Soft Starter vs. VFD: Which One is Suitable for Electrical Motor Starting?

Soft starter manufacturers and variable frequency drives are energy-efficient devices that are broadly used in industrial motor control and pump control. These devices though working on the same principle is different from each other. With a soft starter, the motor is reduced when voltage is started.

While with a variable frequency drive, the motor will soft start, so anyone can easily carry the speed of the motor by varying the output frequency from the VFD. It is ideal to find a reliable soft starter manufacturers for buying high-quality products like variable frequency drive, variable speed drive, solar pump controller, and many others. Below, I’m going to share the differences between a soft starter and a VFD.

Variable Frequency Drives

VFDs are semiconductor devices that are generally used for controlling their motor-torque speed. It also helps to start and stop a motor smoothly. By using a VFD, the speed-torque characteristics of the motor can be controlled during an operation that depends on the applications. The frequency of the motor is generally controlled by varying the frequency from zero to its maximum rated speed.

Benefits of VFD

• Provide power saving and complete control over motor speed
• It can be programmed for varying the speed of the motor it controls, generally based on some factors including flow, pressure, etc.
• By using a VFD, third quadrant operation is also possible.
• They are best used for elevators, escalators, crushers, mixers, etc. where speed needs to be maintained in the spite of load variations.

Soft Starter

This is also a semiconductor device that is used to start or stop a motor. This device provides a smooth start and stop. They are bypassed by a contractor-overload circuit because the motor reached its full-speed and gets back into action when the motor stops.

What is a Soft Starter?

A soft starter is a device that controls the initial applied voltage to the motor by reducing the torque, thus resulting in controlling the electric motor acceleration.It is designed to observe how the system conducts and find different type of irregularities efficiently and power cut when the temperature is high for long durability and also produce observe power at the time of low temperature.

Benefits of Soft Starter

• Efficiently reduces inrush current during motor start
• No harmonics are generated
• Low cost compared to VFD
• They are best suited for conveyors, pumps, and other belt-driven applications.

Difference between Soft Starters and Variable Frequency Drives

• Soft starters are basically used to start and stop a motor smoothly, while VFDs are used to start, stop, and control a motor throughout its operation.
• Many times soft starters are bypasses as soon as the motor reaches its full speed, but VFDs control a motor throughout its operation.
• There are no harmonics in soft starters while in VFD, harmonics are injected into the mains and hence additional filters are used.

These are some things that make a soft starter and VFD different from each other. You can find a leading soft starter manufacturer for buying the best quality VFD, VSD, solar pump controller, soft starter, and many others.