Among the numerous applications for electrical machines, their use in domestic refrigeration compressors has yet to be thoroughly examined, notably from a research point of view. In this context, one of the primary motor applications is the hermetic reciprocating compressor (HRC). This study analyzes three types of rotating electrical motors used for HRCs. This application comes with specific implementation challenges, as well as efficiency and noise requirements, which are their main performance criteria. This work presents several studies that address the motor’s topologies and their control, compares their strengths and weaknesses in HRC applications, and identifies the research and development needs that arise from the different future trends.