Application Note

RadioFrequency Interference VLT® 6000 HVAC

■ Introduction
Variable speed drives have been used in industrial Both the inverter and the control circuitry generate
applications for years because of their ability to electrical noise at frequencies higher than 150 kHz.
provide precise process control. They have also
become the standard method of control for heating If the drive is not designed carefully, this noise will
ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems due be conducted to the surroundings, causing
to their precise control and significant energy savings. malfunction of other electronic equipment,
especially if it is not designed with a high level of
The operational concerns for HVAC systems are quite immunity to such high frequency noise.
different from those for industrial applications. In most
HVAC installations there is a large installed base of ■ Measuring Radio Frequency Interference
sensitive electronic equipment such as computers, The levels of RFI from a drive is dependent on many
outstations and radios. Airports, hospitals and different factors. The design of the drive is most
research facilities will for example make much heavier important, since this determines how low the
demands on the variable speed drives than the distortion can get.
industrial plants.
The measuring results for different drives may vary a
This feature note will deal with one aspect of electrical lot, so to get a real picture it is important to know
noise generation in variable speed drives: Radio exactly how the measuring was made. Some of the
Frequency Interference (RFI) on the AC power line. most important factors are:
We describe the causes and effects of such noise as Impedance between drive chassis and ground
well as the considerations that are to be made in Type of motor cable used or transfer impedance of
connection with the selection and installation of a cable screen
variable speed drive. Length of motor cable

■ Causes of Radio Frequency Interference Radiated emission is almost impossible to

(RFI) reproduce. The reason is that even a slight change
in the measuring set-up will influence the results a
lot. Measuring made on site will always be
unreliable, since it is impossible to create a clean
ee environment.

■ Radio frequency interference limits

The most important international standard defining
RFI limits for drives is:
EN 55011/CISPR 11
Figure 1: Schematic of Basic Drive design
EN55011 sets three different limits:
Most variable speed drives operate by using a bridge
rectifier to convert the incoming AC voltage into a DC Emission,
screened motor cable
bus voltage. The inverter bridge of the drive then dB/uV Average levels

converts the DC bus voltage into the controlled 90 EN 55011 2A

80
voltage and frequency that the motor requires. 76
66
60 EN 55011 1A
56
For the most common types of drives in use today, 50 EN 55011 1B
46
IGBTs are used to convert the DC voltage into an AC
voltage with controlled amplitude and frequency. To
500 kHz 5 MHz 30 MHz
perform this control most drives incorporate 150 kHz

sophisticated control circuitry with micro-processors

of high clock frequencies.
Figure 2: Average conducted emission levels

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 VLT® 6000 HVAC

Of these limits only 1A and 1B have been applied as

legal requirements.

Each level contains limits to quasi peak and average

conducted emission as well as quasi peak radiated
emission.
U
Figure 2 shows the limit for average conducted V
emission. Conducted emission is a cause for W
concern. With EN 55011 demands for Quasi Peak PE
and Average were combined in one standard to get
more equal demands and remove the need to
determine which of the two requirements that should
apply to the equipment. The level is approximately
10dB mV lower than the quasi peak levels. Figure 3: Motor cable with pigtail

Often the quasi peak limits do not cause any major This type of ground connection increases the
problems in the design of the RFI filter. The average transfer impedance to ground and increases the
limits, however, have caused problems to many noise levels that can be measured on the mains
manufacturers. cable. Figure 4 shows measured values of transfer
impedance for different lengths of cable screen and
■ RFI filters pig-tails. As can be seen even a fairly short pig-tail
RFI filters are available in many different designs. The has the same transfer impedance as 150m of cable
most economical and best functioning filter will match screen above 10 MHz.
the drive very carefully.

1000
An RFI filter mainly consists of common mode
reactors and capacitors. 100
Typical braided copper screen cable
1) Screen impedance 150m
10
2) Screen impedance 50m
1) 3) Screen impedance 10m
Whether a filter is good at filtering the frequencies 1 2)
4)
5)
5cm pigtail
20cm pigtail
6)
exceeding the limit of the norm will always be 0,1
3) EMC-cable gland w/ screen grounding

6)
dependent on the design. If the filter is not designed 4) 5)
0,01
for the drive, the filter components will have to be 1 10 100 1000
Frequency in KHz
10000 100000

oversized resulting in increased costs.

■ Installation considerations
When installing a drive, it is important to check the
manufacturers’ guidelines and some general rules of Figure 4: Comparison of transfer impedance for
thumb: cable screens and pigtails

Figure 5 below shows the impact on compliance

a. Avoid pigtails when a good installation (curve 1)
A pigtail is as shown in figure 3, where the screen-end is changed to an installation with a pigtail of 5 cm at
is twisted and connected to the PE-terminal or a the drive end, while the motor end is left untouched
ground screw. (curve 2). Where the good installation complies with
EN 55011 1B, the installation with 5 cm of pig-tail
barely complies with EN 55011 1A. As indicated in
figure 4 a longer pig-tail would reduce compliance
even further.

2 © Copyright Danfoss, Inc., 2004 VLT is a registered Danfoss trademark

 VLT® 6000 HVAC
c. Connect the scr een at motor and VL
screen T:
VLT
Emission,
screened motor cable To get an effective screening of the electric and
dB/uV Curve 2 magnetic field from the motor cable it is necessary to
The screen effect of the cable
Average levels
66 is reduced due to a pig-tail grounding connect the screen at the motor and at the VLT.
60 EN 55011 1A
56
50 EN 55011 1B
Connecting the screen only in one end will screen the
46 electric field but will have no effect on the magnetic
Curve 1 field. As the noise from the motor cable is mainly
Grounding of screen
through cable clamp
magnetic fields the screen will be very ineffective
150 kHz 500 kHz 5 MHz 30 MHz
when connected only in one end.
Cable conducted noise
Equalising currents will rarely case any problems to
the installation. As a rule of thumb the screen should
Figure 5: Comparison between good installation therefore always be connected in both ends. If then a
and pigtail installation problem should occur, then it is recommended to
connect a 1 µF capacitor at the drive end, rather
b. Use screened motor cable from the drive to the than just disconnecting the screen.
motor,, also inside panels.
motor
Usually the cable between the panel and the motor is ■ Conclusion
screened. Unfortunately, output contactors inside To ensure optimum performance it is highly important
panels are often connected with unscreened cables. to select the right drive and filter and to do the
That will give problems with noise being radiated installation work right. A good drive with the
between the cables. appropriate RFI filter cannot ensure compliance, if
the installation work is not done properly.
Figure 6 shows a comparison between a good
installation (curve 1) and a bad one, using Many buildings incorporate equipment that is
unscreened motor cables inside the panel (curve 2). sensitive to radio frequency interference. This is not
In this example great care was taken to separate the only the case for airports, telecommunication
mains cable from the motor cable. It is sometimes facilities and hospitals. Ordinary appartment buildings
not possible to avoid the use of unscreened motor and office complexes also have a lot of sensitive
cable inside the panels, but as curve 2 shows equipment installed. It is therefore especially
compliance with EN 55011 1A is achievable. important to limit radio frequency interference in
HVAC installations.
Often the mains and motor cables, however, are
placed much too close and this causes transmission
of noise directly between mains and motor cables,
thus by-passing the RFI filter and losing compliance
with EN 55011, as shown in curve 3.

Emission,
screened motor cable Curve 3
Unscreened Motor cable and
dB/uV mains cable in close proximity
inside panel
Average levels
66
60 15-25 dB EN 55011 1A
56
50 EN 55011 1B
46 25-35 dB
Curve 2
Good distance between
Curve 1
unscreened motor cable
Screened
and mains cable
motor cable
inside panel
all the way

150 kHz 500 kHz 5 MHz 30 MHz

Cable conducted noise

Figure 6: Using unscreened cables inside the

panel.

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