Speed Controllers
Powerform Controls design & manufacture a range of single phase motor speed controllers intended primarily for use in fan applications. They can control the speed of nearly all Single Phase motors however because they do this by reducing the available torque they are best suited for loads which increase with the motor speed.
Some common applications include: kitchen rangehood exhaust fans, air conditioning air handling units, Variable Air Volume (VAV) boxes, ventilation fans, blowers and heat exchangers. If you're not sure about your application then please contact us and we can go through your options and see if any of our products are likely to meet your requirements.
All the designs are rugged and have proven to be reliable over many years of service. And because we design & manufacture them locally we can offer technical support and repair services as required. They are "our" products and we stand behind them.
The range of speed controllers is broken into three main types. Each type has a range of products with different rated load or user controls.
The controllers should be sized by the motor FLA (Full Load Amps) rating - our controllers include a margin for the starting current. The ratings are for a "3 wire + earth" connection (neutral/main winding/auxillary winding) - if they are just inline with the Active then they need to be appropriately derated.
Speed Limiters
These units are designed as "set and forget", primarily for air balancing. They are typically screwed to the side of the fan/air handling unit and set at commissioning.
Speed Controllers
These units are designed to let the user adjust the speed themselves. They are commonly used for kitchen exhaust systems, where the fan speed needs to vary according to how much is being cooked.
All the units will vary the speed between maximum and an minimum setting that is adjusted by the installer. This means the installer can stop the end user slowing the fan down too much for either regulatory or system reasons.
Variable Speed Drives
These units take either a 0-10V or 2-20mA signal as an input to control the motor speed. They are typically interfaced with a BMS (Building Management System) or PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) so that the motor speed is adjusted as required.
Each unit has a user settable minumum and maximum speed - the VSD will ramp between these two speeds as the control signal varies. Setting the control signal to 0V/0mA will turn the fan off.
