i used to take a continuing education class with an old-school master electrician by the name of fred bender. the guy was the president of the electrical board in the state of nebraska. he was an incredibly well-versed and super-intelligent guy.
one year, he did a motor class and was pretty spot on when someone asked him about what OCPD to install on a motor when we were given the possibility of a 250% on an inverse time breaker. he said, "which one do you install? you install the biggest one you can. why not? do you think the 40a breaker will clear slower than a 25a breaker on a short circuit? nope. do you think the breaker will protect the motor, in the event of overload? NOPE. there's no reason not to put in the biggest one that the code allows."
overlooking the possible price difference, it was hard to disagree with his logic. he was right. the breaker will still function in the event of a short circuit, and protect the insulation on the conductors. and the overload/VFD settings that provide the OL protection are the only things gonna protect the motors, if they go into overload.
the only reason i see not to go to the 25a is just stubborn pride. but, i get it. i've been there too.
have a good night.
