Comparison of Digital Phase Control and

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Voltage Drop of Induction Motors

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Yi-Hsiang Huang1, Po-Chuan Chow2, Chen-Ta Lee2, Ho-Chiao Chuang1*

1Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, 10608,

Taiwan.

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Email:hchuang@mail.ntut.edu.tw

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Tel.: +886 2 27712171 ext. 2076, Fax: +886 2 27317191

2Ya De Li Technology Co., Ltd. Taipei, 10453, Taiwan (aka Power Asia Technology Co., Ltd.
er Taiwan)

Tel.: +886 2 25872582, Fax: +886 2 25872570

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Abstract
This study developed a novel digital phase control method to improve the energy consumption of
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electric motors. The energy-saving effect with the voltage drop and digital phase control methods were

analyzed and compared. This study achieves the variable load of the motor by changing the exciting
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current of the magnetic particle brake, and conducts simulation tests according to different conditions

of the motor. The results show that the active power of the motor after voltage drop will fluctuate
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significantly, and it will take a longer time to approach stable condition, while the active power

performance under the proposed digital phase control is relatively stable. In addition, this study also

compares the energy consumption of the two voltage regulation methods. After a long-term operation
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test, the cumulative energy of consumption compared to the mains electricity mode under light,

medium and heavy load, the energy consumption decreased by about 8.3 %, 5.4% and 3.3%,
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respectively. The difference in energy-saving effect between these two methods is not large, however

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 the developed digital phase control system can bring a different energy-saving method to the motors

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which commonly used in the industry.

Keywords：Induction motor, voltage drop control, Digital phase control, Voltage waveform, Silicon

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controlled rectifier

1. Introduction

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With the rapid development of science and technology, it has brought a lot of convenience and

development to our daily life; however, we will also face the side effects brought by the progress of

the advanced technology. The problem of climate change and energy depletion is a major challenge
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for mankind. At this stage, the demand for energy is gradually increasing, especially in electricity. CO2

emissions in developing countries surpassed those in developed countries in 2005, accounting for
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63.4% of total global emissions. Between 2006 and 2016, carbon emissions in developing countries

increased by 6,753.2 tons [1]. In recent years, many countries have also begun to improve the

efficiency of energy use and reduce unnecessary power consumption as the primary goal. Therefore,
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if the efficiency of industrial equipment can be improved, it will certainly be great help to the overall
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electricity consumption. If the improvement of machine efficiency can be successfully implemented,

it can not only save electricity, but also greatly reduce the CO2 generated in industrial manufacturing,

and achieve the goal of sustainability.

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The electric motors are widely used in industry, among which the Squirrel-cage AC induction

motor has the highest utilization rate, and its application range covers important industrial processing
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equipment such as fans, screw machines, conveyors, etc. In industrially developed nations, electric

motors account for about 40% of the total industrial electricity consumption [2]. In industrial
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production equipment, due to long-term operation requirements and load variations, manufacturers

will consider equipment characteristics, load variations and power supply conditions when choosing a
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 matching motor size. Therefore, the rated power of the motor is often selected larger than the actual

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power required by the equipment. In the past, in order to save power, the method of voltage drop was

used, however the frequent activation of voltage drop may damage the motor itself and the overall

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power quality. The voltage drop method is to directly reduce the voltage by adjusting the number of

turns in a coil, and it is a low-level in monitoring and management, but this method is relatively simple

in use. The digital voltage phase control method combines digital technology, using programs to

trigger the voltage phase, and conducts the digital management methods to provide good protection

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for the motor. This study compares the difference of the power parameters between the voltage drop

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method and the digital phase control method, and discusses the power quality. Selecting the correct

power control method of a motor that meets the needs can achieve the goal of industrial upgrading. In
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addition, this study also applies a load simulation control system to a three-phase AC motor, which

can directly use this experimental platform to import various load cycle in the industry to simulate the
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real load changes of the motor on the production line. Using this platform allows to better

understanding the power consumed by the motors in industry and the usage status of the motor under

long-term load changing conditions.

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With the development of the economy, the consumer demand is constantly increasing, and now

the world is also facing the problem of insufficient energy and soaring natural gas prices, and some
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nations have begun to adopt the policy of power curtailment. Due to the reduction of energy year by

year, the power system is over-reliant on renewable energy, and also due to the reduction of coal
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reserves [3], resulting in a shortage of coal in power plants and national power generation in many

countries. Therefore, nations are beginning to look for solutions, and many research teams are now
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conducting related studies on how to reduce motor energy consumption [4, 5]. The economic and

technological development around the world is progressing year by year, and the demand for industrial

equipment is constantly increasing. Since induction motors have the advantages of simple operation,
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simple structure, firmness, and low price, induction motors are often used as a power source for driving

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 equipment in industry. About 70% of the power is used in the motor drive system, which shows that

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the motor power regulation has great potential for energy saving. The selection of the induction motor

in the production process is usually considered to be greater than the actual load it required, and thus,

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it often causes the unnecessary waste of power consumption under zero load and light load conditions.

Zhong Bin [6] pointed out that when the load of the motor does not exceed the medium load, and when

the motor is operated with the optimized voltage regulation, the energy saving effect is significant.

Nowadays, there are many ways to improve the efficiency of electric motors. For examples, using

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the high-efficiency motors [7] and controlling the speed of the motors through inverter to improve

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efficiency. Weicheng Li [8] proposed a real-time voltage and frequency optimization method,

RTVFOS, to simulate a constant voltage and frequency ratio principle and compared with the real-
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time voltage regulation scheme (RTVRS) under constant frequency condition. Their results show that

RTFOS can significantly reduce the motor rating, while RTVRS can provide significant energy
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savings. Zhaoyu Wang [9] reduced peak demand and achieved the energy-saving by reducing the

voltage level of the electrical distribution system. J. C. Erickson [10] used a voltage drop scheme,

which included circuit testing of the voltage drop effect, analysis of the voltage sensitivity of the load
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isolation to achieve a suitable voltage and reduce energy consumption. In a running cycle of many

motors, the power will fluctuate under different operating conditions, resulting in a reduction of the
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motor efficiency. Yilong Wang [11] proposes a sectional control strategy integrating variable

frequency (VF) with voltage regulation (VR). Their experimental results show that their automatic
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tracking voltage on function under light load conditions can save energy by more than 10%. T. T. Ma

[12] proposed a power regulator to compensate reactive power, harmonic current and can regulate
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appropriate voltage matching according to different loads. Almani, MN [13] reported a sensor-less

speed control strategy to conduct the symmetrical and balanced operation of SPIM at the entire speed-

range, to improve the energy efficiency. On the other hand, the voltage drop is also used to reduce the
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starting current of the motor [14]. Martin Joy Cheerangal [15] proposed a speed control strategy of

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 rotor field-oriented induction motor (RFO-IM) to maintain the torque and speed constant during

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voltage sag condition. When the starting current is too large, it will also cause the influence of the

voltage drop of the motor, and the short-term voltage drop at this time should also be evaluated [16-

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18]. Ho-Jeon Shin [19] pointed out that the most power supply equipment (transformers and generators)

is overdesigned and thus, they reported an analysis on standards for startup and constraint voltage

drops. Sayyed Mohammad Hashemi [20] proposed a new under-impedance load shedding (UILS) idea

and a quadratic distance relay was utilized as the load shedding device. Milad Aslanian [21] presents

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a monitoring index for voltage instability and the short-term voltage stability is compared by using a

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phasor measurement unit (PUM).

In addition to the above-mentioned literature, there are many scholars also discussing the
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improvement of electric power or the improvement of machine efficiency. The improvement of motor

efficiency is divided into four major areas, front end drive, motor efficiency improvement,
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transmission design and maintenance. From the above literature, it can be known that the front-end

drive is a method of using the variable frequency control and voltage regulation to improve the

operation efficiency of the motor. Moreover, voltage drop method was often used to directly lower the
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voltage of the motor. Although it has a certain energy saving effect, it may also cause damage to the

motor. This study proposes a digital phase control technology applied to a three-phase AC induction
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motor, and carries out program operation through a single digital chip, achieving the control of the

voltage phase trigger through a silicon-controlled rectifier. Finally, the efficiency improvement of
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equipment and the reduction of the energy consumption are both achieved. In this study, the voltage

drop control and the proposed digital phase control methods are compared. The former reduces the
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voltage and energy consumption by regulating the coil and the latter achieves the effect of energy

saving by adjusting the voltage phase. However, the voltage waveforms of both control methods are

significantly different. Finally, through the verification of the experiments, when the voltage drop is
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used under motor running condition, the peak value of the voltage waveform becomes smaller, and the

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 effective value of the voltage also decreases. The developed digital phase control technology in this

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study has a more stable performance in power quality. Through the experimental results, both methods

can reduce the operating current and the active power of the three-phase induction motor, so as to

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achieve the purpose of energy saving.

2. Materials and methods

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2.1 Principle of energy saving

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The voltage drop used in this study is to reduce the voltage directly by changing the coil winding

of the Autotransformer. The phase trigger is to control the SCR through an input signal to change the

voltage phase. In this study, in order to verify the performance of the voltage drop and the digital phase
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control system in the energy consumption of the motor, the operating current and the operating power
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are improved by changing the voltage parameters, and the relationship is shown in formula (1). In

formula (1), P represents active power, V represents voltage, I represents current, and cos θ is power

factor.
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P =√3× V × I × cos θ (1)

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The power loss of the motor can be known from formula (2), and the energy consumption is
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mainly affected by the input power (Pin), the output power (Pout) and the loss power (Ploss). The loss

generated between the power supply end and the machine is called loss power (Ploss), and the loss

power (Ploss) includes mechanical loss, PML, stator core loss, PCore, rotor copper loss, PRCL, stator copper
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loss, PSCL and stray load loss, PSLL. To improve the power consumption of the motor, it is most effective

to start with Ploss.

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Ploss = PML + PCore + PRCL + PSCL + PSLL (2)

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2.2 Control principle
2.2.1 Principle of voltage drop

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In the manufacturing industry, according to the needs of different loads of motor, an

autotransformer will be installed to adjust the voltage. The main structure of the autotransformer is

composed of a primary winding, secondary winding and iron core. When the power supply provides

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alternating current through the primary winding, an alternating magnetic field will be generated, and

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the magnetic flux will flow in the iron core, and thus, the principle of electromagnetic induction will

be used to achieve the effect of voltage transformation and energy saving through the coil of the

secondary winding. The line voltage of the motor will be proportional to the magnetic flux. When the
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voltage drop is 1/N times the original voltage, the magnetic flux will also be reduced to 1/N times the

original voltage. The relationship is shown in formula (3), where V1 is the input voltage, V2 is the input
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voltage and N2 is the number of turns after adjustment. In order to make the motor operate normally

and safely, a saturation magnetic flux will be designed. When the voltage of the motor is higher than

the rated voltage, the magnetic flux will be limited and the excess power will become an invalid power.
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V1 N1
V2 = N2 = N (3)
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2.2.2 Principle of digital phase control

In this study, a digital phase control technology was developed that uses a SCR as the main

component. Through the program operation, the triggering phase angle can be changed and every 2
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milliseconds is used as the control unit of 1∘to control the voltage waveform. After performing the

voltage drop, it also induces the current to drop, and thus, improving the overall motor energy
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consumption. The voltage phase control process is shown in Fig. 1. The proposed system operates

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 through the Peripheral Interface Controller (PIC) program, and detects the operating voltage and

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current value of the motor through the Current Transformer (CT), and then controls the voltage phase.

In the developed digital phase control system, the current rise is used as the basis of the critical value

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of the voltage phase, and the optimal phase angle is defined before the current rise, so as to achieve a

balanced output state of voltage and current. In addition, in order to match the regulated phase

parameters with the voltage drop, the phase trigger will not be adjusted to the critical value, and the

two voltage regulation methods are controlled within the motor operating range. The power parameters

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of the motor with two methods are recorded and used to compare the energy-saving effect.

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Detecting AC motor
parameters
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Adjust voltage phase by
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input control signal

NO Determine the YES Output control signal to SCR

Switch to protection
voltage balances according to parameters
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Adjust the Phase angle to YES Determine the NO Adjust the Phase angle to
make the voltage up current rises make the voltage drop
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Maintain proper voltage

phase trigger parameters

Fig. 1. Flow chart of digital phase control technology

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2.2.3 Principle of Load Simulation Control

In this study, a load simulation control system was established and it used a IRF520 drive module
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as the main component, and performed the Pulse-width modulation on its DC voltage to obtain the

corresponding amplitude and frequency waveforms, so as to change the exciting current of the
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magnetic particle brake. Besides, the developed program can be used to control the load duration of

the motor and switch to different load states for simulation. Fig. 2 is the load simulation control flow
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 chart for this study.

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Set the parameters

Output the signals to

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the IRF520 module

Control exciting
current

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Load adjustment

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Fig. 2. Load simulation control flow chart

2.3 Experimental equipment

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In this study, a squirrel-cage three-phase induction motor with 5 HP and an operating voltage of

380V was used as the experimental platform. The motor specifications are shown in Table 1, and the
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magnetic particle brake was used as the load simulation device. The torque output of the motor can be

changed by using the magnetic particle, which combined the IRF520 module through the tension

controller, to adjust the exciting current, and thus, changing the load of the induction motor. In this
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work, an autotransformer, model YH-3415 produced by YU HSENG ELECTRIC CO., LTD., is

selected as the voltage regulating device, which can output the voltage of 0-440V.
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Table 1 Specification for induction motor

AC induction motor
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Power Supply 3ø /380V

Pole 4
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Rated Power 3.7kW

Rated Current 8.6A

Frequency 60Hz
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This preprint research paper has not been peer reviewed. Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4199418
 In order to verify the performance of the electrical parameters of the motor under the voltage drop

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and digital phase control technology, a power quality analyzer (6830A) produced by TES Electrical

Electronic Corp. was selected as the measuring equipment. The analyzer is mainly used to detect and

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record voltage, current, waveform, active power with a measurement accuracy of ±5% in current and

voltage and with an accuracy of ±1% in active power. In addition, it can record the power data with a

minimum of every two seconds.

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2.4 Experimental parameters and Setup

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2.4.1 Experimental setup and circuit configuration
In this study, the voltage drop method is to adopt the electromagnetic induction of the
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autotransformer to change the resistance of the coil in order to affect the voltage. Moreover, the

autotransformer is connected to the power supply end and the machine end in series. The digital phase
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control system adopts an external connection in series, which is connected in series between the power

supply end and the machine. Neither method changes any components of the overall system. The

power quality analyzer is connected in parallel behind the power control device and in front of the
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motor. The main purpose is to record the power data such as voltage, current, waveform, and energy
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consumption. The overall experimental configuration is shown in Fig. 3.

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Fig. 3. Diagram of experimental wiring configuration

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2.4.2 Experimental parameters

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In this study, the voltage drop and the digital phase control system are used for the voltage

regulation of the motor respectively, and the power quality analyzer is used to measure and analyze

the power parameters. The experimental parameters are set as changes in voltage, current, waveform,
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active power, etc., and the influence of individual parameters on the motor energy consumption is

analyzed. The experimental parameters are shown in Fig. 4.

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Fig. 4. Experimental parameters

3. Results and discussion er

3.1 Comparison of Voltage Drop and Phase Triggering
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3.1.1 Influence of voltage drop and phase trigger on voltage waveform
In this study, the voltage drop was used to directly reduce the motor voltage, the secondary

winding on the autotransformer was adjusted by the principle of electromagnetic induction, and the
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original 380V voltage was reduced to 350V in three stages. The original voltage waveform is shown

in Fig. 5 (a). Fig. 5 (b)(c)(d) show that the voltage was adjusted to 370V, 360V and 350V, respectively
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and compared with the original voltage waveform. It can be seen from Fig. 5 that the peak value of the

voltage waveform gradually decreases as the voltage is lowered. In addition, this study also uses the
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developed digital phase control technology to regulate the voltage waveform, and the voltage will be

delayed with a phase trigger angle. After the voltage phase triggering, the change of the waveform is
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observed and Fig. 6 (a) is the original voltage waveform. When the voltage is triggered of 6 degrees

to 370V, the voltage waveform is shown in Fig. 6 (b). When the voltage is triggered of 11 degrees to

360V, the voltage waveform is shown in Fig. 6 (c). When the voltage is triggered of 15 degrees to
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350V, the voltage waveform is shown in Fig.6 (d). In the voltage drop waveform, the peak value of

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 the voltage waveform will gradually decrease due to the voltage drop, and the RMS voltage (Root

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Mean Square) will also gradually decrease. In addition, it can be seen from results of the digital phase

control method that after the voltage is triggered, the recess width of the voltage waveform increases

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with the triggered angle, and thus, this method can keep the integrity of the overall voltage waveform.

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Fig. 5. Voltage waveform after voltage drop regulation (a) original voltage waveform 380V (b)
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voltage waveform adjusted to 370V (c) voltage waveform adjusted to 360V (d) voltage waveform

adjusted to 350V.
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(a) (b)
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(c) (d)

Fig. 6. Voltage waveform after digital phase control regulation (a) original voltage waveform 380V

(b) voltage waveform after triggering to 370V (c) voltage waveform after triggering to 360V (d)

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voltage waveform after triggering to 350V.

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3.1.2 Active power performance of voltage drop and phase control under
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different applied voltages
In this study, the voltage drop and digital phase control methods were both used to test the actual
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power performance of the motor, and the voltage regulation in both methods were performed in units

of every 20V. The experimental results show that the voltage drop reduces the active power of the

motor, as shown in Fig. 7. After the voltage phase triggering, the active power also has a significant
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drop as shown in Fig. 8. Through experiments, it is found that both methods are significantly helpful

for the reduction of active power. It can be seen that when the motor is operating for a while, the
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fluctuation of the active power under the voltage phase trigger method is relatively small, and it is

relatively stable compared with the direct voltage drop method. The data shows that both methods are
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helpful to improve the actual power; however, the digital phase control method can not only improve

the performance of the motor efficiency, but also have a higher stability when the motor is operating
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for a long time.

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Fig. 7. The active power performance of the voltage drop under different applied voltages.
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Fig. 8. Active power performance of the digital phase triggering under different applied voltages.

3.1.3 Relationship between voltage drop and digital phase control on motor
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stability

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 In this study, the voltage drop was used to test the stability of motor operation. Due to the

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reduction of the peak value of the voltage waveform, the effective value of the voltage is reduced as

well. It takes a period of time to maintain the stable operation of the motor and thus, the additional

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energy usage is needed. In this study, the developed digital phase control technology was also used to

control the voltage waveform of the motor, mainly through the SCR to trigger the phase angle of the

voltage waveform, thereby improving the motor energy consumption. The proposed digital phase

control technology maintains a stable peak value for the voltage waveform. After the motor is started,

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it provides a stable working voltage to the machine, so that the motor can quickly approach a stable

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operating state. The measured current variations of motor with both methods are shown in Fig. 9. In

addition, the change of motor temperature also affects the internal magnetism of the motor. The higher
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the temperature, the weaker the motor torque. Furthermore, if the temperature is too high, the insulation

of the motor winding will be reduced, which will shorten the motor life. The temperature variations of
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the motor are shown in Fig. 10. It shows that the temperature curve of the voltage drop method also

requires more energy to drive the motor to operate stably due to the reduction of the RMS voltage, and

thus, the temperature rises more quickly. In the long operation, it will cause the motor to overheat.
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However, the temperature curve of the motor under the digital phase control system rises steadily, and

therefore the two methods are preferably digital phase control in terms of motor stability.
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Fig. 9. Comparison of voltage drop and digital phase control on the motor current after startup.
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Fig. 10. Comparison of voltage drop and digital phase control on the motor temperature after startup.

3.1.4 Load Simulation Control

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In this study, the load simulation control system, aimed at controlling the magnetic particle brake,

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 was developed by using a digital chip to perform PWM control on the IRF520 driving module, and to

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adjust the DC voltage waveform as shown in Fig. 11. This system can divide the load into several

sections, such as Fig. 11 (a)(b)(c)(d) are the regulated voltage waveforms under light load, medium

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load, heavy load, and full load, respectively. In this way, manual load regulation can be avoided, and

the load can be controlled directly through the designed program, and different loads can be simulated

for a period of time to carry out the motor operation test.

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(a) (b)
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(c) (d)
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Fig. 11. Voltage waveform under different load simulation (a) light load (b) medium load (c) heavy

load (d) full load.

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3.1.5 Current and energy consumption tests with voltage drop and phase control
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 methods under different loads

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In this experiment, the voltage drop and the digital phase control system are respectively used to

test the current of the motor under different loads. The load is divided into three stages: light load,

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medium load and heavy load. In the first part of this experiment, the current test of the motor was

performed with voltage drop methods under three different loads conditions, respectively and when

the voltage was changed, the corresponding current change was shown in Fig. 12. By adjusting the

initial voltage from 380V to 350V through the voltage drop, it shows that the current dropped from

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2.631A to 2.398A under light load, and a current drop of about 8.8% was obtained. The current dropped

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from 2.838A to 2.618A under medium load, and a current drop of 7.7% was obtained. Moreover, under

heavy-load, the current dropped from 3.292A to 3.102A, and the current dropped by about 5.7%.
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The second part is to test the proposed digital phase control system. When the initial voltage is

set to 380V, the voltage phase is regulated under three different load conditions and the corresponding
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current change after the voltage regulation is shown in Fig. 13. When the voltage phase is triggered at

light load, it can be seen that the current corresponding to the voltage from 380V to 350V will also

decrease accordingly. At light load it indicates that the current drops from 2.631A to 2.401A, a drop
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of about 8.7%. Under the medium load condition, it shows that the current drops from 2.838A to

2.625A when the voltage is phase triggered from 380V to 350V, and a current drop of about 7.5% is
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obtained. When the test is under heavy load, it can be seen that the current drops from 3.272A to

3.104A, and a current is dropped of about 5.1%. Therefore, through the tests of both voltage drop and
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digital phase trigger methods, changing the voltage or changing the voltage trigger angle can

significantly reduce the motor current. From the experimental data, it also points out that both methods
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are helpful for the improvement of the current under different loads.
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Fig. 12. Current variation with voltage drop under mains electricity mode and different load.
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Fig. 13. Current variation with digital phase control under mains electricity mode and different load.

In this study, both voltage drop and phase control methods will also be tested under three different
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load conditions, to evaluate the energy consumption of the motor after voltage regulation. The first

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 part is to test the voltage drop under the mains electricity mode. The voltage was adjusted to 350V for

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this experiment. At light load, it shows that the active power drops from 0.472kW to 0.416kW, and

the energy consumption drops by about 11.8 %. The energy consumption decreased from 0.773kW to

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0.708kW at medium load, and the energy consumption decreased by about 8.4%. Furthermore, the

energy consumption decreased from 1.211kW to 1.136kW at heavy load, and the energy consumption

decreased by about 6.1% as shown in Fig. 14.

Under three different load conditions and mains electricity mode, the voltage is adjusted to 350V

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by the digital phase control method to carry out the motor energy consumption test. At light load, it

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shows that the active power changes from 0.472kW to 0.422kW, and the motor energy consumption

decreases by about 10.5%. The energy consumption decreased from 0.773kW to 0.712kW under
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medium load, and the motor energy consumption decreased by about 7.9%. Moreover, the energy

consumption decreased from 1.211kW to 1.153kW under heavy load, and the motor energy
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consumption decreased by about 4.7% as shown in Fig. 15.

In this experiments, the voltage drop method is adopted to adjust the voltage of the motor to 350V,

to conduct energy consumption experiments, and the corresponding parameters of the digital phase
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control system are adjusted as well. It is verified from the experimental data that in the two methods

of voltage drop and phase control; because the current value drop is roughly the same, and thus, there
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is basically little difference in the improvement of the motor energy consumption after volrage

regulation. However, from the experimental results, it indicates that these two methods are both
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effective in reducing energy consumption, compared to the mains electricity mode.

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Fig. 14. Active power change of the motor with voltage drop (350V) under mains electricity mode

and different loads.

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Fig. 15. Active power change of the motor with digital phase control under mains electricity mode

and different loads.

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3.1.6 Long-term energy consumption under different load condition

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 In this study, the voltage regulation range under different loads was obtained through previous

ed
experiments, and the long-term operation test was set up with eight hours as the benchmark, and the

voltage drop and phase control modes were tested in the rated voltage mode. Difference in energy

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consumption between both methods were compared.

When the motor is under a light load, the active power of the rated voltage, voltage drop and the

phase control modes are measured respectively. The energy saving rate of the voltage drop method is

9%, and the phase control method is 8.3%. The active power measurement results also show that under

v
the medium load, the energy saving rate of the voltage drop method is 6.6%, and the phase control is

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5.3%. Under the heavy load, it is indicating that the voltage drop method has a power saving rate of

4.6%, while the phase control has a 3.3% energy saving space.
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Under heavy load, the voltage drop method and digital phase control method have limited effect

on the machine, and the energy saving effect is not as significant as light load and medium load. The
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comparison of cumulative energy consumption under different loads (8 hours) is shown in Table 2.

Under heavy load, the range of voltage regulation by the voltage drop and phase trigger methods is

limited due to the large torque required by the motor. Under light-load and medium-load operation,
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the torque required by the motor is smaller, and thus, there is more room for energy saving, and the

measured active power after voltage adjustment is also lower. Using the digital phase control method,
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it can maintain stability and reduce the energy consumption of the motor, giving the motor better

energy consumption performance.

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Table 2 Comparison of cumulative energy consumption under different loads (8 hours)

Energy
Power consumption Mode
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saving rate
under different load
Mains Voltage drop Phase control Voltage Phase

electricity drop control

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 Light load
3.471kWh 3.156kWh 3.182kWh 9.0% 8.3%

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power consumption

Medium load
5.113kWh 4.774kWh 4.837kWh 6.6% 5.4%

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power consumption

Heavy load
8.667kWh 8.267kWh 8.378kWh 4.6% 3.3%
power consumption

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3.1.7 Comparison and discussion of voltage drop and digital phase control system

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According to the above experiments, the performance of the power parameters of the voltage drop

and the digital phase control system can be obtained, and the difference between the two methods is
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mainly based on the difference of the voltage waveform. The peak value of the voltage waveform is

reduced under the voltage drop method, which leads to the reduction of its RMS voltage. Through Fig.
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7 and 8, it is found that the fluctuation of the active power per seconds under the voltage drop method

is larger. If the active power fluctuates for a long time, the motor will be likely damaged. In addition,

Fig. 9 shows that the voltage drop requires a longer current stabilization time after the motor starts,
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while Fig. 10 shows that the motor temperature under two methods, After the motor is started, the

voltage drop method is more likely to generate heat, the temperature rises quickly, and the temperature
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is also higher during the stable operation. From the above experimental data, it reveals that the digital

phase control system has better stability than the voltage drop method. In addition, the energy
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consumption performance of the two methods shows not much different and the obtained operating

current value, active power and accumulated energy consumption are similar when the motors are
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regulated to the same voltage. Therefore, both methods have certain effects on the improvement of

motor efficiency, and the comparison is shown in Table 3.

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 Table 3 Comparison of voltage drop and digital phase control system

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Voltage drop Digital Phase control

Voltage waveform peak Reduction Keep the original voltage

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waveform peak

RMS Voltage Lower Higher

Active power fluctuation Higher Smaller

Motor temperature Higher Lower

v
Time required for stabilization Longer Shorter

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Motor revolution Constant Constant

Motor torque er Change with voltage Change with voltage

regulation regulation
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4. Conclusions
This study compares the voltage drop commonly used in the past with the proposed digital phase

control technology, and discusses the power quality performance and operating stability of the motors.
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The experimental design includes the comparison of voltage waveform after voltage regulation, power
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change test and operating effect of the motor under various load conditions. In addition, the changes

of parameters such as voltage, current, voltage waveform and active power are recorded. After

obtaining various power parameters with both voltage drop and digital phase control methods, the
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measured energy consumption under mains electricity mode were compared to evaluate the difference

between two methods. In addition, under different load conditions, the accumulation of the motor
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energy consumption is compared, and the energy saving rate is calculated. The experimental results

show that the energy saving rate of 9% and 4.6% can be obtained with voltage drop method under light
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load and heavy load, while the energy saving rate of 8.3% and 3.3% can be obtained with digital phase

control technology. The current difference between these two methods is not large and thus, the
25

This preprint research paper has not been peer reviewed. Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4199418
 performance of the motor energy consumption is roughly the same, but both methods have the effect

ed
of improving energy consumption.

From the experimental results, it shows that the measured voltage waveforms of the two methods

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are quite different. The voltage drop method directly lowers the voltage, so the peak value of the

voltage waveform will be reduced, and the effective value of the voltage will also decrease. However,

the digital phase control method is based on the phase trigger angle for voltage regulation, and adjusts

the appropriate phase angle through program calculation. The voltage phase trigger used in this study

v
is mainly to not affect the peak value of the voltage waveform. Moreover, the use of the phase control

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method can also maintain the motor operation with a better stability and reduce damage to the machine,

and finally achieve the energy saving effect. In addition, from the perspective of short-term effects,
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the digital phase control method takes less time to reach a stable state after starting the motor, the

performance of motor temperature changes is relatively stable, and the fluctuation of actual power per
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second is also smaller, and thus, it indicates that the motor operation is relatively stable. From the

perspective of long-term effects, all of these factors will make the lifetime of the machine last longer.

Compared with the previous voltage drop method, the developed digital phase control technology
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provides a new type of energy consumption improvement method for the motor, so that a safe and

stable motor operation with a better energy saving effect can be achieved.
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Acknowledgements
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The authors gratefully acknowledge the National Taipei University of Technology for supporting this

work and the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan for supporting this work under contract
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number 111-2622-E-027 -013. The authors also wish to express appreciation to Ya De Li Technology

Co., Ltd, for providing technical support and valuable discussions, making the completion of this study
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possible.

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