WHITE PAPER:

INDUCTION MOTOR SOFT-STARTERS AND EFFECTS ON PQ

Contributed by John Ellis

ABSTRACT
This white paper describes using a motor soft-starter to reduce
the effects of line changes due to high current in-rushes on
AC induction motors. We’ll start with the basics of induction
motors, soft-starters, and culminating with a discussion on how
the power quality can be affected and how soft-starters will help
counteract these effects. There are several architectures used in
these devices, we will primarily compare direct online operation
with a typical soft-starter.

WHAT IS AN AC INDUCTION MOTOR?
An induction motor (also called an asynchronous motor) is a
brushless motor, often used in industrial applications where high
torque is often required. An AC induction motor can operate
on single phase or three phase AC power. The induction motor
design offers higher reliability without brushes and eliminates
the need for periodic maintenance for cleaning / replacement of
the brushes.
Figure 2. How the electric field moves between the poles
Figure 2 illustrates how each voltage causes the rotation of the
rotor. Three phase induction motors are considered
"self-starting” since they require no external motor start
capacitors or other components to initialize motion.
WHAT IS AN AC MOTOR SOFT-STARTER?

Figure 3. Basic soft-starter configuration

An AC motor soft-starter is a device that controls the applica-

Figure 1. Cutaway View of an induction motor
Figure 1 shows a cutaway view for a typical induction style
motor. Depending on the type and magnitude of the motor load, other protections to the motor. Figure 4 shows a typical plot of
induction motors can require a very high inrush current, which
can create power quality issues such as voltage sag, poor power
factor, and others.
The induction motor works because the electric field moves
around the stator coils as each phase of the voltage cycles. This
causes the rotor to rotate inside the stator. Since the motor coils
are driven off the line voltage, the maximum rotation speed is
just below AC frequency.
tion of startup voltage on a motor. The soft-starter is installed
between the AC line voltage and the induction motor. With
the soft-starter in series with the motor, it can alter the output
voltage to the motor to control in-rush current and provide
the startup current and the motor speed in the Direct On-line
configuration (no soft- starter). As the figure shows, the initial
current is six times the steady state current and once the motor
is turning/accelerating, the required motor current tapers off
until the motor reaches the final speed.

Page 1 © 2023 Power Monitors, Inc. • Call Us: (800) 296-4120 • www.powermonitors.com
WHITE PAPER:
INDUCTION MOTOR SOFT-STARTERS AND EFFECTS ON PQ
Figure 4. Startup Current - Direct On-Line
Figure 5. Simplified micro controlled soft-start circuit.
Let’s review the example soft-start circuit shown in Figure
5. The circuit consists of three Diac pairs (pairs are connect-
ed in parallel and back-to-back to allow conduction in both
directions). Across each Diac pair is 1/3 of a contactor which
is used to bypass the solid-state devices with a hard contact
closure. This reduces long-term wear on these components as
there can be considerable heat dissipated in the Diacs. Under
typical operation, when the microprocessor is signaled that
the motor is to be started, the soft-starter will open the contact
closures and begin controlling the Diacs to adjust the phase
start angle.
Page 2 © 2023 Power Monitors, Inc. • Call Us: (800) 296-4120 • www.powermonitors.com
Refer to Figure 6; By varying the conduction phase angle, the
motor can have a gradual voltage applied and gradually in-
creased as the motor accelerates. This eliminates the
‘hard-start’ condition which can exert electrical and
mechanical stress on the motor and other nearby electronics.
The part of the sine wave covered by red is when the solid-
state device is conducting.
Figure 6. Triac/Dual Diac Operation
HOW DOES AN ASYNCHRONOUS MOTOR
SOFT-STARTER IMPROVE POWER QAULITY?
The main PQ advantages for using a soft-starter are that it
improves the Power Factor and reduces the likelihood of sig-
nificant voltage sags. The significance of the benefit depends
on the number of motors on any given power source and the
size of those motors. Under an inductive load, the current will
lag the voltage by 90°. The power factor is calculated by the
equation:
Power Factor (PF) = True Power/Apparent Power
-or-
Watts/Volt Amps
WHITE PAPER:
INDUCTION MOTOR SOFT-STARTERS AND EFFECTS ON PQ

A power factor of 1.0 is perfect, a PF below 0.90 is not desir- CONCLUSION

able. An induction motor inherently has a poor PF as the
voltage leads the current by 90°. One way a soft-starter can
improve power quality is that instead of having instantaneous
startup current surges of more than 500%, The voltage and
current (thus power) are ramped up slowly. This will reduce
the effects of the surges during the ramp cycle when the cur-
rent surges are the highest. Voltage sags are defined as a brief
(less than one minute) reduction in supplied voltage wherein
the RMS voltage falls to <= 90% of the system’s steady state
RMS voltage. A voltage sag can be created due to turning
on heavy inductive loads such as an inductive motor. The
soft-starter slow ramp will reduce these surges which can sub-
stantially reduce the demands on the grid. Power Correction
circuits can be used in parallel with the motor to perform Pow-
er Factor Correction, however, that is a topic for another white
paper. Figure 7 shows a Type I voltage sag, where only
one phase sags.
As we have discussed the use of motor soft-starters, we have
investigated how they can be used to improve the PF of a com-
ponent. Hard-starts cause wear and tear on equipment, can
create voltage sags and surges which can damage other electri-
cal components on the circuit. There is also a cost implication
for utility companies for poor PF, as more power must be gen-
erated to power a motor, the poor PF will cause more apparent
power to be used to achieve the desired True Power. While
this can be a complex topic with complex solutions, this white
paper hopefully provides a starting point for how PF is calcu-
lated, what PF is acceptable, and what can be done to mitigate
PF issues in the field.

Figure 7. Type I Voltage Sag

Page 3 © 2023 Power Monitors, Inc. • Call Us: (800) 296-4120 • www.powermonitors.com