VFD design guide Purchasing and applying variable frequency drives (VFD) in HVAC applications

Introduction Modulating airflow and water flow in HVAC applications is a primary way of minimizing energy consumption while providing desired temperature and ventilation control. Modulating flow can be accomplished by varying resistance to flow with valves and dampers. Another more efficient way to modulate flow is by adjusting pump or fan speed to provide the minimum pressure needed to satisfy the prevailing needs. Although many ways of modulating pump and fan speed have been developed, V ! motor control has become the dominant method for HVAC e"uipment. V !s got off to a roc#y start in the HVAC industry. irst, they were "uite e$pensive. %e$t, a new output device called an &'() was used to reduce the cost but early &'() V !s damaged some motors. More recently, V ! manufacturers have learned to compensate for the damaging characteristics of &'()s, motor manufacturers have made standard motors more tolerant and we have learned some installation techni"ues to prevent motor damage. )oday, V !s are reliable and cost effective. *hen properly applied, they provide substantial energy savings for HVAC and other motor driven e"uipment including+ ans, ,umps, Chillers, Vacuum ,umps and Air Compressors echnical ips fro! the Field "perate !ultiple variable speed devices in parallel rather than one at a ti!e# )his concept ma#es people nervous but it can save energy and improve reliability. &f you find this information confusing or intimidating, see# out the services of a "ualified consultant with plenty of V ! retrofit e$perience. Consider the following+ A pump or fan designer can select just the right device so it operates in your building in -the sweet spot. but often designers add -fudge factors. so the installed device is a bit too strong and re"uires permanent flow restriction /thin# of this as a 0123 energy parasite4. ,erhaps you have V !s installed already and the need for permanent flow restriction has been eliminated. )he bottom line is that many e$isting pumps and fans can satisfy your needs most of the time at significantly reduced speed.

Hospitals tend to have redundant fans and pumps for important systems. )here may be a -lead2lag. control se"uence that runs one device at a time and balances run hours so neither device remains inactive too long /an inactive bearing or seal is unreliable4. )he following statement uses ball par# numbers and is only true if the device has e$cessive pressure capability /remember the fudge factors4 and if the system flow resistance is dominated by variable flow devices /control valves 5 dampers4 rather than long pipe or duct runs. ,lease note that this may not wor# well for constant volume fan systems unless the fans are way over designed /too much fudge factor or a change in system4. A device running at 678 flow might use 068 of the energy used at 9778 flow. )wo devices running at 678 flow each can potentially provide a total of 9778 flow with a total energy consumption of 678 compared to one device providing 9778 flow.

:tudies have shown that a device running at half speed may last 1 times as long as at full speed. &f two 6 year lifetime devices operate lead2lag at full speed, they may provide a total of 97 years of service. &f the same two devices both operate full time at half speed, they may provide a total of 07 years of service. &n a lead2lag control se"uence, if the operating device fails, flow will stop until the control se"uence senses the failure and starts the lag device. &t is also common for devices to fail at start;up so the lag device may be at greatest ris# when it is needed most.

&s this way too much information< Consider this approach+ &f you have redundant e"uipment with V !s, give it a try manually on a medium load day= meter the energy consumption going into the V ! to account for the energy wasted by the V !. (e sure and run both devices at an e"ual speed. >pen circuit setters, inlet vanes and other flow restricting devices /remember previous positions and settings4. ,ressure independent flow control devices may not be field adjustable and can mess up your results. >nce you have opened up your system, chec# energy consumption for -one device. automatic operation. %ow go to manual operation of both devices. ?eep gradually reducing device speed until your total energy consumption drops below the -one device. energy consumption or until you notice some temperature or pressure control limitations. &f this test produces some energy benefits, then consider permanent implementation with the necessary control se"uence changes. >f course you@ll get more savings if you remove permanent restrictions such as circuit setters and pressure independent flow control devices.

$ini!i%e the &iring length bet&een VFD and !otor with a ma$imum length of A7 feet at 1B7 VAC. Ceduce motor voltage to less than D77 if wire length is over A7 feet. Avoiding bearing failure+ >ne of the "uir#s of &'() V !s is that they can induce voltage to build up in motor shafts. &f that voltage gets very high, electric arcs will pass through and eventually destroy bearings. )he conditions that lead to bearing failure are difficult to anticipate but can be easy to identify and resolve. )he first step is to measure voltage from the operating motor shaft to ground using an electronic meter. (e very careful measuring voltage on a rotating shaft. )he author uses a short piece of solid 90 ga. wire on the end of the electronic meter probe and applied at the dimple in the center of most motor shafts. 'o through the entire range of anticipated speeds. &f that voltage e$ceeds about D.6 VAC to motor base, you may have a problem. A simple solution may be to adjust the V ! -carrier fre"uency.. &f that does not wor#, consider attaching a grounding brush to the shaft. Eour V ! vendor may have some other tric#s up their sleeve. Consider re"uiring that shaft voltage be chec#ed and e$cess voltage conditions be resolved if discovered during V ! start;up. Ceset temperature and pressure setpoints to ma$imize value of V !s. &ncrease temperature differential across system to ma$imize value of V !s. !on@t use V !s for motors that constantly run at full speed+ Ce"uirements for more air changes, ductwor# lea#s, partially closed dampers, plugged water systems and poorly implemented renovations are often addressed in hospitals by speeding up fans and pumps. Fventually, V !s simply run at full speed 0123. /:ee Ceducing >pposition to low4. V ! electronics waste about D8 of the energy that passes through the V ! at full load and they waste a higher 8 at lower loads. ortunately, energy savings start building rapidly as motor speed is reduced so the speed where energy savings compensate for V ! losses is about GB8. &f you have V !s that must run full speed 0123 and the opposition to flow or lea#age cannot be reduced, put the V ! into bypass or eliminate the V ! until the flow problem is resolved. !on@t #eep spare V !s on the shelf an e$pect them to wor# immediately after installation.

V ! capacitors lose their ability to immediately be charged if left discharged for several months. &t can ta#e D or 1 days to get them bac# in wor#ing condition. >ne medical center is #eeping a 077 H, V ! on the shelf under a constant tric#le charge. )his V ! is the bac#up for 906 H,, 967 H, and 077 H, V !s. !iscuss bac#up issues with the vendors to determine your best approach.

$a'i!i%ing the use of VFDs at your facility( ("verco!ing )tagnation) :ome of your consultants and some of your staff have had bad e$periences with V !s or they have heard bad stories. )hey may still be hesitant to use V !s. &f they are hesitant to use V !s, they may not be very s#illful at ma#ing the best use of V !s. Design Concepts and Clarifications A. :heaves and &mpellers Motor :peed should be used as the adjustment mechanism for balancing critical paths in air and water systems. After testing and balancing is complete, adjust sheaves, impellers and motor sizes as necessary so that the motor operates at 66 to A7 Hz and motor amperage should be between 378 and G68 of full load amperage when the ma$imum desired system pressures and flows are produced. *hen the motor operates in V ! bypass at A7 Hz, system pressures and flows shall not cause problems and the motor current shall not e$ceed full load amperage. &t may be necessary to install pressure protection switches and2or duct blowout panels to protect variable air volume systems from over;pressure. Coordinate these re"uirements with the )esting and (alancing re"uirements. (. Hine Ceactance ,rovide between D8 and 68 of input line reactance. )his may be provided in the form of separate line reactors at the input of the V !, reactors included as part of the !C bus or a combination of the two totaling D8 to 68. C. >utput Cate of Cise, ,ea# >utput Voltage and *ire Hength A primary purpose of the specification is to purchase and install V !s that will not damage typical premium efficiency motors. &mplementing the following re"uirements should eliminate motor insulation and bearing failures associated with V ! use. 94 Control the output rate of rise or use output circuitry, which prevents the pea# output voltage from reaching 9,777 volts to ground at the motor. 04 Himit 1B7 VAC wire length to less than A7 feet between the motor and V ! /shorter is better4. D4 &f a small motor must be mounted on the roof /typically an e$haust fan4 consider using a lower voltage /017 VAC or less4 motor so an unlimited wire length can be used. !. Mounting V !

Mount the V ! close enough to the 1B7 VAC motor to #eep the wire length below A7 feet /shorter is better4. Coordinate with !ivision 9A designer to insure that this re"uirement is met. &t is also necessary that the V ! be solidly mounted to structural members. Inistrut type structures can be used in most mounting circumstances. !o not mount V !s directly to the fle$ible sides of air handling units, plenums or ductwor#. F. (y;,ass :tarter or Cedundant V ! A manual by;pass starter is typically re"uired. Critical need applications may re"uire an automatic bypass feature. &n some critical applications, a bac#up fan or pump with V ! is provided, in which case, by;pass starters may not be necessary. Motors larger than 36 H, may re"uire a soft;start feature in the by; pass starter. &f motors are typically driven faster than A7 Hz or multiple motors are driven by a single V ! such as in a an*all, bypassing to another V ! may be most appropriate and manufactures are beginning to offer these products. . Amperage &nterrupt Capacity Ce"uirements can vary depending on the electrical system design. )he nominal re"uirement is a A6,777 CM: symmetrical ampere interrupting capacity. :ome electric services re"uire less capacity so the !ivision 96 designer should coordinate with the !ivision 9A designer to determine the appropriate specification. . Cadio re"uency :ensitive Applications A V ! may be installed in the vicinity of highly sensitive electronic e"uipment. An appropriate CC rating may be necessary in these applications and this re"uirement may result in the use of older A;step technology V !s. :ome of the control and interface re"uirements in the guide specification may not be possible with A;step V !s so it may be more practical to heavily filter an &'() V ! if all of the modern control features are needed. '. &nterface with HVAC Controls Most V !s now have low cost2no cost ways of interfacing digitally with the HVAC control system. )he cost is usually lowest if the interface is included in the bid documents rather than added later so it is usually a good idea to include this at the time of purchase. :ome critical e"uipment may need to continue running even if the HVAC control system is having problems. Consider hardwiring >%2> and speed controls directly to an appropriate stand;alone control panel so that it can operate V !s in an ade"uate manner even if communications to the rest of the system are inoperable. H. &nterface with the ire2Hifesafety :ystems

A V ! specification should re"uire all features that might ever be needed for interface with ire2Hifesafety systems. Coordinate with !ivision 9A designer to insure compliance with all prevailing re"uirements.

Perfor!ance )pecification V !s are a mature product that is well suited to HVAC applications. )he application and se"uences of operation will have the most dramatic impact on the value of the product. )hese performance specifications may help insure long motor life and allow you to use standard off;the;shelf premium efficiency motors instead of waiting for an inverter rated motor. Inder no operating conditions shall the line voltage to the motor e$ceed 9777 volts /to ground and from leg to leg4 at any measurable fre"uency using an electronic meter. )his test may be performed at the disconnect or at the motor. Verify this performance as part of the e"uipment start;up for 117J VAC applications. Inder no operating conditions shall the voltage from the motor shaft to ground e$ceed D.6 volts using an electronic meter. Verify this performance as part of the e"uipment start;up. All V ! bypass features shall wor# and start the driven e"uipment without difficulty or slipping belts. Verify this performance as part of the e"uipment start; up.

Calculating and *sti!ating *nergy Consu!ption A V ! vendor might tell you that in a given piping or ventilation system, changing flow through speed modulation will change energy consumption by the cube of the flow change. )hat is, if flow is reduced to B78 then the energy consumption will be reduced to B78 of B78 of B78 or 69.08 of full flow energy consumption. Conversely, increasing flow to 9078 will increase energy consumption to 9078 of 9078 of 9078 or 930.B8. Alas, e$isting HVAC systems usually have a mi$ture of both frictional and control device elements that can be difficult to characterize. *hat we find in the real world is that if you retrofit an e$isting system to reduce flow during some of the operating hours, the change in energy consumption fre"uently seems to wor# out closer to a -change s"uared. result. )his means that if we can reduce flow to B78, the new energy consumption will be B78 of B78 or A18. )he utilities usually have standard calculators that estimate the energy savings associated with replacing fan inlet vane control with V !s.