AbstractDue to the power crisis in Pakistan there is a
growing market of small household generators ranging from 2-3
KVA which can handle the load of a small house comprising of a few fans, lights, a computer and a TV. These generators are cheap and come equipped with a self-start mechanism built into the generator. On the push of a button, the user can start the generator easily. In the cities, normally these generators are used for a short period of time when the power from the grid is not available. When the power from the grid is not available the user starts the generator and connects the load to the generator manually. When the power from the grid becomes available, the user disconnects the generator from the load, turns off the generator and connects the load to the grid manually. Normally this function is performed manually and requires the engagement of the user for turning the generator on and off and shifting the load between the generator and the grid. In this paper we propose a controller which performs these tasks automatically. The controller monitors the grid voltage and when there is no voltage, the controller disconnects the load from the grid, starts the generator and shifts the load to the generator. The controller keeps on monitoring the grid voltage and when it comes back on the system turns off the generator and transfers the load to the grid. This system is very useful in the high rate of power failure crisis occurring in Pakistan and relieves the user from the tedious task of attending to the generator regularly for continuous availability of power. There are some commercially available systems in the market which cost even more than the price of a household generator and hence are not economical for the users of household generators. In this paper we propose a very low cost system which can be built using the commonly available components such as relays, timers, transformers, diodes and capacitors. This controller does not require any programmable components such as microcontroller, FPGA, DSP etc. to perform its function. The number of components is kept to minimum to increase the reliability of the system.
I ndex Terms Generator ATS, Generator ON/OFF controller, Grid power monitoring, Load shifting.
Abdul Afram is with the Ryerson University, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3 Canada (phone: +1-416-979-5000 ext. 7089; Fax: +1-416-979-5265; e-mail: abdul.afram@ryerson.ca). Abdul Atisam Farooq, Lecturer, was with Electrical Engineering Department, HITEC University, Taxila, Pakistan. He is now with the Lingua Nova AG, Kasinostr. 32, 5000 Aarau, Switzerland (phone: +41-79-622-2749; e-mail: atisamnajm@yahoo.com). I. INTRODUCTION HIS section describes the manual operation of the generator and builds the background for implementing the automatic controller.
A. Generator Manual On/Off Panel First of all it is necessary to understand the functionality of the manual generator self-start mechanism to implement the automatic controller. The manual on/off panel pre-installed on the generator is shown in the Fig. 1.
(a) Voltmeter Generator ON/STOP (Spring Loaded) ON STOP Self Start Switch OFF AC ON/OFF Switch ON Power Outlet V
(b)
Fig. 1. (a) Photograph of Manual ON/OFF Panel for a typical household generator (b) Block Diagram of the manual front Panel and Identification of Components
The panel comprises of generator ON/STOP switch, AC ON/OFF switch, a spring loaded self-start push button, power outlet, and a voltmeter for monitoring the output voltage of the generator.
B. Turning on the Generator Manually In order to turn the generator on, the user moves the generator ON/STOP switch to ON position, AC ON/OFF switch to OFF position and pushes the self-start button momentarily for 2-3 seconds. A Low Cost Generator Auto Transfer Switch (ATS) Controller for 2-3 KVA Household Generators Abdul Afram, Abdul Atisam Farooq T ASIAN JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING, SCIENCES & TECHNOLOGY, VOL.2, ISSUE 2. SEPTEMBER 2012 89
C. Connecting the Load to the Generator Manually When the generator starts, the user waits a couple of seconds for the generator prime mover to stabilize to a constant rpm. When the voltage stabilizes, the user moves the AC ON/OFF switch to the ON position to connect the load to the generator. It normally takes 2-3 seconds for the output of the generator to stabilize.
D. Transferring the Load Manually between the Generator and Grid If there are two power sources such as a grid and the generator, the load has to be shifted between them. When the grid power is available, the load is connected to the grid. Otherwise, the user starts the generator manually and connects the load to the generator. If the load has to be connected or disconnected from the grid and transferred to generator and back, the user needs a double pole double throw (DPDT) switch which disconnects the one power source and connects the other power source to the load. This is shown in Fig. 2. Grid Generator 220VAC LED DPDT Switch 2 1 3 5 4 6 Load
Fig. 2. Manual Load Transfer Switch
E. Monitoring the Grid Power Manually In order to monitor the grid power, the user installs an indicator light directly on the grid voltage before the load switching circuitry as shown in Fig. 2 and keeps monitoring the indicator from time to time to find out that the power has resumed and then returns the load to the grid by changing the position of the DPDT switch.
F. Turning Generator Off Manually The generator is turned off by switching the generator ON/STOP button to STOP position.
G. Understanding the functions of Manual Switches To implement the controller, it was found after investigation that: a. Generator ON/STOP switch open circuits the two wires connected to it when in ON position and short circuits these wires when in STOP position b. Self-Start switch short circuits the two wires connected to it when pressed and open circuits these wires when released Why is the self-start button spring loaded? The answer to this question is that it is important to engage the self-start button only momentarily as it turns the self-start motor which instantaneously draws a large amount of current from the battery to turn the engine. If the engine does not start and the self-start motor is powered for a long time, the battery will discharge to a critically low voltage. It is also possible to damage the battery due to large amount of current being drawn from the battery for a long period of time. The self-start motor can also be damaged due to the excessive heat produced by the sustained large amount of current through the motor winding. Once the engine has started, the self-start motor is disconnected from the engine automatically. If the self-start button is pressed when the motor is disconnected from the engine, the motor runs under no load conditions at a very high rpm and creates an annoying sound. Therefore once the engine has started, the self-start motor should be turned off by releasing the spring-loaded self-start button. So it is very important to engage the self-start motor for a short period of time when the engine is not running and keep it disengaged when it is running.
II. IMPLEMENTING THE AUTOMATIC CONTROLLER As evident from the above discussion, the process of manually shifting the load on a backup power source such as a generator and back is a cumbersome process and requires the continuous attention of the user and creates a lot of discomfort as well. A simple controller can handle this tedious task automatically. The controller implements the following functions Senses the grid voltage Automatically starts the generator when grid power fails Automatically stops the generator when grid power resumes Automatically transfers the load between the generator and the grid The block diagram of the automatic controller is shown in the Fig. 3. The function of each block and their implementation is explained below.
Grid Voltage Sensing Grid Voltage Sensing Generator ON/STOP Relay Generator ON/STOP Relay Auto Start Circuit Auto Start Circuit Auto Transfer Switch Auto Transfer Switch 220V AC from Grid 220V AC from Generator To Generator ON/STOP Button To Generator Self-Start Switch 220V AC to Load Battery 12V DC
Fig. 3. Block Diagram of the Automatic Controller
A. Sensing the Grid Voltage The grid voltage can be sensed by down converting the 220V AC to 12V DC using the step down transformer, bridge ASIAN JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING, SCIENCES & TECHNOLOGY, VOL.2, ISSUE 2. SEPTEMBER 2012 90
rectifier and filter. The block diagram for the voltage sensing circuitry is shown in Fig. 4.
Step Down Transformer Step Down Transformer Bridge Rectifier Bridge Rectifier Filter Filter 220V AC Grid 12V DC Grid
Fig. 4. Block Diagram of Voltage sensing circuit
The schematic of voltage sensing circuit is shown in Fig. 5.
12V DC Grid 12 V Step Down Transf ormer Capacitor 0.1uF + ~ ~ Capacitor 1000uF - - + Bridge Rectif ier Filter 220V AC Grid
Fig. 5. Schematic of Voltage Sensing Circuit
When the grid power is active, the voltage sensing circuit provides 12V DC and when the grid power fails, the voltage sensing circuit gives 0V at its output.
B. Controlling the Generator ON/STOP Switch Automatically The generator ON/STOP switch open circuits the two wires connected to it when the generator needs to be started and short circuits them when the generator needs to be turned off. A relay can be connected in parallel to this switch. The circuit is shown in the Fig. 6. A single pole double throw (SPDT) relay has three contact terminals and two coil terminals as shown in Fig. 6. The contact terminals are called common (C), normally open (NO) and normally close (NC). When the relay coil is de-energized, the NC terminal is connected to C terminal. When the relay coil is energized, the NO terminal is connected to C terminal.
Wires Connected Parallel to the Generator Start/Stop Switch C 12V DC Grid - To Terminal 1 NC SPDT Relay NO To Terminal 2 +
Fig. 6. Schematic of Relay Connected parallel to Generator ON/STOP Switch
The relay coil is energized by 12V DC Grid voltage coming from the sensing circuit. When the voltage is available, the relay coil will be energized. Since when the voltage is available, we want to keep the generator off so we want to keep the wires connected to the generator ON/STOP switch short circuited. Therefore the wires connected to generator ON/STOP switch are connected to NO and C terminals on the relay which are short circuited when the 12V DC Grid voltage is available. When the power failure occurs, the NO terminal is disconnected from the C terminal and the wires are open circuited allowing the generator to be started by the generator start circuit as explained below. The timing for the circuit of Fig. 6 is shown in Fig. 7.
12V DC Grid Relay Contacts 12V 0V Close Open Grid Power Off Grid Power On Generator On Generator Stop
Fig. 7. Timing Diagram for Generator On/Stop Relay
C. Starting the Generator Automatically The generator is started automatically when the grid power fails and the voltage sensing circuit provides the 0V at its output. Starting the generator requires open circuiting the wires connected to Generator ON/STOP switch which is done by the circuit in Fig. 6 and short circuiting the wires connected to self-start switch momentarily done by the circuit shown in Fig. 8.
Timer Relay (Adjustable 0-10 sec) Path is Open Circuit when Grid Power is Av ailable Relay 2 f or Timer Coil Path is Closed when Grid Power Fails Manual Disable Switch + Battery 12V DC - - To Terminal 1 To Terminal 2 + NC NC NC NC Wires Connected Parallel to the Self-Start Switch Relay 1 12V DC Grid 12V DC Grid
Fig. 8. Schematic of Auto Start Circuit Connected in Series with the Self Start Switch
This circuit needs to be placed in parallel with the self-start switch which is normally open circuited. The circuit also provides a path which is normally open in the presence of grid voltage. The path has to be short circuited for a short period of time to engage the self momentarily. This is implemented by using two relays and a timer. The whole circuit is controlled by the 12V DC Grid voltage. When the voltage is present, the path in series with the self-start switch is open circuit. When the grid power fails the path is short circuited for a couple of seconds. When the grid power fails, the coil of Relay1 is de- energized and the path is short circuited engaging the self-start motor. Simultaneously, the coil of Relay2 is also de-energized, closing the path to the timer coil and energizing it through a 12V DC battery. The timer relay used in this circuit changes the state of its contacts after a time delay. The timer has adjustable time duration from 0-10 second that can be changed with the help of the timer knob. Normally the timer is set at 2- 3 seconds. After the set time, the timer open circuits the path again thus disengaging the self-start motor. The timing ASIAN JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING, SCIENCES & TECHNOLOGY, VOL.2, ISSUE 2. SEPTEMBER 2012 91
diagram of this circuit is shown in the Fig. 9. It is evident from the timing diagram that the self-start motor is engaged only for the time duration set at the timer relay and is disengaged when the timer expires.
12V DC Grid Relay 1 Contacts Relay 2 Contacts Timer Contacts Self-Start Path 12V 0V Close Open Close Open Close Open Close Open 0-10 Sec Grid Power Off Grid Power On Self-Start Motor Engaged
Fig. 9. Timing Diagram for the generator Auto Start Circuit
This circuit also contains the manual disable switch which is used to disable the auto start circuit from starting the generator when not required. The user manually changes the position of the disable switch to the open circuit position and the generator does not start.
D. Automatically Transferring the Load Auto load transfer circuit is shown in the Fig. 10. The circuit comprises of a DPDT timer relay. The timer can be adjusted by the user from 0-10 seconds. The time delay is required to allow the generator output to stabilize and is set to 2-3 seconds. The circuit connects the generator output voltage to the load after this time delay. When the generator is turned off, the grid power is connected to the load. When the generator turns on the timer relay coil is energized by the generator voltage and the load is connected to the generator voltage after a time delay set by the user.
220V AC to Load 220V AC from Grid Generator Wire 1 DPDT Timer Relay (Adjustable 0-10A), 50A, 220V AC Coil Load Wire 1 ~ Generator Wire 2 Load Wire 2 Grid Wire 1 220V AC from Generator ~ Grid Wire 2 220V AC from Generator
Fig. 10. Automatic Load Transfer Switch Circuit
III. RESULTS The automatic controller was successfully implemented and tested. The photograph of the implemented system is shown in Fig. 11, 12 and 13.
Fig. 11. Photograph of Automatic Controller being tested with Generator
Fig. 12. Photograph of Automatic Controller Installed on the Wall near Generator showing the Timers, Relays and Manual Disable Switch ASIAN JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING, SCIENCES & TECHNOLOGY, VOL.2, ISSUE 2. SEPTEMBER 2012 92
Fig. 13. Photograph of Automatic Controller in Operation with Cover on it
IV. CONCLUSION The manual start/stop and load transfer panel on the generator can still be used after the addition of the automatic controller. There is no feedback in the circuit to sense whether the generator has started. It only engages the self-start motor once at the start of the power failure and does not bother to retry if the generator does not start in the first try. This is one of the possible improvements in the controller. The total cost of the controller is very low as no programmable component is used. The reliability of the controller is also very high due to the small number of components used in the circuit. The controller also takes very small time to put together and install on a household generator. The circuit is ideal for the countries with high rate of grid power failures.
REFERENCES This work is solely based on the technical knowledge of authors and involves successful hardware implementation of an Auto Transfer Switch. The software used for circuit designing is OrCAD.
Abdul Afram attained his degree of Bachelor of Mechatronics Engineering from National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Pakistan with Honors in 2003. He worked as a Design Engineer (Electronics) at RWR (Pvt.) Ltd. Pakistan for 3 years. For his Masters in Mechatronics Engineering, he joined Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Gwang-ju, South Korea in 2007. In 2009 he joined the Department of Electrical Engineering as a Lecturer at NUST School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (SEECS), Islamabad, Pakistan. In 2012, he started PhD in the Robotics, Mechatronics and Automation Lab (RMAL), Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada. His area of interest involves intelligent system design, Robotics, electromechanical Systems and control systems.
Abdul Atisam Farooq has received MS degree in electrical engineering from HITEC University, Taxila, Pakistan, in 2011 and B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Bahria University, Islamabad, Pakistan, in 2009 with an honor of Gold Medal. In 2009, he has joined the Department of Electrical Engineering at HITEC University, Taxila, Pakistan as a Lab Engineer and has been promoted at the position of lecturer in 2011. In August 2012 he joined Lingua Nova AG, Aarau, Switzerland to continue with his career. His major research interests are in the area of Cryptography, wireless communication, Instrumentation and Electromechanical systems. ASIAN JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING, SCIENCES & TECHNOLOGY, VOL.2, ISSUE 2. SEPTEMBER 2012 93