Inverter Duty Motors VS General Purpose Motors

General purpose AC motors have been around for many years. An inverter-duty motor is a much newer concept that became necessary as motors began to be driven by variable frequency drives.

An inverter-duty motor can withstand the higher voltage spikes producted by all VFDs and can run at very slow speeds without overheating. This performance comes at a cost: inverter-duty motors can be much more expensive than general purpose motors.

General purpose motors can be run with drives in many applications; however inverter-duty motors are designed to handle much lower speeds without overheating and they are capable of withstanding higher voltage spikes without their insulation failing.

With the increased performance associated with inverter-duty motors comes an increase in cost. This additional cost can be worth it if you need greater performance.