What kind of power quality equipment is used most around the world, and what is raising demand?

by Brianna Crandall — May 26, 2017 — A new report from MarketsandMarkets analyzes the global power quality equipment market, which the group says is set to witness a significant growth due to the growing demand for protection systems for electronic devices, non-uniform power quality and network reliability issues, a rise in alternative energy programs, and power quality standardization. The market is expected to grow from an estimated USD 29.74 billion in 2017 to $40.85 billion by 2022, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.56%, from 2017 to 2022.

Largest market share by end-user: Industrial and manufacturing segment

The industrial and manufacturing segment led the power quality market in 2016, and is projected to dominate the market during the forecast period. The Industry 4.0 initiative is being applied to vehicles and electrical machinery in order to facilitate remote diagnostics, remote maintenance, and remote data capture. Such initiatives have increased the need for data centers, servers, and communication systems.

With the increasing use of electronic equipment, the need for protection systems for such critical equipment has been increasing. This is driving the market for power quality equipment in the industrial and manufacturing segment, which is expected to create new revenue pockets for the power quality equipment market during the forecast period.

Fastest-growing market segment: Solid oxide fuel cells

With respect to the equipment segment, solid oxide fuel cells are expected to constitute the fastest-growing market from 2017 to 2022. These fuel cells generate electricity using a hard, ceramic compound of metal as an electrolyte, like calcium or zirconium oxides. The generated electricity can compensate for the dip in the quality of power flowing through the electrical network. The generated electricity from these fuel cells can inject power into the electrical circuit to maintain the power quality parameters when the electrical load reduces in these circuits.

Other equipment includes: surge arresters, surge protection devices, harmonic filters, power conditioning units, power distribution units, uninterruptable power supply, synchronous condenser, voltage regulator, digital static transfer switch, static VAR compensator, isolation transformers and power quality meters.

Leading geographical market: North America

In this report, the power quality equipment market has been analyzed with respect to five regions, namely: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, and the Middle East and Africa. The North American market is expected to dominate the global power quality equipment market. The United States is investing in various protection systems for urbanized infrastructure development. The North American region has age-old transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure, due to which the region is more prone to power outages.  According to an estimate, approximately 6% of the total electricity generated is usually lost during transmission and distribution from the grid to the consumer.

The U.S. government is focusing on grid restructuring to overcome this issue. Multibillion-dollar investments in data centers and urban infrastructure for the telecom industry have paved a way for the demand for power quality equipment to grow phenomenally. The increasing demand from the public infrastructure along with new renewable power projects are expected to create growth opportunities for the power quality equipment market in the region.

Top players

To enable an in-depth understanding of the competitive landscape, the report includes the profiles of some of the top players in the power quality equipment market. These players include ABB, Ltd. (Switzerland), Siemens AG (Germany), Schneider Electric SE (France), Emerson Electric Company (USA), Eaton Corporation Plc (Ireland), and General Electric Company (USA). The leading players are trying to make inroads in the markets in developed economies and are adopting various strategies to increase their market shares.

The 187-page Power Quality Equipment Market by Equipment (UPS, Harmonic Filters, Surge Protection Devices, Power Conditioning Unit, Static VAR compensator, and Power Quality Meters), Phase (Single and Three Phase), End-User, and Region — Global Forecast to 2022 report is available for purchase from the MarketsandMarkets Web site. Early buyers will receive 10% customization on reports, notes the firm.