The efficient use of electricity enables home appliances to minimize cost and preserve the environment. Most home appliances, such as refrigerators, washers and dryers, dishwashers, and air conditioners, are driven by electric motor systems. System costs and power consumption can be drastically reduced by using digital circuits, or FPGAs, to control an analog motor circuit. Besides energy conservation, FPGAs also incorporate features such as embedded digital signal processing (DSP) blocks, microcontrollers, and I/O interfaces to complete a home appliance design.
Introduction
The efficient use of electricity enables home appliances to minimize cost and preserve the environment. Most home appliances, such as refrigerators, washers and dryers, dishwashers, and air conditioners, are driven by electric motor systems. These systems include a power supply, an electric motor, motor control circuitry, and a mechanical system.
Various methods are used to improve the system efficiency:
- Maintain voltage level
- Minimize phase imbalance
- Maintain power factor
- Maintain good power quality
- Use adjustable speed drives or two-speed motors
- Control temperature
- Match motor operating speed
System costs and power consumption can be drastically reduced by using digital circuits, or FPGAs, to control an analog motor circuit. Besides energy conservation, FPGAs also incorporate features such as embedded digital signal processing (DSP) blocks, microcontrollers, and I/O interfaces to complete a home appliance design.
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