Dynamic Performance of Air Conditioners with

Variable Frequency Drive

Richard J. Bravo (IEEE senior member), Matthew Norwalk (IEEE member)
Southern California Edison

II. TEST EQUIPMENT, SETUP, AND PROCEDURE

Abstract — This paper presents laboratory test results of
commercially available air conditioners with variable The test setup is shown in Fig. 1 and is composed of a
frequency drives (AC-VFD). These air conditioning systems grid simulator, a power analyzer, and a device under test
are furnished with a variable frequency drive module (AC-VFD).
between the input terminals and the compressor. These
systems are typically referred to in the market as “ductless
air conditioners”. First, this paper will present the test setup
and the test equipment used during the tests. Additionally,
it will provide the test results for various tests including
start-up, dynamic performance during voltage and
frequency events, and harmonics contents. Finally, it will
provide recommendations on how these devices can be
enhanced to be more grid friendly and to support the grid
during emergencies. The test results and information
obtained in this paper can be used to develop, test, and
validate computer dynamic models use for bulk system
studies by system planners and/or researchers. In addition,
it can be used to persuade the industry on needs from these
types of equipment. Fig. 1. Residential Loads Test Layout
Index Terms — air conditioners with variable frequency
drives, voltage ride through, ductless air conditioners The AC-VFD units, both outdoor and indoor, were
assembled in a way that they can be easily tested as shown
I. INTRODUCTION in Fig. 2. These systems are typically composed of a
The demand for high efficient smart appliances has single outdoor unit and multiple single units for different
grown exponentially in the last two decades [1]. This rooms in the household.
demand has been seen across the board: residential,
commercial, and industrial electrical equipment. The
channel to achieve such high efficiency is in the use of
power electronic circuits in equipment design because of
their low power consumption and reliability. The high
efficiency demand has been attributed to the sharp rise in
both energy consumption and its cost. To better
understand the dynamic performance of air conditioners
with variable frequency drives (AC-VFD), tests of seven
units were performed, as shown in Table 1. All the loads
are rated for typical U.S. households, 240VAC and 60Hz.
The seven units use R410A refrigerant that is the new
refrigerant standard in the U.S.

TABLE 1. AC VFD Ratings Fig. 2 AC-VFD Test Rack

Outdoor Indoor BTU
# SEER
P/N P/N (k)
III. TEST RESULTS
1 MR36Y3J MW36Y3J 33 16.5
2 38GVQ024-3 40GVQ024-3 24 16 This section presents the results of the AC-VFDs.
3 MS8-HO-24P MS8-HI-24P 24 18 Before any test was performed, the units were under
4 MSH243E15MC MSH243E15AX 24 15 steady state conditions working normally and producing
5 KSIO024-H219 24 19 cooling.
6 CU-KE36NKU CS-KE36NKU 34 16
7 LSU360HV3 LSN360HV3 33.1 16.1

978-1-5090-2157-4/16/$31.00 ©2016 IEEE

 A. Power Factor (PF) C. Performance during Under-voltage Ramps
The steady state RMS electrical characteristics are This test was performed to assess the AC-VFDs
shown in Table 2. The key findings are: performance at different under-voltages and consisted on
1. All AC-VFD units were tested within 1% of 240V imposing the AC-VFDs to an under-voltage ramp, 100%
2. All AC-VFD units have high a power factor of at down to 70% and back up to 100% in 8 seconds. This test
least 97%, except for AC-VFD#2 that has 94% pf. data will provide information on whether the AC-VFDs
TABLE 2. AC-VFDs at steady-state are constant current, constant power, or constant
# V RMS IRMS P (W) Q (VAr) PF impedance devices. Fig. 4 and 5 have the AC-VFDs’
1 238 9.6 2276 135 1.0 electrical rms current (I), active power (P), and reactive
2 239 7 1571 558 0.94 power (Q) characteristics during the under-voltage ramp.
3 238 6 1497 236 0.99 The key findings are the following:
4 239 6 1363 262 0.98 1. All AC-VFDs experienced an increment in electrical
5 238 6 1501 302 0.98 current during under-voltage condition.
6 239 13 3117 647 0.98 2. Electrical current ramp-up slope is approximately
7 238 11 2732 89 1.00 between 5%/sec to 10%/sec.
3. All AC-VFDs ride through the under-voltage event,
none shutdown.
B. Start-up Performance
This test was performed to assess the AC-VFDs start-
up performance. Typical motor start-up creates an inrush
of electrical current that can negatively impact the
lifetime of the motor and can provoke power quality
issues in the grid. Fig. 3 shows the AC-VFDs electrical
rms voltage (p.u.) and current (p.u.), versus time during
start-up. For each AC-VFD, the test data was manually
synchronized at the 5 second time mark. The key findings
are the following:
1. AC-VFD#1, 2, and 3 have inrush at the beginning of Fig. 4. Voltage (V) and current (I) versus time during 70% ramp-down
voltage
the start for a fraction of a second as shown in Table
4. All AC-VFDs decrease some active power (P)
3. This inrush is very low compared to the steady
consumption at the start of the under-voltage event.
state current, it may be from a fan or control system.
5. AC-VFD#1, 3, and 7 has mostly constant power
2. All the AC-VFDs ramp-up during start-up.
behavior.
AC-VFDs take between 30 and 50 seconds to start-
up, from off condition to full power
3. The start slope is between 2.5% and 3.3 % per second
Δ 100%
3.3%/
Δ 30

Fig. 5. Voltage (V) and real power (P) versus time during 70% ramp-
down voltage

D. Performance during Under-voltages

This test was performed to find out where AC-VFDs
disconnect during under-voltage transients. The under-
Fig. 3. AC-VFDs start-up behavior
TABLE 3. AC-VFDs inrush characteristics voltage transients consisted of steps of 10% (0.1 p.u.),
Inrush Inrush Time where in between the voltage was brought to steady state
# Notes
(p.u.) (cycles) for 2 seconds. Fig. 6 and 7 have the AC-VFDs electrical
1 2.87 3 Inrush at start-up & at end rms current (I) characteristics during the under-voltage
2 2.26 24 Inrush at start-up events. The key findings are the following:
3 2.44 18 Inrush at start-up 1. All AC-VFDs ride through 0.7 p.u. under-voltages
4 none none none for 12 cycles.
5 none none none
2. AC-VFD#3 & 7 disconnect at 0.6 p.u. under-voltage.
6 none none none
3. AC-VFD#1, 2, & 6 disconnect at 0.5 p.u. under-
7 1.88 3 Inrush at end
voltage.

978-1-5090-2157-4/16/$31.00 ©2016 IEEE

 4. AC-VFD#4 disconnects at 0.3 p.u. under-voltage.
5. AC-VFD#5 disconnects at 0.1 p.u. under-voltage.
Fig. 6. Voltage (V) and current (I) versus time during 12-cycle under-
voltage transients
6. All AC-VFDs rides through 0.8 p.u. under-voltages
for 130 cycles, except AC-VFD#6 that shutdown
when the voltage was recovering
Fig. 7. Voltage (V) and current (I) versus time during 130-cycle
undervoltage transients
E. Performance during Over-voltages
This test was performed to find out where AC-VFDs
disconnect during over-voltage transients. The over-
voltage transients consist of steps of about 2% (0.02 p.u.),
where in between the voltage was brought to steady state
for about 2 seconds. Fig. 8 has the AC-VFDs electrical
rms current (I) characteristics during the over-voltage
events. The key findings are the following:
1. All the AC-VFDs ride through 0.2 p.u. over-voltage
for 12 cycles, except AC-VFD#3 that shutdown at
0.12 p.u. over-voltage
Fig. 8. Voltage (V) and current (I) versus time during 12-cycle over-
voltage transients
F. Performance during Under-frequency
This test was performed to assess the AC-VFDs’
performance during under-frequencies that are typically
caused by under-generation conditions. The under-
frequency transients consisted of steps of 0.2Hz for 2
seconds, where in between the frequency was brought up
978-1-5090-2157-4/16/$31.00 ©2016 IEEE
to steady state 60Hz for 2 seconds. Fig 9 and 10 have the
AC-VFDs’ frequency and rms current (I) characteristics
during the under-frequency events. The key findings are
the following:
1. All AC-VFDs ride through 2Hz under-frequency.
2. AC-VFD#6 has wider current withdraw fluctuations
during the under-frequency events.
Fig. 9. Frequency (F) and current (I) versus time during 130-cycle
under-frequency transients
3. AC-VFD#2’s electrical current increments during
under-frequency events, this performance is not
desirable since it will increase the stress into the grid
during under-frequencies.
4. AC-VFD#4 electrical current decrements during
under-frequency events, this performance is
beneficial to the grid since it will decrease load
during under-frequencies.
Fig. 10. Frequency (F) and current (I) versus time during 130-cycle
under-frequency transients (AC-VFD#2 and 4)
G. Performance during Over-frequency
This test was performed to assess the AC-VFDs
performance during over-frequency events that are
typically caused by over-generation conditions. The over-
frequency events consisted of steps of 0.2 Hz for 2
seconds, where in between the frequency was brought
down to steady state for 2 seconds. Fig. 11 and 12 has the
AC-VFDs’ frequency and rms current (I) characteristics
during the over-frequency events. The key findings are
the following:
1. All AC-VFDs ride through 2Hz over-frequency
events.
2. AC-VFD#6 has wider current fluctuations during the
under-frequency events.
3. AC-VFD#2 electrical current decrements during the
over-frequency events, this performance is not
desirable for the grid since it will reduce load during
over-frequencies.
4. AC-VFD#4 electrical current increments during the
 over-frequency events, this performance is beneficial Fundamentals goes to 100%
to the grid since it will increase load during over-
frequencies.

Fig. 14. Current harmonics (percentage of fundamental; up to the 19th)

Table 3 has all the AC-VFD total current harmonic

Fig. 11. Frequency (F) and current (I) versus time during 130-cycle distortion (THDi) calculations up to different harmonic
over-frequency transients levels, using the following formula:

5. All AC-VFDs’ harmonic levels are significantly up

to 3kHz (50th harmonic) therefore future harmonic
studies can be limited to 3kHz or the 50th harmonic.

Fig. 12. Frequency (F) and current (I) versus time during 130-cycle TABLE 4. AC-VFD Total Harmonic Distortion
over-frequency transients (AC-VFD#2 and 4)
#
F<3KHz F<6KHz F<12KHz F<24KHz
H. Harmonics Generation
L1 L2 L1 L2 L1 L2 L1 L2
In order to calculate the AC-VFDs’ harmonics 1 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14
generation, an extremely high sampling data was 2 39 39 39 39 39 39 39 39
captured from each of the tests, 1 million samples per 3 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28
second (16,666 samples/cycle). Fig. 13 shows all the AC- 4 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
VFDs current and the voltage sinusoidal waveform. This 5 16 16 16 16 16 16 17 17
data shows high harmonic levels on all the AC-VFDs. 6 45 45 46 46 46 46 46 46
Fig. 14 has all AC-VFDs current harmonics calculations 7 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14
(based of the fundamental) up to the 19th harmonic. The
key findings are the following:
1. All AC-VFDs have high harmonics current I. Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR)
contribution. This test was performed to assess the AC-VFDs’
2. AC-VFD#2 & 6 have extremely high 3rd harmonics performance during conservation voltage reduction
(>35% of fundamental). (CVR). The CVR consisted of steps of 1% (0.01 p.u.) for
3. AC-VFD#2, 3, 5, & 6 have high 5th harmonics (>10% 5 seconds from steady state to 90%. Fig. 15, 16, 17, & 18
of fundamental). have the AC-VFDs electrical characteristics during the
4. AC-VFD#2, 3, & 6 have high 7th harmonics (>4% of CVR. The key findings are the following:
fundamental). 1. All AC-VFDs electrical current increases during the
CVR event.

Fig. 13. Sinusoidal current (I) versus time at steady state

Fig. 15. Voltage (V) and current (I) versus time during CVR

978-1-5090-2157-4/16/$31.00 ©2016 IEEE

 2. AC-VFD#2, 3, 4, 5, & 6 active power (P) decreased should be designed to at least IEEE519 limits. Solar
during the CVR event. PV inverters have extremely low harmonics current
3. AC-VFD#1 active power (P) increased during the contribution [2].
CVR event. 2. Constant impedance: Test results indicate that all the
4. AC-VFD#4 active power (P) decreased 0.5% for 6% tested AC-VFDs have mostly constant power
of voltage during the CVR event. behavior. This is the worst behavior that a load can
5. AC-VFD# 7 active power (P) was maintained have during grid emergencies because they withdraw
constant during the CVR event. more power at lower voltages. It is recommended that
these devices are designed with constant impedance
characteristics.
3. Ride through during low voltage disturbances: Test
results indicated that some devices ride through only
to 60 percent. It is recommended these devices ride
through low voltages such as 50%.
4. Restart after voltage disturbance: All the AC-VFDs
restarts in about five minutes after the event shutdown
the AC-VFD. The AC-VFD should restart in a random
fashion after the voltage recovers above 98%. This
will prevent having over generation and also prevent
Fig. 16. Voltage (V) and real power (P) versus time during CVR
overloading the system when all start up.
6. AC-VFD#1, 2, & 7 reactive power (Q) increased 5. Restart with low inrush current: Four of the AC-
during the CVR event. VFD units had some small inrush, but this can be
7. AC-VFD#3, 4, 5, and 6 reactive power (Q) decreased minimized, as the other three AC-VFD units.
during the CVR event. Minimizing inrush can benefit users who want DER
technologies to start these loads. DER technologies
have very limited short circuit current contribution
(<1.3 p.u.), therefore may not able to start-up AC-
VFDs if high inrush is needed.
6. Frequency performance: All the AC-VFD units do
not support the grid during frequency disturbances. At
high penetrations, these loads can support the grid,
lower power consumption during under-frequencies
and increase power consumption during over-
frequencies.
Fig. 17. Voltage (V) and real power (P) versus time during CVR (all
AC-VFDs, except AC-VFD#7 that was too distorted, 40% swings) V. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This paper solely represents the views of its authors
8. AC-VFD#4 real and reactive power (P & Q)
and does not necessarily represent the views of Southern
decreased during the CVR event as shown in Fig. 18.
California Edison or its parent organization Edison
This unit provided the best behavior of CVR test.
International.

The authors acknowledge funding provided by the

U.S. Department of Energy through the Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory for this work. Also
Acknowledgment of Steven Robles who performed the
testing of these air conditioner units was fundamental for
the development of this paper.

VI. REFERENCES
Fig. 18. Voltage (V), real and reactive power (P & Q) versus time during [1] Euromonitor International. “Consumer Appliances in the US
CVR (AC-VFD#4) Report.” Internet: www.euromonitor.com/consumer-appliances-
in-the-us/report, October 2, 2012.
[2] Bravo, R.J.; et all; “Three phase solar photovoltaic inverter
IV. RECOMMENDATIONS testing,” IEEE PES Power Systems Conference and Exposition;
It is imperative that electric loads have no or minimum Vancouver, BC; July 2013
negative effects in the grid. In order to minimize AC-
VFDs impacts on the grid, they need to be designed with
the following characteristics:
1. Harmonics generation: All the AC-VFD units have
high harmonics current contribution. These units

978-1-5090-2157-4/16/$31.00 ©2016 IEEE