Use of NEMA vs.

IEC-Rated Contactors
An overview of the key differences between NEMA and IEC-rated contactors. Ken Bobick HVAC Product Manager, Emerson Control Techniques Americas, LLC

Historically, Control Techniques has manufactured our HVAC packaged product using IEC-rated contactors because they provide us with a lower cost solution in the smallest possible package without sacrificing performance. As a result, we have standardized on their use in our bypass solutions but do quote the use of NEMArated contactors on request. While it is an asset that we can provide both styles of contactors within our HVAC packaged product it is important to understand the differences (advantages) of using either a NEMA-rated device as compared to an IECrated device. NEMA-rated components are conservative in their design, covering a broader range of application making them easier to select and apply. The broader range is also a benefit when the actual load is not known providing additional flexibility during commissioning. IEC-rated components are more application specific which allows them to perform at a higher level within a narrower application range. For example, a NEMA Size 1 contactor has a 10hp rating at 460V which only requires a switching capability of 14A, however, the continuous current rating of a NEMA Size 1 contactor is 27A a 100% safety factor. This safety factor results in an electrical life of up to 10 million operations of some NEMA contactors. An IEC contactor with a 10hp rating at 460V (14A FLC) typically has a current rating of 16 to 18A, a 10 to 20% safety factor. The electrical life of an IEC contactor in this application is typically 1.2 to 1.5 million operations. In fact, most IEC devices rated up to 100A provide an electrical life of 1.0 to 1.8 million electrical operations. Keep in mind that the number of NEMA contactors (8) available from 1 to 200hp as compared to the number of IEC contactors (15) in some cases require an oversized NEMA device for the application adding unnecessary additional cost and size.
continues on page 2...

Similarly, NEMA contactors are physically more robust than IEC contactors housings are larger, contactors often include a metal base plate, and current carrying parts are larger which can result in a longer mechanical life compared to IEC contactors. The mechanical life of NEMA Size 0 to 3 contactors Contactor Specifications
NEMA Contactor HP @ 460V 5 7.5 10 15 20 25 30 40 50 60 75 100 125 150 200 Size Double 0 0 0 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 Current Rating (A) 9 18 18 27 45 45 45 90 90 90 135 135 270 270 540

may be up to 30 million operations. Equivalently rated IEC contactors (9A to 100A) typically provide a mechanical life of 10 million to 15 million operations. In some cases, the footprint is as much as 25% larger for a NEMA contactor as compared to its IEC counterpart (see photo, right).

IEC Contactor Dimensions (W x H x D) (in) 1.75 X 3.88 X 3.49 1.75 X 3.88 X 3.49 1.75 X 3.88 X 3.49 2.56 X 5.05 X 4.44 2.56 X 5.05 X 4.44 2.56 X 5.05 X 4.44 2.56 X 5.05 X 4.44 4.08 X 7.17 X 5.94 4.08 X 7.17 X 5.94 4.08 X 7.17 X 5.94 7.05 X 9.11 X 7.25 7.05 X 9.11 X 7.25 7.05 X 13.12 X 7.78 7.05 X 13.12 X 7.78 8.63 X 13.54 X 8.88 Dimensions (W x H x D) (in) 1.75 X 3.88 X 3.49 1.75 X 3.88 X 3.49 2.56 X 5.05 X 4.44 2.56 X 5.05 X 4.44 4.08 X 7.17 X 5.94 4.08 X 7.17 X 5.94 7.05 X 9.11 X 7.25 7.05 X 9.11 X 7.25 7.05 X 13.12 X 7.78 7.05 X 13.12 X 7.78 7.05 X 13.12 X 7.78 8.63 X 13.54 X 8.88 8.63 X 13.54 X 8.88 8.63 X 13.54 X 8.88 11.02 X 19.03 X 11.46 TABLE 1 Size B B B C C D D D D F F G G L M Current Rating (A) 9 12 12 25 32 40 40 50 65 80 95 115 150 225 300 Dimensions (W x H x D) (in) 1.77 X 2.95 X 2.68 1.77 X 2.95 X 2.68 1.77 X 2.95 X 2.68 1.77 X 3.83 X 3.46 1.77 X 3.83 X 3.46 2.17 X 4.48 X 4.09 2.17 X 4.48 X 4.09 2.17 X 4.48 X 4.09 2.17 X 4.48 X 4.09 3.54 X 6.69 X 5.59 3.54 X 6.69 X 5.59 3.54 X 6.69 X 5.59 3.54 X 6.69 X 5.59 5.51 X 8.19 X 7.09 7.87 X 8.50 X 7.87 Dimensions (W x H x D) (in) 1.77 X 2.95 X 2.68 1.77 X 3.83 X 3.46 1.77 X 3.83 X 3.46 2.17 X 4.48 X 4.09 2.17 X 4.48 X 4.09 3.54 X 6.69 X 5.59 3.54 X 6.69 X 5.59 3.54 X 6.69 X 5.59 5.51 X 8.19 X 7.09 5.51 X 8.19 X 7.09 5.51 X 8.19 X 7.09 7.87 X 8.50 X 7.87 7.87 X 8.50 X 7.87 7.87 X 8.50 X 7.87 9.13 X 10.63 X 9.13

HP @ 208V 5 7.5 10 15 20 25 30 40 50 60 75 100 125 150 200

Size 0 1 2 3 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 7

Current Rating (A) 18 27 45 90 90 90 135 135 270 270 270 540 540 540 810

Size B C C D D F F G L L L M M M N

Current Rating (A) 15 25 32 50 65 80 95 115 185 225 250 300 400 500 580

Contacts

One of the main characteristics of NEMA contactors is their maintainability. Nearly all NEMA contactors (with the exception of some Size 00 contactors) offer replaceable operating coils and replacement contact kits (see Diagram 1). Contacts can be replaced when the contactor has reached the end of its electrical life. Disassembling these devices is not a simple task. IEC contactors also have replaceable coils, but many devices rated 30A or less are considered disposable and do not have replaceable contact kits. Typically, IEC devices rated above 30A (and 9A through 30A contactor from some manufacturers) have replacement contact kits to extend the electrical life of the contactor. When considering replacing contacts, the cost of replacement of the entire contactor in comparison to the cost of replacement contacts and even more significantly the cost of labor associated with changing the contacts. It is also important to note that an IEC contactor used on the input and output of the drive will see no inrush and/or limited arcing and that the bypass contactor is only used in the rare event of a drive failure so the instance of replacing these contacts would be minimal. Duty cycle should be considered in selection weighing the added cost of the NEMA rated component against the duty cycle of a typical bypass application. Finally, for a given rating, an IEC contactor is generally less expensive than a NEMA contactor up to 40% of the price of a NEMA contactor. The potential material cost savings of utilizing IEC contactors must be considered with the total installed cost (material, labor, maintenance, and replacement) over the life of the application.

Coil

DIAGRAM 1 - Typical NEMA contactor configuration

IEC devices are more modular in nature using various DIN rail mounting styles where NEMA devices are panel mounted. The size difference with the NEMA devices also impacts enclosure size, in some case requiring an oversized enclosure for a given horsepower rating to accommodate their use. This could impact the enclosure costs an additional 25% (see Table 1). Although there are differences in NEMA-rated contactors versus their IEC-rated counterparts, those differences are not justified when used in the manufacture of bypasses for variable frequency drives from a practical life, serviceability and, most importantly, cost viewpoint. The applications in which the contactors are used in a drive bypass make the difference in these two types of contactors meaningless. We discourage the use of NEMA-rated contactors in bypass packages because they provide no real increase in reliability and only needlessly increase the cost and size of the bypass package. It is important to note that despite the perceptions about size and assumptions about motor control complexity, neither the NEMA nor the IEC is intrinsically better or safer than the other.

Driving Technology...

. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

www.controltechniques.com

. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

AMERICAS Toll-free: 1-800-893-2321 info.cta@emerson.com Minneapolis Drive Center Headquarters T: 952 995 8000 Calgary Drive Center T: 403 253 8738 Charlotte Application Center T: 704 424 9811 Cleveland Drive Center T: 216 901 2400 Grand Island Americas Service Center T: 716 774 1193 Los Angeles Application Center T: 562 943 0300 Portland Drive Center T: 503 266 2094 Providence Application Center T: 401 392 4256 Toronto Application Center T: 905 948 3402 Salt Lake City Application Center T: 801 566 5521 LATIN AMERICAN & CARIBBEAN REGION Miami Sales Office T: 305 818 8897 For current authorized distributors or resellers, please check the Control Techniques web site. www.controltechniques.com BRAZIL So Paulo Application Center T: +55 11 3618 6688 controltechniques.br@emerson.com DENMARK Copenhagen Drive Center INDIA T: +45 4369 6100 controltechniques.dk@emerson.com Chennai Drive Center T: +91 44 2496 1123/ 2496 1130/2496 1083 FRANCE* AUSTRALIA controltechniques.in@emerson.com Angoulme Drive Center Melbourne Application Center T: +33 5 4564 5454 T: +613 973 81777 Pune Application Center controltechniques.au@emerson.com controltechniques.fr@emerson.com T: +91 20 2612 7956/2612 8415 controltechniques.in@emerson.com Sydney Drive Center GERMANY T: +61 2 9838 7222 New Delhi Application Center Bonn Drive Center controltechniques.au@emerson.com T: +91 112 2581 3166 T: +49 2242 8770 controltechniques.de@emerson.com controltechniques.in@emerson.com AUSTRIA Chemnitz Drive Center Linz Drive Center IRELAND T: +49 3722 52030 T: +43 7229 789480 Newbridge Drive Center controltechniques.at@emerson.com controltechniques.de@emerson.com T: +353 45 448200 controltechniques.ie@emerson.com Darmstadt Drive Center BELGIUM T: +49 6251 17700 Brussels Drive Center controltechniques.de@emerson.com ITALY T: +32 1574 0700 Milan Drive Center controltechniques.be@emerson.com T: +39 02575 751 GREECE* controltechniques.it@emerson.com Athens Application Center CHINA T: +0030 210 57 86086/088 Reggio Emilia Application Center Shanghai Drive Center controltechniques.gr@emerson.com T: +39 02575 751 T: +86 21 5426 0668 controltechniques.it@emerson.com controltechniques.cn@emerson.com HOLLAND Vicenza Drive Center Rotterdam Drive Center Beijing Application Center T: +39 0444 933400 T: +31 184 420555 T: +86 10 856 31122 ext 820 controltechniques.cn@emerson.com controltechniques.nl@emerson.com controltechniques.it@emerson.com CZECH REPUBLIC Brno Drive Center T: +420 511 180111 controltechniques.cz@emerson.com HONG KONG Hong Kong Application Center T: +852 2979 5271 controltechniques.hk@emerson.com KOREA Seoul Application Center T: +82 2 3483 1605 controltechniques.kr@emerson.com MALAYSIA Kuala Lumpur Drive Center T: +603 5634 9776 controltechniques.my@emerson.com REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA Johannesburg Drive Center T: +27 11 462 1740 controltechniques.za@emerson.com Cape Town Application Center T: +27 21 556 0245 controltechniques.za@emerson.com RUSSIA Moscow Application Center T: +7 495 981 9811 controltechniques.ru@emerson.com

SWEDEN* Stockholm Application Center T: +468 554 241 00 controltechniques.se@emerson.com SWITZERLAND Lausanne Application Center T: +41 21 637 7070 controltechniques.ch@emerson.com Zurich Drive Center T: +41 56 201 4242 controltechniques.ch@emerson.com

SINGAPORE Singapore Drive Center TAIWAN T: +65 6891 7600 Taipei Application Center controltechniques.sg@emerson.com T: +886 2 8161 7695 controltechniques.tw@emerson.com SLOVAKIA Emerson A.S THAILAND T: +421 32 7700 369 Bangkok Drive Center controltechniques.sk@emerson.com T: +66 2962 2092 99 controltechniques.th@emerson.com SPAIN Barcelona Drive Center TURKEY T: +34 93 680 1661 Istanbul Drive Center controltechniques.es@emerson.com T: +90 216 4182420 Bilbao Application Center controltechniques.tr@emerson.com T: +34 94 620 3646 controltechniques.es@emerson.com UAE* Emerson FZE Valencia Drive Center T: +971 4 8118100 T: +34 96 154 2900 ct.dubai@emerson.com controltechniques.es@emerson.com UNITED KINGDOM Telford Drive Center T: +44 1952 213700 controltechniques.uk@emerson.com

*Operated by sister company, Leroy Somer

P/N WHP-111123-Contactor 11/11

Control Techniques 2011. The information contained in this brochure is for guidance only and does not form part of any contract. The accuracy cannot be guaranteed as Control Techniques has an ongoing process of development and reserves the right to change the specification of its products without notice. Printed in the USA.