Sloution for AC Compressor Light Flicker

[Ron Sciulli]

Gentlemen,

We have developed a Single Phase Soft Start for 4&5 Ton ac's and Heat pumps. We have lowered the FLA from 150 amps to less than 100 amps, without damaging the compressor. Best of all, we have approval from Rheem and Copeland to use our Soft Start on any new or existing equipment, without violating the warranty. The bottom line is this, we have a solution to AC compressor induced Light Flicker.

We developed this Soft Start to meet the demands of the local utilities to limit inrush to less than 100 amps, to eliminate Light Flicker and to conform to Rule 2 imposed by the utility companies. My question is this, Is Rule 2 being enforced by any other counties on the mainland. If so, which ones?

It is not my intention to market our product through this forum, rather I am tyring to locate areas on the Mainland that could benefit from our Soft Start.

I look forward to your reply's

Regards & Merry Christmas
Ron Sciulli

 

[brother]

what exactly is 'soft start' , do you have a link?? or more info??

 

[Ron Sciulli]

Soft Start

Soft Start

Aloha,

A soft start is a device that will ramp up a motor over a few seconds, verses starting it from a dead stop. If a motor requires 30 amps to keep running (RLA ) Running load amps, it could require as much as 150 amps for a few miliseconds to kick start it, this is called ( FLA ) or Full Load amps.

This inrush of 150 amps is what causes Light Flicker.

Our soft start will ramp a 5 ton 240 vac single phase compressor over 5 seconds, drawing a total of 100 amps or less. Until now, there has not been a single phase soft start to address this age old problem.

Regards,
Ron

Moderators note, advertising is not allowed, anyone interested can contact Ron by PM. The thread will remain open for now for technical discussion

 

[Minuteman]

Without giving out to much of your trade secret, how does this soft start work, by ramping the frequency? Does it work on Reciprocating and Scroll compressors?

 

[Ron Sciulli]

All of our testing has been with the Copeland Scroll Compressors, but it really should not matter what type.

Here you go:
How our 1P100-ST Soft start works:

1. Measures the phase angle between the current and the voltage

2. The embedded digital signal processor (DSP) calculates the displacement power factor, which is a function of the mechanical load.

3. The controller utilizes this data to optimize the RMS voltage supplied to the motor by appropriately modulating series SCR switches.

4. The process is continuously repeated to ensure minimum energy consumption and maximum motor performance under changing load conditions

Bottom line, it's a solid state device that uses a Digital Signal Processor to control the SCR. It just connects to the load side of the contactor and the compressor connects to the output of the soft start. It will even protect the compressor if you lose a leg.

It was tested by Rheem at their Arkansas facility. They subjected our 1P100-ST to a 10,000 cycle test, on for 5 minutes and off for a minute. then the compressor was sent to Copeland for a through inspection. No unusual wear or damage was revealed.

It's quite a piece of engineering.

Ron

 

[LarryFine]

Bottom line, it's a solid state device that uses a Digital Signal Processor to control the SCR.

Sounds like pulse-width modulation.

It will even protect the compressor if you lose a leg.

I though you said it was single-phase.

 

[Besoeker]

Sounds like pulse-width modulation.

I though you said it was single-phase.

It's a phase-control device.
A bit like a conventional light dimmer.

 

[nakulak]

Seems to me that the test should have been destructive in order to determine how much of the projected lifetime of the motor you are (presumably) shortening with the device. my ac runs approx 4 months out of the year, so lets see, that's 120 days x (guessing) approx 35 starts, so your test of 10000 cycles is less than 3 yrs of use and in my thinking does not provide any useful data to help me decide if I want a 15 year appliance to be hooked up to it. Forgive me for being cynical, but are you planning more testing before you market this thing ?

 

[steelersman]

I though you said it was single-phase.

And all these years I thought that a 240 volt residential A/C compressor being fed from a single phase service had 2 hot legs?

 

[iwire]

And all these years I thought that a 240 volt residential A/C compressor being fed from a single phase service had 2 hot legs?

It does, but if you lose one leg it will not damage the compressor like loosing one phase of three phase can.

 

[charlie]

Gentlemen . . . I am trying to locate areas on the Mainland that could benefit from our Soft Start. . .

First, their are some very knowledgeable women electricians and engineers on the forum. Since you are new, I doubt that you knew that.

Most of the investor owned electric utilities have grids set up and pretty strong distributions systems that don't require reduced voltage starters unless very large motors are used. We permit up to 5 HP motors to start across the line on 1? services without getting permission from the IPL engineering department. That is 168 amperes @ 240 volts, 1?.

Are you marketing this product? If so, is it available for 3? use? We will not permit larger 3? motors start across the line without permission. Generally we will permit 100 HP motors to start on normal distribution but will do voltage drop calculations on our distribution circuit for larger motors. I believe we have let a 200 HP motor start across the line in one situation where the installation was close to a 40 MVA substation. :smile:

By the way, remember Roger's note: "Moderators note, advertising is not allowed, anyone interested can contact Ron by PM. The thread will remain open for now for technical discussion" Charlie