What is a star delta starter and how does it work?

Star and Delta are two different configurations of connection of a Three phase AC electrical circuit , typically
applicable for connections of a Three phase motor.

Three phase supply is where the Alternating power supply voltage in the Three live wires is identical in
magnitude when referenced to a common supply point ( also called the neutral.) However there is a phase
difference of 120 degrees with respect to each of the phase , resulting in a higher magnitude of voltage when it
is measured between any two phases. This implies that if the circuit is configured to allow current to pass
identically as measured with the common terminal ( star configuration ) , its value will be lesser as compared
to when the circuit is configured to pass current between each pair of the three phases ( delta configuration )

The motor when its starts from rest ( or a low speed ) it will always draw a very large current as compared to
its normal working ( rated ) current. This was a practical limitation which was unavoidable ( at least till the
advent of Electronic Inverter Motor Controllers ) and can be damaging if not corectly limited in magnitude &
duration. Thus the Star configuration was used to start the motor with a lower resultant magnitude of the
starting current. However this configuration does not allow the motor to operate at its full mechanical load
driving capacity due to the lower final working currents. To overcome this , the delta configuration is used to
enable full power motor operation.

Since this involves a change of motor terminal supply connection wiring pattern ,

a system using relay / contactor , which allows changing of multiple electrical connections simultaneously is
used , which is named as star delta starter. The changeover can be manual after verifiying that the motor has
acheived a minimium desired speed , or a delay timer set for appropriate duration can be used to do the star
to delta changeover.

Modern Electronic inverter based motor controllers need not use this changeover as other techniques are used
to monitor / provide motor operation within the specified limits.