Air conditioner inverter
An air conditioner inverter is used to control the speed of the compressor motor to drive variable refrigerant flow in an air conditioning system to regulate the conditioned-space temperature. By contrast, traditional air conditioners regulate temperature by using a compressor that is periodically either working at maximum capacity or switched off entirely. Inverter-equipped air conditioners have a variable-frequency drive that incorporates an adjustable electrical inverter to control the speed of the motor and thus the compressor and cooling output. [1]
The variable-frequency drive uses a rectifier to convert the incoming alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) and then uses pulse-width modulation in an electrical inverter to produce AC of a desired frequency. The variable frequency AC drives a brushless motor or an induction motor. As the speed of an induction motor is proportional to the frequency of the AC, the compressor can now run at different speeds. A microcontroller can then sample the current ambient air temperature and adjust the speed of the compressor appropriately. The additional electronics and system hardware adds cost to the equipment installation but can result in substantial savings in operating costs.[2] Eliminating stop-start cycles increases efficiency. [3]
