7 Electrical engineering in refrigeration and air conditioning technology

Introduction
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Basic knowledge
Electrical engineering in refrigeration

Start-up circuits for single phase compressor motors

Refrigeration systems contain many electrical components, In the service field the testing, fault finding and repair of
such as compressors, pressure switches, thermostats, electrical systems is also an important item. During service Drive motors for refrigerant compressors require a high
fans, solenoid valves or controls. Therefore, electrical engi- you are often confronted with incomplete documentation, start-up torque. For low compressor capacities single phase 4
neering is an important field in refrigeration. This is reflected which is why the mechatronics engineer for refrigeration alternating current motors are used as drive motors. These are
in the high share of electrical engineering content in the must be able to analyse the system and comprehend its C

Motor torque M/MN

of simple design, maintenance-free, cheap and can run inside the
training of the mechatronics engineer for refrigeration. operation. This requires a good basic knowledge of electri- refrigerant (hermetic compressor). 3
The mechatronics engineer for refrigeration should be cal engineering.
Due to their principle of operation these motors do not have any
capable of planning, designing and commissioning electrical 2
systems. or only a low torque at rest. To increase the torque the motors
must be equipped with a start-up circuit. Here an auxiliary wind-
ing is additionally supplied with current via a capacitor until the 1 B
operating speed is reached. The automatic switching on and off
of the auxiliary winding can be implemented via different options. 0
The most common is a start-up relay whose winding is con- 0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8 1,0 1,2
Electric connection of a refrigerant compressor to the alternating current network
nected in series to the main winding. When starting the motor
a very high current first flows through the main winding, the 5

Current through the main winding l/l N

start-up relay responds and activates the auxiliary winding via
C
Single phase alternating current network the capacitor. Once the motor has reached its speed, the cur- 4
L1 L1 rent through the main winding drops. If the current falls below
N N a certain value, the relay is released and the auxiliary winding is
disabled. 3
Assembly

Circuit breaker
F0 The switching of the auxiliary winding can also take place via
2
a centrifugal force switch directly dependent on the speed. In A
Main switch Start-up some motors the auxiliary winding is permanently activated via
relay S1 1 B
an operating capacitor. Here a second start-up capacitor is con-
Thermostat Start-up nected in parallel during start-up to increase the torque.
capacitor
S2 >T Another particularly wear-free method is the use of a PTC 0
element. This heats due to the current flowing in the auxiliary 0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8 1,0 1,2
winding and increases its resistance. This reduces the current Relative speed n/ns
Pressure F1 >P through the auxiliary winding after a brief period of time.
switch
(Pressostat) Start of a single phase alternating current motor with auxiliary
F2 <P C1 winding: auxiliary winding is switched off at I = 2 IN
MN nominal torque, IN nominal current, ns synchronous torque,
S3 A switching point, B operating point, C nN/ns = nominal speed
F3 >T
Overheat Connection
protection terminals
Analyse

H C1 C2
PTC
CM C1
S3 C1
S3

The connection of a refrigerant compressor and its protective The wiring of the compressor CM consists of three functional M M M
elements to the single phase alternating current network is groups:
part of the standard activities of the mechatronics engineer for H H H
• controller, consisting of main switch S1 and thermostat S2
refrigeration. This task requires the correct preparation of an
• aafety module, consisting of pressure switches (Pressostat)
CM CM CM
electric circuit diagram (flow diagram) and the practical wiring
of the electrical components in the refrigeration system. F1, F2 and overheat protection of the compressor F3
• atart-up circuit, consisting of the start-up relay S3 and Start-up capacitor C1 Operating capacitor C2 Start-up capacitor C1
start-up capacitor C1 via start-up relay S3 and start-up capacitor C1 via PTC
via start-up relay S3

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