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HOME > DESIGN > LINE REACTORS AND VFDS

Line Reactors and VFDs

Find more articles on: Variable Frequency Drives
John A. Houdek, MTE Corp. | Electrical Construction and Maintenance May 1, 2002

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You Can’t Be Too Paranoid

Line reactors can protect motors and reduce power line distortion from VFDs. Do you have problems with
your existing variable-frequency drives (VFDs)? If so, 3-phase line reactors may be a very viable solution. A
Tip of the Week: Avoid the “Just Drive Another
line reactor acts not only as a current-limiting device, but it also filters the waveform and attenuates
Ground Rod” Solution
electrical noise and transients associated with the system. You can install reactors

Avoiding Fun and Games in Hiring

Line reactors can protect motors and reduce power line distortion from VFDs.
Tip of the Week: Move Away from a Rules-Only
Do you have problems with your existing variable-frequency drives (VFDs)? If so, 3-phase Safety Program
line reactors may be a very viable solution. A line reactor acts not only as a current-
limiting device, but it also filters the waveform and attenuates electrical noise and
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transients associated with the system. You can install reactors in HVAC equipment,
Code Quiz of the
pumping equipment, machine tools, elevators, printing presses, UPS equipment, Week: No. 54
computer mainframes, robotics equipment, ski lifts, wind generators, electric cars, Take this weekly quiz to
cranes, trams, and many other types of equipment, to extend the service life of the VFD test your knowledge of the
and motor. 2014 National Electrical
Code requirements.

Harmonic attenuation. As the

name implies, you'd typically use Join the Discussion on EC&M Talk
line reactors on the line side of a Hot Topics Comments New Topics
VFD, as shown in Fig. 1 at right.
Harmonic compensated line reactors
are specially designed to handle the
waveform's harmonic content. By EC&M White Papers
inserting inductive reactance into Executive Summary: Technology Enabled Data
Center Life Cycle Services
the circuit, which is a high
The Internet of Things (IoT) is connecting everyone and
impedance to harmonic frequencies,
everything. This massive technological shift is impacting
line reactors reduce the amount of how businesses interact with their data centers. It is also
harmonics produced by a VFD affecting how quickly businesses can respond when a
system. For harmonic reduction problem occurs. Download this White Paper to learn how
purposes, you typically apply 5% big data and analytics are impacting the data center and
More
impedance line reactors to the input how you can address your modern data center needs....

of motor drives 20 hp and higher. This reduces input harmonics to 35% total harmonic VIEW MORE WHITE PAPERS

current distortion (THID) or less and minimizes the effects of harmonics on motors and
other devices powered off the same electrical system.
EC&M Webinars
Drive protection.

In situations where you have drives located very close to the incoming facility power NOV 9, 2016
source, such as a substation, they may be susceptible to any incoming spikes and other WEBINAR
Technology Enabled

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 transients. This is because there may not be enough impedance (in the form of Data Center Life Cycle
Services
transformers, power feeders, and the like) to help counteract these transient voltage
spikes. This situation can damage the front end (diode section) of the drives or cause NOV 2, 2016
nuisance overvoltage tripping on the system. Installing a 5% impedance line reactor at the WEBINAR

input to each drive helps counteract line spikes, keeping them from tripping or damaging There is More to a
Data Center than
the drives. White Space; A
Holistic Approach to
On the other hand, if you have drives located far from the facility power source (as often Facility Monitoring and Control
seen in hospitals), they may be affected by line harmonics caused by other harmonic-
VIEW MORE WEBINARS
generating equipment (nonlinear loads). In most applications, harmonic problems are
best solved at their source. Look for large nonlinear loads, such as VFDs, and apply a 5%
impedance line reactor on the input to those pieces of equipment to minimize the system EC&M TV
harmonics.
IDEAL PowerBlade
Cable Cutters 1
Motor protection. A reactor that is compensated for high frequencies and protected
Big enough for any job...
against fast rising voltage pulses is a very effective dv/dt (rate of change of voltage with
respect to time) filter, and you can use it on the load side of the drive (between the drive
and motor). Fast changing pulse-width modulation (PWM) voltage pulses in PWM drives
can interact with the distributed inductance and capacitance of long motor leads. This, in
turn, can result in amplified peak voltages as high as 1,600V at motor terminals. In fact, More
the longer the cable length, the higher the peak overvoltage at the motor terminals.
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This phenomenon, known as long lead effect, can stress and consequently degrade the
insulation around the stator windings of motors, resulting in shorter motor life. Some
have tried to compensate for the higher frequencies and harmonic currents present in the
drive output waveform by oversizing the unprotected motor. A general practice is to use a
5% impedance load reactor on the load side of a VFD when the motor lead length is
greater than 100 ft. Typically, you can use two 5% impedance reactors in series (10% EC&M Learning Center
impedance) if the motor leads exceed 1,000 ft in length.

Understanding the 2014 NEC,

Motor noise reduction. To reduce the audible motor noise and telephone interference
Volume 1 (Articles 90 to 480)
factor associated with PWM drive switching rates between 1 kHz and 8 kHz, This resource has proven itself in the
manufacturers developed VFDs with switching frequencies as high as 20 kHz. While the field and in the exam room. This latest
higher frequencies did reduce motor noise, they also aggravated PWM pulse contribution edition will provide you with a rock-solid
to excessive motor-shaft voltage and current that can discharge across motor bearings. foundation...

VFDs that use insulated-gate bi-polar transistors (IGBTs) as high-frequency switches are
Understanding NEC Requirements
most likely to cause bearing discharge current. for Grounding vs Bonding
One of the most confusing areas of the
Where a motor, by necessity, is extremely far from its drive, you can install a trade continues to be grounding and
high-frequency compensated reactor on the load side of the drive, either at the drive end bonding, which is why this book needs
or motor end, to help protect the motor from overvoltage, stress from PWM voltage to be in the hands...
pulses, overheating and resulting stator insulation degradation, while reducing the motor
Changes to The NEC 2014
whine.
Don't let the scale of the code changes

VFD protection. The load reactor also acts as a current-limiting device to protect the intimidate you, this book will get you up
to speed on the most essential...
drive under motor short circuit conditions. Here, the line reactor slows the rate of rise of
the short-circuit current and limits the current to an acceptable level.
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By slowing the rate of rise of current,
the reactor allows time for
protection circuits in the drive to
react to the short circuit and trip out
safely, saving the IGBTs. The reactor
also absorbs current surges created
by the motor load that might
otherwise cause nuisance tripping of
the drive. Machine jams, multiple
motor switching, and other
application changes to the drive load
cause motor load surges. Fig. 2
shows reactors on the load side of
single and multiple motors.

2 of 4 12/27/2016 12:55 PM
 Looking at the load side reactor from
the motor view, the ability of the reactor to filter the waveform produced by the VFD
improves the performance of both the motor and the total system.
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Summary of possible reactor performance. The installation of load reactors with
eTrain - (Bi-Weekly) View Sample
drives and motors can reduce the high-frequency currents in the motor and protect the
Product NewsWire - (Monthly) View
motor from long lead effects. Basically, the reactor attempts to recreate a sine wave, thus Sample
improving overall system performance, reliability, and efficiency. It may reduce audible ElectricalZone - (Weekly) View Sample
motor noise by as much as 3 dB to 5 dB. Tests have shown motor temperatures can drop
MRO Insider - (Bi-Weekly) View Sample
as much as 20°C (more than double the motor life) when using a harmonic-compensated
PQ NewsBeat - (Bi-Weekly) View
5% impedance load reactor. Sample

On the line side, reactors stabilize the current waveform, which reduces harmonic Illumination Insider - (Bi-Weekly) View
Sample
distortion and the burden on upstream electrical equipment. By absorbing line spikes and
CodeWatch - (Bi-Weekly) View Sample
filling some sags they can prevent overvoltage and undervoltage tripping problems. For
example, when the utility switches power factor correction capacitors on the electrical G-Biz - (Varies) View Sample

power grid, it creates voltage spikes. The impedance of the reactor in the input circuit Electrical Testing - (Monthly) View
Sample
helps prevent these voltage spikes and virtually eliminates nuisance tripping of drives due
to overvoltage. ECM NECA 2016 Show Coverage -
(Show Daily)
View Sample
A line reactor can also filter out pulsed and notched distortion, which can minimize
interference with other electronic equipment like computers, PLCs, telecommunications E-MAIL*

systems, instrumentation, and other VFDs. COUNTRY*

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The use of line and load reactors increases the reliability, performance, and efficiency of offerings by Penton, its brands, affiliates and/or
third-party partners, consistent with Penton’s Privacy
VFD systems, extends the life of both drives and motors, and reduces the amount of Policy.
energy consumed by the motor/drive system.

Houdek is VP of marketing and sales with MTE Corp., Menomonee Falls, Wis.
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Discuss this Article 4

on Apr 3, 2013
Nagarajan (not verified)

Dear Sir
Can you pleae provide information that how to select voltage rating of power capacitor which
is being used for power factor improvement.
Also request you to provide calculation that how to select detune reactor with respect to KVAR
rating in such a way to arrest harmonics.
Awaiting for your kind reply.
Regards
G.Nagarajan

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on Nov 25, 2013

Eduardo Manzanera (not verified)

Hi, i'm currently working at the buying department in Genser Power copany in FL, we have
this VFD from GE and we need some compatible parts with the VFD off course, the
requirement is:
Line reactor 300 HP 460 V
Sinusoidal reactor 300 HP 460 V
Matrix filter 300 HP 460 V
If you could please send me a quote of this parts i will be really thankfull,
Thanks four your help, and i'd be placefull if we could go forward in business.

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huashenglong on Dec 9, 2013

3 of 4 12/27/2016 12:55 PM
 Dear Eduardo Manzanera,
Hi, We are a professional manufacturer of reactors with nearly 20-year experiences. We
work with Siemens, ABB, Emerson companies in China. We are interest in work with you
about line reactors for GE VFDs.
Could you contact us by email hslec01@gmail.com for further details.
Thanks and Regards
Liyuan

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on Jun 13, 2014

spplooster

LOL at this troll above me. Be sure and hook that 300HP VFD and drive system up to some
Chinese copper ;)
I love trusting my equipment to a gmail account.

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