Interact Analysis has been focusing on the motor and frequency converter market. In this market, “low voltage” usually refers to a voltage “below 690v”. But when we studied the low-voltage AC inverter market last year, we noticed a term that was often mentioned – “ultra-low voltage”. This was the first time we heard the term in the traditional motor and inverter market, which immediately piqued our interest.

Upon further investigation, we found that the term “ultra-low voltage” refers to a voltage “below 60V”. We determined that this trend was significant enough to merit a report devoted to it. As a result, in April 2023, we released the first edition of the “Low-voltage Frequency Drives below 60v Market” research report, which explores in detail the trend of motor and frequency drives towards less than 60V architecture, the drivers behind it, and the application areas with the highest penetration of this technology route.

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Why below 60 volts?

From a product safety point of view, there are some advantages to using systems below 60V compared to high voltage systems. In industrial applications, UL product safety standards require that products with input voltages greater than 60V must have additional protection features to reduce the risk of electric shock to the user. In addition, the use of systems below 60V where applicable can also lower the technical threshold for maintenance. Because the system is in a lower voltage range, maintenance can be done by less skilled technicians without the risk of electric shock. This is of high value in today’s manufacturing sector.

There is a severe shortage of skilled labor in the manufacturing sector, and this factor is widely believed to be driving many trends in industrial automation. With older, more experienced technicians leaving and a shortage of young engineers entering the industry, manufacturing companies are struggling to find a skilled enough workforce to effectively perform the necessary equipment maintenance work. For example, in the context of a shortage of skilled workers, the penetration rate of technologies such as predictive maintenance and equipment condition monitoring has increased rapidly. Similarly, the adoption of safer sub-60V motors and inverters can also be seen as a strategy to cope with Labour shortages.