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As the mainstream choice for high-speed motors, permanent magnet BLDC motors are rapidly penetrating into various application fields. Among them, the penetration rate in the field of home appliances still has great room for development. At present, what are the technical requirements for permanent magnet BLDC motors in home appliances? What new requirements are put forward for the design of the controller? How much room does there exist for the development of permanent magnet BLDC motors in the home appliance market? This article will give you answers through discussions with experts in the motor industry!
In June last year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issued the "Action Plan for Improving Industrial Energy Efficiency." The plan points out that by 2025, the proportion of new high-efficiency and energy-saving motors will reach 70%. As a type of high-efficiency motor, the permanent magnet BLDC motor has the characteristics of high efficiency, low noise, high precision, and long life, and is rapidly penetrating into various application markets.At present, what is the proportion of permanent magnet BLDC motors in the application market? Where is the potential market? What are the technical bottlenecks and future development space? Let’s discuss with experts in the motor industry to answer your questions. doubt.
Permanent magnet BLDC motor market size and potential market
analyze
The permanent magnet BLDC motor is a brushless DC motor that uses permanent magnet material as the rotor. Compared with the traditional brushed DC motor, it is not equipped with carbon brushes and has a unique design of flexible connection between the rare earth permanent magnet rotor and the belt, which enables the motor to exhibit high efficiency, low noise, high speed, high precision and long life. As the demand for energy saving, consumption reduction, intelligent control and optimized user experience in terminal applications continues to increase, permanent magnet BLDC motors have gradually become the mainstream choice for high-efficiency motors.According to data from market research company Grand View Research, the market size of BLDC motors will reach US$189 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow to US$223 billion by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 5.7%. China's BLDC motor market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 15% from 2018 to 2023, exceeding the global average.
▲Data source: Grand View ResearchPermanent magnet BLDC motors are currently widely used in many fields, including fans, pumps, electric vehicles, power tools, compressors, agricultural machinery, and automobiles. Especially in home appliances, due to higher standards for control accuracy, energy-saving frequency conversion and performance, the demand for permanent magnet BLDC motors is correspondingly on the rise.Currently, the application of permanent magnet BLDC motors in white appliances, such as air conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines, has become relatively popular. It has brought stepless speed change, energy saving and consumption reduction, and substantial improvement in performance to these devices, driving the development of high-end white appliances. sales growth.In household appliances such as range hoods, dishwashers, food waste processors, clothes dryers, vacuum cleaners and air purifiers, the application proportion of permanent magnet BLDC motors is still relatively low, indicating huge market development space.Wang Yunchong, PhD and associate professor of Zhejiang University, pointed out: " Compared with asynchronous motors, permanent magnet BLDC motors have higher energy efficiency. The motors can reach IE5 or higher standards, while asynchronous motors can often only reach IE3. In household appliances and wireless In fields such as man-machine and electric vehicles, permanent magnet BLDC motors have huge application potential. Especially in application scenarios such as fans and water pumps, traditional low-cost induction motors are facing a trend of substitution. "Chang Jianming, chief engineer of Panasonic Home Appliance Motor R&D, also said: " From the current point of view, the proportion of permanent magnet BLDC motors in the field of home appliances will continue to grow. "Data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China Customs and Electronic Enthusiast Network all show that the penetration rate of permanent magnet BLDC motors in the field of home appliances is continuing to increase, especially in air purifiers, vacuum cleaners and electric fans, with penetration rates of 42%, 30% and 30% respectively. 20% - This further reveals that permanent magnet BLDC motors still have a lot of room for penetration and replacement in the field of home appliances .
Permanent magnet BLDC motor technology for home appliances
Require
When talking about motor technical standards for household appliances, the most important thing is user safety, followed by product quality and reliability. At the same time, modern household appliances also expect motors to have higher energy efficiency, lower noise and more economical costs.Dr. Wang Yunchong, associate professor of Zhejiang University, pointed out: "The development prospects of permanent magnet BLDC motors are broad, especially in the fields of home appliances, drones, electric vehicles and other fields. For the field of home appliances, the requirements for motors mainly focus on efficiency, cost, vibration, noise and Volume-wise.”First, safety is paramount. Permanent magnet BLDC motors need to have good insulation to prevent short circuit and electric shock, and should be properly grounded. There must be overload protection and ensure that users do not come into contact with live parts.Secondly, performance and reliability are also very important for permanent magnet BLDC motors. It should start stably within the specified time and run for a long time without overheating or malfunctioning. Permanent magnet BLDC motors should pass durability tests and the noise should be maintained within a safe and comfortable range, especially in home appliances.Third, permanent magnet BLDC motor energy efficiency standards are widely implemented in many countries/regions. These standards require motors to meet certain energy efficiency levels to reduce energy consumption. Therefore, manufacturers need to ensure that their products comply with all relevant standards and certification requirements of their target markets. In addition, the degree of protection of permanent magnet BLDC motors is a necessary consideration for household appliances that may come into contact with water or other liquids. Motors with specific protection levels ensure safe use and prevent accidents.It is worth mentioning that currently, each country and region has its own unique technical standards and certification agencies for products in the field of home appliances, such as UL in the United States, CE in Europe, and CCC in China. Manufacturers need to ensure that their products meet all the requirements of their target markets, which is crucial for both brand image and market acceptance.It is understood that the motor technical standards that household appliances must meet include but are not limited to the following:1. Motor energy efficiency limit value and energy efficiency grade (GB 18613-2020): Applicable to capacitor-operated motors for air-conditioning fans and brushless DC motors for air-conditioning fans.2. GBT 13537-1992 General technical conditions for motors used in electronic household appliances: stipulates the technical requirements, test methods, etc. for household appliance motors of specific sizes.
Permanent magnet BLDC motor controller for home appliances
New requirements put forward by design
A motor is a device that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy, and a controller is a device used to control the operation of the motor. The relationship between the motor and the controller is like the engine and control system of a car. The engine is used to provide power, and the control system is used to control the operation of the engine. Choosing a good home appliance controller solution plays a key role in the operation of permanent magnet BLDC motors.
The new requirements put forward by home appliances for controllers are mainly in terms of safety, reliability and integration.With the widespread application of automated electronic control systems, their safety and reliability have become key elements of system design. Fang Liang, an engineer at the Hangzhou Panasonic Motor R&D Department, pointed out: “We attach great importance to the selection criteria of the upstream controller, especially its safety.”In order to ensure the long-term stable operation of home appliance controllers, in addition to using high-quality components and advanced manufacturing technology, detailed quality testing is also required. During the design phase, various potential failures should be fully anticipated and strategies should be developed to reduce their impact on operation. The introduction of the home appliance safety standard IEC60730 further highlights the core position of automated electronic control in ensuring the safe operation of home appliances.In addition, with the wide variety of home appliances and their increasingly rich functions, a single controller can no longer meet the needs of the market. Therefore, integrating multiple functional modules into one controller can not only reduce system costs, but also improve system maintainability and scalability.The integrated controller can realize the collaborative work of multiple functions, such as temperature control, humidity control, lighting control, etc., providing users with a more convenient and intelligent experience. At the same time, the integrated controller can also be easily modularized to facilitate later function upgrades and maintenance.Topband is the world's leading provider of intelligent control solutions and a leader in intelligent control solutions for the home appliance and tool industries. The company's controller products in the home appliance field have received high recognition in the industry. They also bluntly pointed out some of the main problems encountered in the current industry-related products and technologies. He Zhou, engineer of its motor controller R&D department, said: "The design of permanent magnet BLDC motor controllers is relatively mature, but in There will still be some corresponding difficulties in terms of power. The greater the power, the greater the heat generation. Because of the high power, the current will be relatively large, which will cause some effects. The greater the power, the more difficult the design difficulties will be."
The development of permanent magnet BLDC motors in the home appliance market
exhibition space
According to a data table on the penetration rate of BLDC motors in home appliances compiled by the National Bureau of Statistics, China Customs and electronics enthusiasts, it can be found that the penetration rate of BLDC motors in various home appliances products still has a large inventory space. Especially among home appliances with a penetration rate of less than 20%, such as range hoods, dishwashers, gas water heaters, hair dryers, and electric toothbrushes, the penetration stock of permanent magnet BLDC motors is still about 80%.
▲Data sources: National Bureau of Statistics, China Customs, Electronic Enthusiast Network
When a reporter asked about the future development space of the permanent magnet BLDC motor market, He Zhou, a motor controller R&D engineer at Topband Co., Ltd., believed: "The permanent magnet BLDC motor market has huge development potential, and we are still in the growth stage. In daily life, the use of motors The wider the application, the higher our quality of life. Compared with other motors, BLDC motors have better power density. Moreover, given China's relative abundance of rare earth resources, the country is also suitable for the development of permanent magnet motors."Associate Professor Wang Yunchong of Zhejiang University also holds the same view: "BLDC motors have huge room for development. From the perspective of motor performance, BLDC motors have obvious advantages over asynchronous motors. With the improvement of motor performance, power density and efficiency Requirements continue to rise, and the development potential of this market is still great.”At the same time, Professor Wang also pointed out the future technological development trend of permanent magnet BLDC motors. He said that from the perspective of cost reduction, rare earth-free or rare earth-less structures may be the future technological development trend of permanent magnet BLDC motors.
In general, the permanent magnet BLDC motor market still has a very large room for growth, and its popular application fields, home appliances, have shown relatively large room for penetration and growth. However, home appliances put forward high requirements for permanent magnet BLDC motors and controllers, including safety, reliability, integration, etc.In the future, opportunities and challenges coexist. If permanent magnet BLDC motor manufacturers want to open up the market in the field of home appliance applications, they need to continuously improve the technical level and performance of motors, strengthen motor brand building and market promotion, in order to maintain the competitive advantages and market position of motor companies.
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