Capacitor Type Fan Controls

Below is the circuit diagram of split phase induction motor in a ceiling fan clearly showing a capacitor connected in series with the starting winding auxiliary winding.

Capacitor type fan controls.

The start capacitor gives a fan motor the torque it needs to start spinning then stops. The regulating unit is visible as a much smaller knob compared to those of conventional resistors. Most capacitor type controls can only operate one fan per control so multiple fans require multiple controls. There are two windings inside the ceiling fan known as starting winding and running winding.

Capacitor controls are commonly identified by having 3 or 4 distinct speeds instead of infinitely variable speed selection. Solid state speed controls. For instance if you set a wall switch to 33 percent power the capacitor supplies the motor an appropriate amount of electricity. Ceiling fan motor circuit diagram.

You can overcome this problem by using capacitor regulators. This type of regulator helps you to save power at all speeds of the fan. Generally the ceiling fan motors are split phase single phase ac motors. You can change the resistance by rotating the knob.

A capacitor receives 100 percent of the power supplied from a power source to a fan motor and meters how much of that power the motor actually receives. Starting winding is also known as auxiliary winding while running windings is known as main winding. A start or run capacitor can be combined into one capacitor called a dual capacitor with three leads but can be split between two separate capacitors.