08/18/2026
What Causes Electric Motor Efficiency Losses?
A motor uses electrical energy to produce mechanical power, but some energy is lost during operation. Understanding these losses can help explain what affects a motor’s overall efficiency.
Some common sources of efficiency loss:
- Friction Losses: Caused by resistance from parts like bearings, bushings, and brushes.
- Windage Losses: Caused by air resistance and turbulence as the motor rotates.
- Iron Losses: Losses in the motor’s magnetic core, including hysteresis and eddy current losses.
- Ohmic Losses: Caused by current flowing through the resistance of the motor’s conductors.
- Stray Losses: Other losses that do not fit into the main categories above.
These losses cannot be completely eliminated, but knowing where they come from can help when looking at motor efficiency and overall performance.
Learn more: https://www.groschopp.com/efficiency-and-losses-in-electric-motors/