (point (d)). Merely declaring a wider range does not qualify.
• Further types: submersible, nuclear safety, explosion-protected mining, TENV (totally enclosed non-ventilated), multi-speed and EV traction motors, and motors in cordless, battery-operated, hand-held or hand-guided mobile equipment (points (e) to (j), (l), (n) and (o)).
• Spare motors placed on the market before 1 July 2029 to replace identical motors in products placed on the market before 1 July 2021, or before 1 July 2023 for the requirements that started on that date, marked “Motor to be used exclusively as spare part for” and the product's model (point (m); Annex I, point 2).

Rating plate, data sheet and website

Annex I, point 2 requires 13 items of product information in the data sheet or manual supplied with the motor (or an internet link to it), the technical documentation, a free access website of the manufacturer, its Authorized Representative or the importer, and the technical data sheet of products the motor is built into. They include efficiency at full, 75 % and 50 % load, the IE level, manufacturer details with the commercial registration number, ratings, operating conditions and, since 1 July 2022, losses at seven operating points.

Efficiency values, IE level and year of manufacture go durably on or near the rating plate; if the plate is too small for all efficiency values, the full load efficiency is enough. The Commission's FAQ allows a coded year only where the full year is impractical, as on very small motors, with the code and the year explained in accompanying written information. Tailor-made motors need no website entry if the commercial offer contains the information.

CE marking and the Declaration of Conformity

Before a motor or VSD is placed on the market, it gets the CE marking and an EC Declaration of Conformity in which the manufacturer or its Authorized Representative declares compliance (Article 5(1) of Directive 2009/125/EC). Ecodesign needs no notified body: Article 5(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1781 provides for internal design control or a management system (Annexes IV and V of the Directive).

The manufacturer compiles the technical documentation, with measurement results (Annex IV, point 2), the product information, the Annex II calculations and a list of equivalent models (Article 5(2) and (4) of the Regulation). Keep it and the declaration for 10 years after the last unit was manufactured and supply them within 10 days of a request (Article 8(3)).

The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR) repealed the Directive from 18 July 2024, but its Article 79(1)(b) keeps these provisions, among others, in force for existing measures such as the motor regulation until they are repealed or declared obsolete. The declaration therefore names Regulation (EU) 2019/1781, not the framework (Article 5(3) of the Directive; Commission FAQ).

Who must be established in the EU

Directive 2009/125/EC is listed in Article 4(5) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 (opens in a new tab). A motor or VSD may therefore only be placed on the market if an economic operator established in the EU is responsible for it: an EU manufacturer, an importer, an Authorized Representative with a written mandate or, as a fallback, a fulfilment service provider (Article 4(1) and (2)).

Its tasks: verifying that declaration and technical documentation have been drawn up, keeping the declaration available, answering reasoned requests, informing authorities of risks and cooperating on corrective action (Article 4(3)). Its name and contact details, including a postal address, go on the motor, its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document (Article 4(4)); see Authorized Representative or importer.

Motors inside your machines

Machine builders in industrial automation and industrial machinery build many motors into their products. Article 1 covers them, and recital 11 limits this to motors whose efficiency can be tested separately. A built-in motor within Article 2(1) escapes the efficiency requirements only through an exemption in Article 2(2), typically point (a).

1. 1.Buy CE-marked motors with a declaration under Regulation (EU) 2019/1781. The Commission's ecodesign FAQ states that a company building a CE-marked motor into its product may rely on that marking together with the declaration.
2. 2.Show the motor data in your machine's technical data sheet, if you supply one (Annex I, point 2(d)).
3. 3.Handle the machine separately under machinery law, which excludes standalone motors covered by the low voltage rules (Article 1(2)(k) of Directive 2006/42/EC; from 20 January 2027, Article 2(2)(p) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230); see our Machinery Regulation checklist.

How authorities check efficiency

Authorities test one unit under Annex III. Its measured losses may exceed those calculated from the declared efficiency by at most 15 % for motors up to 150 kW and 10 % above (VSDs: 10 %): a 15 kW motor declared at 93.0 % (7.0 % losses) passes up to 8.05 %. A failed unit leads to three more tests, but the model fails at once if fewer than five units a year, including equivalent models, are produced, or if a 375 to 1,000 kW motor was tested on the premises of the manufacturer, importer or Authorized Representative or in a witnessed factory acceptance test. The tolerances are for authorities only, never a margin for declared values.

Conclusion: check class, exemption and paperwork per motor

Representa supports these checks within the agreed scope and mandate. Our CE marking service identifies the applicable legislation and helps with the technical documentation; compliance verification checks documentation, labels and packaging. As your EU Authorized Representative, we provide our name and address for packaging and the Declaration of Conformity, keep your technical documentation for 10 years and handle authority inquiries. Responsibility for efficiency measurements and declared values stays with you as manufacturer.

Frequently asked questions