Power measurement at three-phase motors controlled by a frequency converter

WARNING

Risk of injury through electric shock and damage to the device!

Bring the Bus Terminal system into a safe, voltage-free state before starting mounting, disassembly or wiring of the Bus Terminals!

The example illustrates power measurement at several three-phase motors that are controlled by a frequency converter (AC converter), e.g. at a conveyor system. Each motor is monitored by a EL3443.

Power measurement at three-phase motors controlled by a frequency converter 1:
Application example with frequency converter

The electrical isolation of the three-phase-transformer (Yy0) operated by the voltage circuit of the power measurement terminals enables measurement after the frequency converter.

Power measurement at three-phase motors controlled by a frequency converter 2:

Measuring error in the lower frequency range

If the power measurement takes place after the frequency converter, a larger measuring error is possible in the lower frequency range, particularly for voltage measurement. This error also affects the power calculation.

The three-phase transformer should have a ratio of 1:1. It must not cause a phase shift of the signal! Since high-frequency components only have little influence on the motors, any distortions caused by the three-phase transformer have little effect on the practical measurement during the transfer of the harmonics created by the frequency converter.

The power distribution is mapped very well by using a dedicated power measurement terminal for each motor. Excessive current consumption of an individual motor can be detected in good time.

It is not possible to use this method for measuring direct voltage/DC (e.g. holding currents of synchronous motors)! Practical results can be obtained for voltages/currents with a frequency above 12 Hz, depending on the three-phase transformer and current transformers used.

CAUTION

The terminal points N must be grounded!

Due to the electrical isolation through the three-phase transformer, the terminal points N of the power measurement terminals have to be grounded, in order to avoid dangerous overvoltages in the event of a fault in a current transformer!