TEMPERATURE RISE AND CLASS OF INSULATION FOR AC MOTORS

ISSUED BY C.J.HEWETSON
10/1/03

The correct class of insulation is essential in terms of a satisfactory operational life of AC motors, particularly
in Middle East high ambient operation. The motor operational life is dependant upon a number of factors
a) The winding insulation class.
b) The ambient temperature.
c) The motor efficiency.
d) The Copper/Iron mass of the stator and windings.
e) Voltage fluctuation & phase imbalance.
f) Winding temperature.
g) Bearing operating temperature and lubrication specification.
h) The load on the motor.
The winding operating temperature directly effects the life of winding insulation materials plus the bearings.
Winding temperature rise is directly related to the efficiency of the motor, which is the power output at the
shaft divided by the power input at the supply side. In general, motors are 85% efficient unless high efficiency
motors are requested, in which case the efficiency would be 90-95%. High efficiency motors have more
Copper/Iron by design; therefore the losses and the equivalent heat generation will be less. The difference
between power input and output is called the loss and this power loss is transformed into heat, which warms
up the motor windings and must be expelled from the motor to avoid excessive temperature rise. If the
efficiency of the motor is 85% then 15% of the KW input is generated in winding heat with an equivalent
winding temperature rise based upon the mass of Copper and Iron and the specific heat thereof. The hottest
part of the windings is in the centre of the slots where the heat is generated as a result of the losses.
The heat generated is dissipated to the ambient air through the external surfaces of the motor and assistance of
air forced over the surface in the case of TEFC or through the stator/rotor air gap in the case of ODP motors,
via a fan mounted on the rotor shaft end. For every 10degf (5.5degC) winding temperature rise above the
insulation rating of the motor, the motor operating life will be reduced by 50%. Motor insulation temperature
rise allowable for each class of insulation is always based upon an ambient of 72degf (40degC) which is the air
on temperature to the motor for cooling purposes. The ambient design should be taken as 50 deg C for the
Eastern Province (unless the motor is located indoors in an air conditioned or ventilated environment in which
case the design ambient may be lower). As motor insulation class is based on 40DegC ambient, and design
ambient is 50DegC, the winding temperature will be 10degC (18degf) above the allowable temperature rise
and likely to exceed the maximum temperature for the windings. For TEAO or TEFC motors the bearings
provided will relate to the expected motor winding temperature. As most of the York product designs are based
on N.American markets, the insulation class specified will generally be class B and the bearings fitted will
reflect this. For Saudi Arabia the winding temperature is likely to fall into class F or H and if you consider that
lubricants begin to break down and lose their lubricating properties at 85-90degC, it can be readily understood
that the bearings may well fail due to a reduction in grease viscosity and leakage or vapourisation before the
motor windings. Indeed as the bearing lubrication is gradually lost, the bearing elements will pick up, resulting
in higher current draw which in itself may cause the motor windings to fail. Most motors supplied by York
have no service factor or thermal reserve as described by NEMA or IEC standards, which allows for
overloading of the motor for short or continuous periods without serious damage of overheating. The service
factors that should be specified are 1.10, 1.15 or 1.2 which provides a 10,15 or 20% overload; sales people
should not accept a service factor of 1.0. It is very easy to overload motors especially during pull down,
increased air flow on AHU's due to lower ESP, changes in air density/humidity or due to power supply voltage
fluctuations or phase imbalances. Under such conditions a thermal reserve will allow the motor to operate
without exceeding their class rating by using some or all of their thermal reserve. The temperature rise for
motors with 1.0 service factor is as follows.
INSULATION CLASS A E B F H F WITH CLASS B RISE
TEMPERATURE RISE OF WINDING 60 75 80 100 125 80

AMBIENT TEMPERATURE 40 40 40 40 40 40

ALLOWANCE FOR HOT SPOTS 5 5 10 15 15 15

THERMAL RESERVE 0 0 0 0 0 20

TOTAL WINDING TEMPERATURE 105 120 130 155 180 155

For all motors be they single or 3 phase for operation in Saudi Arabia to ensure trouble free operation and a
normally expected life of 25,000hrs, the winding class should be class F with a service factor of 1.1 as a
minimum especially in view of the likelihood of voltage imbalances and voltage reduction general to SA. In
the Eastern Province we are frequently faced with changing condenser fan motors on rooftop packages, split
condensing unit condensers and air cooled chillers or to change the bearings. Motor failure due to incorrect
specification of winding insulation class causes customer dissatisfaction with our products even though he
may not appreciate the reasons for the failure. This in turn may result in lost sales in the future where
customers do not perceive our units as being reliable or suited for high ambient operation.