Safe starting of motors: Pay attention to
temperature increase
concern in this article is the heat pro-
duced which is proportional to the
square of the current as represented
by P = I2R. Where P is the power lost
in heat (kilowatt-hours [kW•h]) due
to the square of the current flow (I2)
through a resistance (R). Once the mo-
tor has been successfully started, the
load current level is reached and the
cooling circuit of the motor is able to
dissipate the additional heat produced
by the starting current. Restarting the
By Jim Bryan
EASA Technical Support Specialist
motor before this additional heat has
been dissipated means more heat in the
form of kW•h will be added on top of
that which is there. Each subsequent
The most stressful time for electric
start before the additional heat has
motors is during starting. The speed-
been dissipated will add more heat
current curve in Figure 1 illustrates
— raising the temperature until some
why. At starting, the motor current is the
component in the motor reaches its
highest it will ever be. This is referred to
failure point.
as starting or locked rotor current. These
The limiting factor as determined by
different terms describe that when the
the design is the temperature increase
shaft speed is zero, the current is maxi-
resulting in component failure in a
mum. Note also the impact of applied
squirrel cage induction motor of one of
voltage to the current characteristics.
three components: the winding, the ro-
This will be discussed later.
tor bars or the rotor shorting end rings.
Many performance parameters of
Depending on the design, the thermal
the motor are directly proportional
“weak link” could be any of these.
to the current. The parameter of most
+10% VOLTAGE
100% VOLTAGE
% STARTING CURRENT
-10% VOLTAGE
FULL LOAD
NO LOAD
0% 100%
% SPEED
Figure 1. Speed-current curve.
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“
The limiting factor as
determined by the design
is the temperature increase
resulting in component
failure in a squirrel cage
induction motor of one
of three components: the
winding, the rotor bars
or the rotor shorting end
rings.
”
NEMA guidance on starts
Because of this, thermal protection
located in the winding might not be suf-
ficient to prevent rotor bar or end ring
damage. For this reason, the National
Electrical Manufacturer’s Association
(NEMA) and the International Elec-
trotechnical Commission (IEC) have
provided limits to the number of times
a motor can be safely started in a given
amount of time. These limits are defined
in NEMA MG1-2011 12.54.1 and IEC
60034-12-2007 8.3 below.
NEMA MG1-2011
12.54.1 Normal Starting Conditions
Design A and B squirrel-cage induction
motors having horsepower ratings given in
10.32.4 and performance characteristics in
accordance with this Part 12 shall be capable
of accelerating without injurious heating load
Wk2 referred to the motor shaft equal to or less
than the values listed in Table 12-7 under the
following conditions:
a. Applied voltage and frequency in
accordance with 12.44.
b. During the accelerating period, the
connected load torque is equal to or
less than a torque which varies as the
square of the speed and is equal to
100 percent of rated-load torque at
rated speed.
c. Two starts in succession (coasting to
rest between starts) with the motor
initially at the ambient temperature
or one start with the motor initially at
Continued on Page 2
1
Safe starting of motors: Pay attention to temperature increase
Continued From Page 1

a temperature not exceeding its rated

load operating temperature.
NEMA MG1 Table 12-7
IEC 60034-12-2007 8.3 SQUIRREL-CAGE INDUCTION MOTORS
Motors shall be capable of withstanding Synchronous Speed, RPM
two starts in succession (coasting to a rest
between starts) from cold conditions, and 3600 1800 1200 900 720 600 514
one start from hot after running at rated Hp Load Wk (Exclusive of Motor Wk ) lb/ft
2 2 2

conditions. The retarding torque due to the

driven load is assumed to be constant and 1 … 5.8 15 31 53 82 118
equal to rated torque, independent of speed, 1½ 1.8 8.6 23 45 77 120 174
with an external inertia of 50% of the values
given in Table 3. In each case, a further start 2 2.4 11 30 60 102 158 228
is permissible only if the motor temperature 3 3.5 17 44 87 149 231 335
before starting does not exceed the steady
6 6.7 27 71 142 242 375 544
temperature at rated load.
Note: It should be recognized that the
7½ 8.3 39 104 208 355 551 799
number of starts should be minimized since
these affect the life of the motor. 10 11 61 137 273 467 723 1050
In layman’s terms, both references 15 16 75 200 400 684 1060 1540
mean if a motor is at room temperature,
it can be started twice in succession. 20 21 99 262 525 898 1390 2020
If the motor has come to the normal 25 26 122 324 647 1110 1720 2490
operating temperature, it can be started
once. Before subsequent starts can be 30 30 144 384 769 1320 2040 2960
made, it must be cooled to normal
operating temperature. As stated ear- 40 40 189 503 1010 1720 2680 3890
lier, monitoring the rotor temperature 50 49 232 620 1240 2130 3300 4790
is difficult so relying on the winding
temperature monitors is necessary. For 60 58 275 735 1470 2520 3920 5690
applications requiring multiple starts, 75 71 338 904 1810 3110 4830 7020
this temperature monitoring becomes
very important. Often the shorthand 100 92 441 1180 2370 4070 6320 9190
version is used: “2 cold/1 hot starts.”
Manufacturers will often limit larger 125 113 542 1450 2920 5010 7790 11300
motors (for instance, greater than 200 150 133 640 1720 3460 5940 9230 …
hp [150 kW]) further by saying a total
of nine starts per day or less in certain 200 172 831 2240 4510 7750 … …
circumstances. Manufactures may 250 210 1020 2740 5540 … … …
relax these limits during commission-
ing to allow for alignment or refine 300 246 1200 3240 … … … …
balancing procedures. They should be
consulted before these procedures are 350 281 1370 3720 … … … …
attempted to verify that it is safe. 400 315 1550 … … … … …
Note that these limits are based on
load inertias (Wk2) listed in NEMA 450 349 1710 … … … … …
Table 12-7 (at right) or Table 20-1 for 500 381 1880 … … … … …
large motors and IEC Table 3. The
inertias were calculated based on the
horsepower or kW rating and speed mine how long the load will take to and therefore the longer the motor will
of the motor. The load inertia is an accelerate to full speed. The higher the draw the increased current necessary
important factor because it will deter- inertia, the longer the acceleration time
Continued on Page 3

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Safe starting of motors: Pay attention to temperature increase
Continued From Page 2

the lesser of the value in Column A or

IEC 60034-12 Table 3 Column B divided by the load inertia,
if known. The values of Column B are
External inertia (J) nearly identical to the values for the
Number of poles 2 4 6 8 same ratings given in Table 12-7 of
MG1. In Table 12-7, the load inertia
Frequency Hz 50 60 50 60 50 60 50 60 of a 100 hp, 4-pole motor is 441 lb/
Rated output Moment of inertia ft2, and the same value appears for a
kW kg m2 100 hp, 4-pole motor in MG10. This
means for the allowable inertia, the
0.4 0.018 0.014 0.099 0.074 0.273 0.205 0.561 0.421
safe starts would be one, the same as
0.63 0.026 0.020 0.149 0.112 0.411 0.308 0.845 0.634 stated in MG1 12.54.1. If the inertia is
known and is less than the value given
1.0 0.040 0.030 0.226 0.170 0.624 0.468 1.28 0.960
in Table 12-7, then additional starts
1.6 0.061 0.046 0.345 0.259 0.952 0.714 1.95 1.46 might be allowable. If the motor is
larger than 250 hp or if the load inertia
2.5 0.091 0.068 0.516 0.387 1.42 1.07 2.92 2.19
is not known, the application should
4.0 0.139 0.104 0.788 0.591 2.17 1.63 4.46 3.34 use the “2 cold/1 hot start” rule unless
the manufacturer is consulted.
6.3 0.210 0.158 1.19 0.889 3.27 2.45 6.71 5.03
10 0.318 0.239 1.80 1.35 4.95 3.71 10.2 7.63
Impacted by voltage available
As noted in Figure 1, the starting
16 0.485 0.364 2.74 2.06 7.56 5.67 15.5 11.6 current will be impacted by the volt-
25 0.725 0.544 4.10 3.07 11.3 8.47 23.2 17.4 age available during starting. When
the power supply is limited, it is often
40 1.11 0.830 6.26 4.69 17.2 12.9 35.4 26.6 necessary to employ some starting
63 1.67 1.25 9.42 7.06 26.0 19.5 53.3 40.0 method such as reduced voltage, wye
start delta run, or soft starting to limit
100 2.52 1.89 14.3 10.7 39.3 29.5 80.8 60.6 the starting current and avoid voltage
160 3.85 2.89 21.8 16.3 60.1 45.1 123 92.5 sag to other loads on the supply. While
this does reduce the starting current,
250 5.76 4.32 32.6 24.4 89.7 67.3 184 138 the acceleration time will be extended.
400 8.79 6.59 49.7 37.3 137 103 281 211 So although the heating rate is re-
duced, the length of time the heating is
630 13.2 9.90 74.8 56.1 206 155 423 317 occurring increases. This results in the
same amount of kW•h being injected
1600 30.6 23 173 130 477 358 979 734
into the motor. Another way to look
at this is to consider the acceleration
for acceleration. This increased time at is a combined value of ±10% of of the load to be work accomplished.
elevated current results in more heat- rated voltage and frequency. For Whether the load is accelerat-
ing of the motor. instance, an 8% voltage variation ed in 5 seconds or 30 seconds, the
NEMA MG10-2001 Table 7 (see and 2% frequency variation would same amount of work has been
Figure 2 on Page 4) lists allowable be a combined 10% variation. accomplished; therefore, the heat ac-
starts for motors through 250 hp also 2. During acceleration, the load cumulated is the same.
based on size and speed. At first these torque is equal to or less than a
limits seem to be in conflict with those torque that varies as the square Conclusion
in NEMA MG1, but closer examina- of the speed and equal to 100% of A wise and experienced motor engi-
tion shows they are in harmony. The rated torque at rated speed. neer once said that since a motor has a
limits in this table are based on the 3. External load inertia is equal to specific number of starts in its life, you
following conditions: or less than the values listed in can use those in the first year or spread
1. Applied voltage and frequency NEMA MG1-2011 Table 12-7. them out. It is important to realize
must be with the limits set in The allowable starts per hour is
NEMA MG1-2011 12.44 which Continued on Page 4

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Safe starting of motors: Pay attention to temperature increase
Continued From Page 3

the stress imposed by starting and to

limit the number of starts to achieve
the best and longest performance of a ALLOWABLE STARTS AND STARTING
motor. Even the limits as defined here
represent an extreme in application; if INTERVALS
that many starts are not necessary, they NEMA DESIGN A & B MOTORS
should be avoided.
The starting stress can be mitigated
by using alternative applications as 2 POLE 4 POLE 6 POLE
well. For instance, in the case of flow HP A B C A B C A B C
demand for a pump or fan, variable 1 15 1.2 75 30 5.8 38 34 15 33
speed control may be able to provide 1.5 12.9 1.8 76 25.7 8.6 38 29.1 23 34
constant correct flow rather than 2 11.5 2.4 77 23 11 39 26.1 30 35
starting and stopping to adjust the 3 9.9 3.5 80 19.8 17 40 22.4 44 36
5 8.1 5.7 83 16.3 27 42 18.4 71 37
availability of the material. In the
7.5 7.0 8.3 88 13.9 39 44 15.8 104 39
case of repetitive operations such as
10 6.2 11 92 12.5 51 46 14.2 137 41
a punch press or positioning a load, a 15 5.4 16 100 10.7 75 50 12.1 200 44
clutch such as an eddy current or fluid 20 4.8 21 110 9.6 99 55 10.9 262 48
clutch may help. 25 4.4 26 115 8.8 122 58 10.0 324 51
There are some applications that 30 4.1 31 120 8.2 144 60 9.3 384 53
require many more starts per hour than 40 3.7 40 130 7.4 189 65 8.4 503 57
these NEMA or IEC guidelines offer. 50 3.4 49 145 6.8 232 72 7.7 620 64
Elevators for instance may start 40-50 60 3.2 58 170 6.3 275 85 7.2 735 75
or more times per hour during peak 75 2.9 71 180 5.8 338 90 6.6 904 79
operation. These published guidelines 100 2.6 92 220 5.2 441 110 5.9 1181 97
refer to usual conditions. Unusual con- 125 2.4 113 275 4.8 542 140 5.4 1452 120
150 2.2 133 320 4.5 640 160 5.1 1719 140
ditions, such as the elevator example,
200 2.0 172 600 4.0 831 300 4.5 2238 265
must be specifically addressed by the
250 1.8 210 1000 3.7 1017 500 4.2 2744 440
manufacturer’s designers. l
Where: A = Maximum number of starts per hour.
l l l l l B = Maximum product of starts per hour times load Wk2.
C = Minimum rest or off time in seconds between starts.
Editor’s Note: A PDF of this article is
available in the “Resource Library” of
www.easa.com. Figure 2. Allowable starts. (Table 7 of NEMA MG10-2001.)

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