Many people use breakers to protect invested equipment, but electric motor starters are a game changer. Breakers may not trip as soon as an overload on the starter, but the motor will last longer with this additional safety. A burned-out overload relay is far cheaper to replace than what a motor requires.
Discover the reasons why electrical motor starters are a game changer here.
What is Electrical Motor Starter
To start with, an electrical motor starter is just a modest device used to start and stop a motor SAFELY. The motor starter works similarly to a relay in that it turns on and off the power, but unlike a relay, it also offers low voltage and overcurrent safety. A motor starter’s primary duty is to start a motor securely.
A motor starter offers defense by first regulating your gadget or equipment’s electrical output at its starting point of operation. After then, the starter serves as a fail-safe to keep your system safe. The motor starter will turn off the affected equipment if the electrical output or current exceeds its “safe limit.”
An electric motor starter’s primary purpose is;
- To safely start a motor
- To make a motor turn the other way around
- to shield the motor from overcurrent and low voltage.
- To safely stop a motor
Motor starters are primarily used to reduce and avoid electrical overloading. Overloading is prevalent and can pose major threats to both assets and employee health.
- Weather can cause electrical surges.
- the motor’s first load output when starting large equipment
- sudden changes in the way your facility uses electricity
- Electrical issues that have not been detected occur.
Components of Electric Motor Starters
Two basic parts make up a motor starter, and they cooperate to manage and safeguard the motor;
- Electrical Contactor
The electrical contactor’s function is to turn on and off the motor’s power supply by making or breaking between contact terminals.
- Circuit for overload protection
The motor is protected by this circuit from possible damage brought on by an overload state. A large current flowing through the rotor could harm the winding and other associated devices. It detects the current and cuts off the power source.
Types of Motor Starters
There are different types of Motor starters in the market that you can choose from for your setup. In protecting your circuit of equipment, choose which is most compatible and appropriate for the types of machines you run at home or for the business.
- Wye-delta open transmission
This is a rather common electromagnetic starter technology intended to reduce voltage while operating large commercial equipment safely. The system is appropriate for and frequently used in pump and air compressor operations.
- Wye-delta starter OEM
Along with this motor, starter is a sub-panel mounting system. Additionally, they have 120-volt coils and a starter wye-delta timer system. This architecture helps with the control of systems that do not initially incorporate timer features.
- Soft-start solid state
These are high-end integral commercial equipment’s primary motor starters. RVS, or Reduced Voltage Starting, is another name for a soft start motor starter. This tactic works by using magnetic, steel shot, or fluid forces. As a result, the procedure aids in managing the torque and start-up current properly. These heavy-duty Soft-Start Motor Starters are often utilized in conveyor systems, generator use, and other general-purpose operations. Various Overload Relays, SCRs, and By-Pass Contactor soft starters are offered by Spike Electric.
Before picking which motor starter is best for you, you should take the load, your type of engine, and the network into account. We can classify these starters on the way they operate as follows:
- Soft starters gradually increase a motor’s speed to prevent significant current surges and lessen the amount of damage placed on the system’s electrical contacts. Typically, soft starts are utilized with on/off equipment like compressors, conveyor belts, and more.
- Variable frequency drives (VFDs) may regulate the motor’s speed both throughout the run cycle and within the start and stop cycles. For applications that demand total speed control, a VFD is the best option.
How Do Electric Motors Work?
A motor starter has two components. A contractor establishes the circuit’s connection to the motor, and an overload relay monitors and regulates the current that the motor draws from the circuit. The overload relay or overload protection mechanism is calibrated to adhere to the predetermined maximum load that the motor may safely handle. If the motor begins to approach its maximum load, this device promptly activates the engine starter control circuit as well as turns the motor off. Although a circuit breaker may also not trip as soon as a starter overloads, the motor will last longer with this additional safety.
Investing in reliable electric motor starters and contactors is much more cost-efficient compared to spending on repairs and buying replacements for your equipment.
Do I Need an Electric Motor Starter?
Every piece of equipment needs some kind of safety precaution. However, it fully depends on a number of variables whether or not this implies you require a motor starter. In many instances, a disconnect switch will be utilized in place of a motor starter. However, a motor starter may very well be your best or only alternative in many circumstances, making one necessary.
Disconnects are typically employed in smaller applications, whereas motor starters provide more “full” protection for heavier applications that require a higher load. However, the exact criteria that determine this vary greatly between applications.
Advantages of Getting an Electric Motor Starter
Invest in a reliable electric motor starter to be incorporated I your network and enjoy these benefits:
- Higher durability for mechanical and electrical systems
Compared to starters based on breakers, motor starters employing contractors have a longer mechanical and electrical life. Here, the effect is significant. Contactors can last for decades with little to no maintenance in motor starting applications. In contrast, systems for starting motors that rely on breakers may need frequent maintenance starting within a year of operation.
- Improved safety, quicker clearing times, and fewer let-through currents
The motor protection relay’s instantaneous overcurrent setting typically provides breakers-based motor controller short-circuit protection. Although there is no deliberate time delay when this form of protection is in action, it is crucial to be aware that inherent delays do arise because of relay and breaker activities or overall clearing time.
- Lower chopping currents lessen the negative effects on the motor
This abrupt break in current flow is known as “current chop,” and depending on its size and frequency, it can seriously damage insulation over the course of a motor’s lifetime.
- Footprint reduction, clearances, and front accessibility
When the equipment is deployed in places like prefabricated electrical buildings, where the cost per square foot is very high, the increased footprint and additional access needs might get expensive.
- Less space is required
These devices are relatively small and do not take up a bulk of space. Employing multiple electrical motor starters can also be ergonomically arranged to save space while being in a single location to make more efficient management of the network of devices and equipment.
- Cost efficiency in application and maintenance
Getting an electric motor starter in the network of machinery and loads saves your equipment from more serious damages requiring fewer tasks off your hands for maintenance and repairs. This dramatically reduces the charges of your expenses in the long run.
- The power factor improvement has an internal self-monitoring system.
Due to magnetizing and associated losses, while the motor is operating at less than full load, the comparative reactive component of the current drawn by the motor is excessively large. As a result, the power factor also improves while the voltage-dependent losses are reduced with the load-proportional active current component.
- You obtain an improvement in motor starting duty with a certain type.
Whatever the load, the microprocessor version of the Soft starter provides a software-controlled response at full speed that conserves energy. This feature offers advantages for the majority of installations, not just those with fluctuating loads, as a result of the propensity to over-specify the motor’s rated power, and it lowers the temperature rise in the stator windings and supply transformer.
- Application and Installation are relatively easy
If you have a decent understanding of electricity, you will realize that employing this type of device in your electrical network is relatively easy and doable. The effort you give is very practical compared to the benefits it gives.
- Protection for equipment and industry
Nothing beats a safe place to work and operate. With such a small device that you can integrate easily into your network of loads, you can take away the worries of high costs for repair, troubleshoots, and maintenance. You are securing the utmost safety for personnel so as for your investments and equipment.
Overall
An electric motor starter is nothing but just a relatively small device that secures your equipment and the house for uninterrupted production and efficiency. Such a small device is connected to a motor that controls the current to provide overload safety and assist with reversing, starting, accelerating, and protecting motors. The motor is protected from overloading and overheating by overload protection. Such size with such wonders is indeed a game changer.
Protect your equipment with Schneider Electrics, a reliable ally for sustainability. Visit https://www.se.com/th/en/ and check the best control relays and motor starters for your business.
