Why are blower motors so expensive?

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hackish

New Member
Dec 27, 2020
1
Quebec, Canada
I'm not an HVAC professional, but I've got a reasonable amount of technical knowledge.

In my situation, I would like to upgrade the furnace fan blower motor as the old 1/2hp AC unit is on its way out. I've been pricing out ECM motors, but I can't understand why they are so expensive. $600-$800 for a little 3/4hp motor. I could get an industrial 3/4hp servo motor with torque and speed control able to start and stop within a fraction of a degree, controlled ramp-up and ramp-down and all that for less money. Other fractional hp motors with VFD are also far less.

I am wondering if this is just pricing for the "industry", or if there is some hidden quality I don't know about that drives the cost of these motors up?
 
I've noticed too the ECM motors are very expensive. A forum that is specifically geared toward hvac might give better info.
I'm not sure myself.