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GeneratorPhaseConversions:ElectricalConversion,SinglePhase,ThreePhasePower
IndustrialDieselEngines&PowerGeneratorsforOver30Years(20kW2500kW)

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Inadditiontoensuringthatthegeneratorfrequencymatchesthefrequencyofthegrid

Enclosures/Containers

orappliances,thefollowingconditionsmustalsobesatisfied:

FuelType

PortableGenerators

(a)Outputvoltageofthegeneratormustmatchtheoperatingvoltageofthegrid,orthe
appliancespoweredbythegenerator.
(b)Thereshouldbenophasedifferencebetweenthegridvoltageandthatofthe
generator.
Tounderstandtheconversionofathreephasegeneratortoasinglephaseoneandviceversa,letusfirsttakea
brieflookattheinternalconfigurationofthesetwokindsofgenerators.
SinglePhaseGenerators:
Inasinglephasegenerator,thestatorhasanumberofwindingsconnectedinseriestoformasinglecircuitacross

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whichtheoutputvoltageisgenerated.
Equalvoltageacrossallstatorwindingsinphasewitheachother
Forinstance,ina4polegenerator,thefourpolesoftherotorareevenlyspacedaroundtheframeofthestator.At
anygivenpointintime,eachrotorpoleisinthesamepositionrelativetothestatorwindingsasanyotherrotor
pole.Hence,thevoltagesinducedinallthestatorwindingsareofthesamevalueandamplitudeandalsoinphase
witheachotherateverytime.
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Seriesconnectionofstatorwindings

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Also,sincethewindingsareconnectedinseries,thevoltagesproducedineachwindingadduptoproduceafinal

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generatoroutputvoltagethatisfourtimesthevoltageacrosseachoftheindividualstatorwindings.

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Singlephasepowerdistributioniscommonlyusedinresidentialareasandalsoinruralareaswhereloadsaresmall
anduncommonandthecostofsettingupathreephasedistributionnetworkishigh.

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ThreePhaseGenerators:

Newvs.Used

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Inathreephasegenerator,threesinglephasewindingsarespacedsuchthatthereisaphasedifferenceof120

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amongthevoltagesinducedineachofthestatorwindings.Thethreephasesareindependentofeachother.

TypesandUses
TipsonBuyingUsed

StarorYConfiguration

GlossaryofTerms

InastarorYconnection,oneleadfromeachwindingisconnectedtoformtheneutral.Theoppositeendofeach
winding,knownasthefinishend,isconnectedtoalineterminaleach.Thisproducesalinevoltagegreaterthanthe

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individualvoltageacrosseachwinding.
DeltaConfiguration

FuelConsumption

In a delta configuration, the start end of one phase is connected to the finish end of the adjacent phase. This

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produces a line voltage equal to the phase voltage. Electrical utilities and commercial generators produce three
phasepower.
PhaseConversioninGenerators:
(1)ReconfiguringCoilConnection
A threephase generator can be converted to a singlephase one by altering the connection between its stator
windingsinsideoroutsidethegeneratorhead.Forinstance,inthecaseofa3phasegenerator,youwouldhave6
leads.Largergeneratorscommonlyhave12leadsfromsixcoilsandallthewirescomeoutofthegeneratormaking
iteasiertoconfigurethegeneratorinavarietyofwaysasfollows
Connectingthecoilsinserieswillconvertthegeneratortoasinglephaseone.
Byconnectingoppositecoilsinseries,youcandoubletheoutputvoltage.
Aparallelconnectionwilldoubletheflowofcurrent.
Thetrickypartofreconfiguringageneratorliesinmappingthewiresemergingfromthegeneratortothecoilsthey
areconnectedto.Itisnecessarytohavethemanufacturersdocuments.Else,youwouldneedtostudyhowyour
generatoriscurrentlywiredandworkbackwardsfromthere.
(2)CentreTappingSinglePhaseLoadsToThreePhaseGenerators

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2/16/2016

GeneratorPhaseConversions:ElectricalConversion,SinglePhase,ThreePhasePower
A threephase generator can be viewed as a combination of three singlephase units. Singlephase loads can be
connectedtoathreephasegeneratorinoneofthefollowingways
Connecttheloadbetweenaphaseconductorandthesystemneutral.Thisisusuallydoneforlowpowerloads.
Connecttheloadacrosstwoliveconductorsinaphasetophaseconnection.Thisisusuallydoneforhighpower
loadssuchasairconditionersorheatersandprovides208V.However,thismayleadtopoorperformancesince
appliancesrequire240Vforoperationwouldrunat75%oftheirratedcapacityat208V.
(3)PhaseConvertors:
A rotary phase convertor (RPC) can be directly connected to a singlephase generator to produce threephase
power supply. It requires a simple configuration comprising two input connections, known as idler inputs from a
singlephasegenerator.Avoltageisproducedonthethirdterminalthatisnotconnectedtothesinglephasepower.
Theinducedvoltagediffersinphasefromthatontheothertwoterminalsby120.
(4)Variablespeeddrives(VSDs)/variablefrequencydrives(VFDs)/Inverters
These are similar to rotary phase convertors. The VFDsinglephase generator
combination is most effective in the case of applications that require less than 20
horsepower.
ChoosingBetweenSinglePhaseandThreePhaseGenerators
Theoutputofsinglephasegeneratorsisusuallylimitedto25kVA.Athigherratings,it
is less expensive to draw singlephase power supply from a threephase generator
than to buy dedicated singlephase units for higher loads. Read the following article, Tips on Buying Used
Generators,tohelpfindthepropergeneratorforanysituation.
Thechoicebetweenasinglephaseandathreephaseoutputissolelydependentonthekindofapplicationtobe
powered. Singlephase generators are best suited for singlephase output whereas a threephase generator can
easilyprovidebothsingleandthreephasepower.Ifallyourappliancesoperateonsinglephasepower,itmakes
sensetochooseasinglephasegenerator.Ifyouneedtooperateappliancesthatworkondifferentphases,athree
phasegeneratorwillserveyoubest.However,itisessentialtoaccountforloadbalanceswhilesteppingupasingle
phasegeneratortoathreephaseunit.
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