A drive is an electronic device used to regulate the performance of an electric motor. It works by controlling the power, frequency and current the motor draws from the grid. Drives (also referred to as a variable-speed motor drive) can lead to considerable energy savings as most motors are fixed-speed devices that run at full speed, even when a lower speed would suffice. Many motors are controlled by “throttling down”, which is equivalent to slowing a car by using the brake, rather than taking your foot off the accelerator, and does not save energy. Reducing a motor’s speed by half using a drive can reduce the energy it consumes to one-eighth of its consumption at full speed.