Looking to control energy use? Whether it’s a single motor or an entire facility, an AC drive will allow you to manage energy expenditure efficiently. AC drives today are more efficient and responsive than ever before, making them an attractive investment for organizations of all sizes and scopes.
As with companies fighting to reduce costs, AC drives are a viable solution with a surprisingly high return on investment. Learn everything you need to know about AC drives in this guide.
AC Drive Basics
In order for a system to operate smoothly, it needs to have enough energy during peak loads. This is true for individual machines and entire buildings alike. Even if that peak occurs rarely, the system needs to be able to provide it with enough energy, or it will fail.
AC drives work by regulating energy consumption during non-peak operations. In practical terms, buildings with HVAC systems have been using AC drives for decades to manage energy consumption.
The alternative to AC drives in the HVAC system is to throttle the flow of air and water to reduce output. However, this is less energy-efficient than the real-time regulation an AC drive provides.
Today, there are several affordable AC drive options for operations of all sizes. Check out Invertek Drives Midwest, LLC for affordable general purpose AC drives.
How Do AC Drives Work?
In layman’s terms, an AC drive controls the speed of one or more electrical motors. These can be motors inside HVAC systems, water pumps, conveyor belts, power generators, and many others.
AC drives are installed between the electrical supply and the motors they are assigned to. A drive will control motor speed by adjusting the frequency of the electrical supply that passes through it.
Since the speed of a motor is proportional to the frequency of the power network, an AC drive can lower or increase the speed by corresponding changes in the frequency. That way, AC drives reduce energy consumption when motors don’t need to operate at full capacity.
Anatomy of an AC Drive
AC drives come in all shapes and sizes. However, all of them have the following common features:
Rectifier Unit
This unit supplies the AC drive with power from the network. Rectifier units can either utilize energy from the network to accelerate a motor or transform excess motor energy and supply it back to the network.
DC Circuit / Capacitors
This circuit stores excess electrical energy in electrical capacitors. The energy is then fed to the inverter unit.
Drive Inverter Unit
The inverter modulates the energy from the DC circuit to create the desired frequency for the motor. This frequency is what determines the speed of the motor. The AC drive allows you to adjust the frequency, and therefore the speed.
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