What is a Smart Drive? - Windenergy

Manuals/Articles from ecoinnovation.co.nzapplication. You should peruse the performance graphs in order to determine this.Refer to the summary graphs for all models grouped by voltage 12/24/48.Decide which voltage system you intend to use. Avoid 12­volts if possible as suchsystems have high inherent losses. Most countries telephone exchanges are run on48­volt systems. These telephone companies are a good source of equipment suchas second hand batteries, charger/rectifier sets (for generator charging your batterybank), cabling, inverters, cabinets, meters, and on occasions PV panels. If youchoose a 48­volt system then there is a good chance you can scrounge retiredequipment from them. For these reasons EcoInnovation installs predominantly 48­volt systems. Also 48­volt systems have higher generator efficiencies and fewerlosses in cabling and rectification.12 and 24­volt systems are very common and the cheaper type square waveinverters from Taiwan are readily available at these voltages.Once you have decided the system voltage, you need to select a performance curvethat meets the requirements of your application.The performance of the units can be tuned by packing the magnetic rotor up fromthe fully home position; this reduces the magnetic field strength and increases theoperating speed on the units.The following examples should assist you in selecting the correct Smart Drive foryour application.Star and Delta ConnectionsSmart drive motors are wound with three phases, you will notice 6 connections on aSmart Drive stator these are the two ends of each phase.Many readers will be unaware of the two types of connection that 3­phase motorsand generators can be configured into: theses are commonly referred to as Star orDelta. How the unit is connected has a significant bearing on the operatingperformance of the units, therefore each unit can be configured to have twooperating points. These configurations are illustrated below. The copper windingsthat make up each phase (14 fingers on a Smart Drive stator) are illustrated belowin the Star and Delta configuration. All Smart Drives as connected in Fisher & Paykelwashing machines are connected in Star. This point is easy to identify as a 3­pronged brass clip forms the star point as shown below.For more information visit www.ecoinnovation.co.nz 13