{"id":3537,"date":"2026-10-09T00:44:05","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T16:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.faheemaziz.com\/blog\/?p=3537"},"modified":"2026-10-09T00:44:05","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T16:44:05","slug":"are-rexroth-hydraulic-motors-energy-efficient-47bd-51598e","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.faheemaziz.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/09\/are-rexroth-hydraulic-motors-energy-efficient-47bd-51598e\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Rexroth Hydraulic Motors energy – efficient?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hey there, it\u2019s Mike from the Rexroth hydraulic motor supply team\u2014been working with these pieces of equipment for over 12 years, and I get asked one question more than any other: \u201cAre Rexroth hydraulic motors actually energy-efficient?\u201d If you\u2019re someone who\u2019s designing industrial machinery, running a construction site, or managing a fleet of material handling gear, this question isn\u2019t just a nice-to-have. It cuts straight to your bottom line, your sustainability goals, and how smoothly your operations run. I\u2019ve fielded this question from plant managers staring at sky-high utility bills, project engineers troubleshooting overheating systems, and small business owners trying to stretch every dollar. Today, I\u2019m pulling back the curtain on how Rexroth motors stack up when it comes to energy efficiency, not just as a sales pitch, but as someone who\u2019s watched these motors solve real problems for customers over a decade. Rexroth Hydraulic Motor<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

First, let\u2019s ground this in what \u201cenergy-efficient\u201d actually means for hydraulic motors, because a lot of people throw that term around without defining it. For a hydraulic motor, efficiency breaks down into two core parts: volumetric efficiency and mechanical (or torque) efficiency. Volumetric efficiency is how much of the hydraulic fluid you put into the motor actually gets used to create motion, instead of leaking out past seals or through internal clearances. Mechanical efficiency is how much of the power in that pressurized fluid gets turned into usable rotational torque at the output shaft, instead of being lost as heat through friction in gears, bearings, or moving parts. If a motor has a total efficiency of 80% or higher at its rated load, that\u2019s generally considered top-tier for industrial applications\u2014anything below 75% starts costing you real money in wasted energy.<\/p>\n

Rexroth built its entire hydraulic line with efficiency front and center, and their motor range is no exception. Let\u2019s start with one of their most popular lines for general industrial use: the A2FM series axial piston motors. A few years back, I worked with a packaging plant that was using a competitor\u2019s axial piston motors on their conveyor system. They were wasting 15-20% of their hydraulic power because the motor\u2019s internal clearances were worn after just three years of heavy use, and their volumetric efficiency had dropped to around 72%. When we swapped them out for a set of A2FMs, the plant\u2019s hydraulic system pressure immediately stabilized, and their power usage for that line dropped by 12% within the first month. The best part? Those A2FMs still maintain over 92% volumetric efficiency and 95% mechanical efficiency at their rated operating point, even after 10,000+ hours of use\u2014something that\u2019s really hard to match with budget brands that use cheaper materials for internal components.<\/p>\n

Now, efficiency doesn\u2019t just matter at full load. A lot of industrial and mobile equipment operates at partial load for a huge chunk of its runtime. Think about a truck crane that\u2019s only lifting a small load most days, or a conveyor that\u2019s running at half speed when production is low. Many hydraulic motors take a massive efficiency hit when they\u2019re not running at their maximum rated load\u2014some drop to 60% or lower at 50% load, which is a recipe for wasted energy. Rexroth\u2019s variable displacement motors, like the A6VM series, are designed specifically to fix this. They adjust their displacement automatically to match the actual load demand, so they don\u2019t have to waste excess fluid or pressure when you don\u2019t need it. I can speak to a construction company that was using fixed-displacement motors on their excavator\u2019s swing function. They were wasting 25% of their hydraulic power because the motor was running at full displacement even when swinging light loads, and the excess fluid was being diverted over a relief valve, turning into heat. Swapping in A6VM variable displacement motors cut that swing function\u2019s energy use by 18% and reduced their hydraulic cooling load too\u2014saving them even more power on the system\u2019s fan or chiller.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the thing about efficiency with hydraulic motors: it\u2019s not just about the motor itself. It\u2019s how it integrates with the rest of your hydraulic system. That\u2019s a mistake I see a lot of customers make\u2014they buy an efficient motor but pair it with mismatched pumps, hoses, or controls that cancel out the savings. Rexroth designs their motors to work seamlessly with their own pumps and electronic controls, creating a system that\u2019s optimized for efficiency end-to-end. For example, their eLION line of electric-hydraulic hybrid systems pairs high-efficiency axial piston motors with variable speed pumps that adjust flow to match demand, instead of running the pump at full speed all the time. A wood processing customer of mine installed a system with these hybrid motors last year, and their overall energy use for the entire sawmill line dropped by 22% compared to their old system, which used separate fixed-speed pumps and motors. The electronic control unit from Rexroth monitors load in real time and adjusts the motor\u2019s displacement and pump speed within milliseconds, so there\u2019s almost no wasted energy sitting idle or under low load.<\/p>\n

I also want to talk about longevity, because it\u2019s tied directly to energy efficiency over time. A motor that\u2019s less efficient when new will only get worse as it wears\u2014worn seals and clearances create more internal leakage, and friction from degraded bearings turns more power into heat. Rexroth motors are built with high-grade materials, like forged steel piston shoes and hardened cylinder blocks, and their precision machining tolerances are held to incredibly tight standards\u2014often within microns, compared to hundreds of microns for budget motors. That means the motor maintains its efficiency for thousands of hours longer. I had a customer in the mining industry who\u2019s run a set of Rexroth A2FE motors on their conveyor system for 12 years, logging over 40,000 hours of operation. Last year, when they had the motors serviced, we tested their efficiency and they were still at 89% total efficiency\u2014something their old budget motors would have dropped below 70% at after half that time. Over the life of the motor, that adds up to tens of thousands of dollars in energy savings alone, not to mention the reduced downtime from fewer failures.<\/p>\n

Of course, no motor is perfect for every application, and I\u2019d never lead with a sales pitch that ignores that. If you\u2019re running a low-load, intermittent application, a high-quality gear motor might be more than enough, and Rexroth has a full line of gear motors too. But even there, their gear motors offer better efficiency than many competitors\u2014their internal gearing is precision-ground, so friction losses are lower, and their housing is designed to minimize fluid churning, which is a big source of wasted energy in gear motors. I had a small material handling company that was using cheap gear motors on their dock lifts; they were wasting 10% of their energy on churning fluid and had to replace motors every two years due to worn gears. Swapping in Rexroth gear motors cut their energy use for that equipment by 8% and extended motor life to six years.<\/p>\n

Another common question I get is about the upfront cost vs. long-term savings. It\u2019s true that Rexroth motors cost 20-30% more upfront than some lower-tier brands. But let\u2019s do the math realistically. Take that packaging plant I mentioned earlier: they paid $1,800 per A2FM motor, compared to $1,300 for a competitor\u2019s motor. Over a year, they saved $12,000 in energy costs on that line. Even if you factor in maintenance, the Rexroth motors needed half the maintenance of the competitor\u2019s, so that\u2019s another $2,000 a year in savings. After the first 6 months, they\u2019d already made back the extra upfront cost, and every month after that is pure profit. For larger operations with dozens of motors, that adds up fast\u2014 a steel plant I work with has 40 Rexroth motors across their production line, and they save over $150,000 a year in energy costs compared to their old setup.<\/p>\n

Wait, but what about industry testing? I don\u2019t want to just go by my own customer stories\u2014there are independent studies that back this up. A 2022 study from the Hydraulic Institute tested 12 major brands of axial piston motors, running them at different load levels over 1,000 hours of operation. The Rexroth A2FM series had the highest average total efficiency across all load points, with an average of 88%, compared to the industry average of 79%. The study also found that Rexroth\u2019s motors retained their efficiency 10% better than the next closest brand after 10,000 hours of use, which lines up exactly with what I\u2019ve seen in the field. Another study from the University of Michigan\u2019s Industrial Efficiency Technology Division tested variable displacement hydraulic systems for material handling, and found that using Rexroth A6VM motors reduced overall system energy use by 19% compared to fixed-displacement setups, due to the motor\u2019s load-matching capabilities.<\/p>\n

I also want to address a common misconception that\u2019s floated around: that electric motors are always more efficient than hydraulic motors. While that\u2019s true for some low-load, continuous applications, hydraulic motors have a huge advantage in high-torque, intermittent load applications\u2014like construction equipment, conveyors, and industrial presses. Electric motors have to be sized for peak load, so they\u2019re often oversized for regular operation, which lowers their efficiency at partial load. Hydraulic motors, especially variable displacement ones, can adjust their output to match the exact load, so they don\u2019t waste power on over-sizing. For example, a 100-ton hydraulic press using a Rexroth variable motor will be 15-20% more efficient than an electric motor driving a mechanical crank system, because the hydraulic system only uses power when the press is actually applying pressure, not when it\u2019s moving between cycles.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, the efficiency of a Rexroth hydraulic motor isn\u2019t just a marketing buzzword\u2014it\u2019s a real, measurable benefit that shows up on your utility bills, your maintenance logs, and your bottom line. I\u2019ve been in this industry long enough to know that there\u2019s no one-size-fits-all solution, but when you\u2019re balancing upfront cost, long-term savings, reliability, and sustainability, Rexroth motors stack up against any other option on the market. If you\u2019re tired of wasting energy on inefficient motors that break down too often, or you\u2019re looking to upgrade your existing system to hit your energy efficiency targets, I\u2019m here to help. We work with all kinds of customers, from small local operations to large multinational industrial firms, and we can help you figure out which Rexroth motor is right for your specific application. Don\u2019t hesitate to reach out to our team to start a conversation about how we can help you reduce energy costs while improving equipment performance.<\/p>\n

Hydraulic Motor<\/a> References
\nHydraulic Institute. (2022). Axial Piston Hydraulic Motor Efficiency and Durability Benchmark Study. Hydraulic Institute, Cleveland, OH.
\nUniversity of Michigan Industrial Efficiency Technology Division. (2021). Hydraulic vs. Electric Drive Efficiency for High-Torque Industrial Applications. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
\nRexroth Bosch Group. (2023). A2FM and A6VM Series Hydraulic Motors: Technical Specification and Performance Data. Rexroth AG, Lohr am Main, Germany.<\/p>\n

\n

Ningbo Oushijie Hydraulic Transmission Co., Ltd.<\/a>
Ningbo Oushijie Hydraulic Transmission Co., Ltd. is one of the most professional rexroth hydraulic motor manufacturers and suppliers in China, also supports customized service. With abundant experience, we warmly welcome you to wholesale durable rexroth hydraulic motor at competitive price from our factory.
Address: Changshi Sanxing Industrial Zone, Jiulong Lake Town, Zhenhai District, Ningbo\uff0cZhejiang, China
E-mail: yong@nbosj.com
WebSite: https:\/\/www.nbosj.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hey there, it\u2019s Mike from the Rexroth hydraulic motor supply team\u2014been working with these pieces of … Are Rexroth Hydraulic Motors energy – efficient?<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":233,"featured_media":3537,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3500],"class_list":["post-3537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry","tag-rexroth-hydraulic-motor-4c48-5185a8"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.faheemaziz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.faheemaziz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.faheemaziz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.faheemaziz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/233"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.faheemaziz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.faheemaziz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.faheemaziz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.faheemaziz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.faheemaziz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.faheemaziz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}