The AC drives operate with AC signal or voltage, for instance, 1-phase or 3-phase AC voltages whereas DC drives operate with DC signal or voltage, for instance, DC supplies, and Batteries.
Generally, a DC drive changes an Alternating Current (AC) into Direct Current (DC) using a converter (Rectifier) to operate a DC motor while the AC drive changes the input AC current to DC using converter (Rectifier) and then changes this DC to AC, using an inverter, to operate the motor.
- You May Also Read: Difference Between Brushed and Brushless DC Motors
The key differences between AC and DC Drive are discussed in this article on the basis of real-world factors such as supply source, maintenance, uses, breaking mechanism, power & control circuitry, size & weight, commutation process, speed control & limit, harmonic distortion, speed regulation, starting torque, response to dynamics, noise, power consumption, brushes life, and application.The following table explains the key Differences between AC Drives and DC Drives.
Difference between AC Drives and DC Drives
| Characteristics | AC Drives | DC Drives |
|---|---|---|
| Supply | Run by AC supply | Run by DC supply |
| Maintenance | Requires less maintenance. | Requires comparatively more and frequent maintenance. |
| Use/ Application | Are generally used for AC motors. | Are used for DC motors normally. |
| Locational use | Are used in almost all the locations. | are used in very few locations |
| Breaking Mechanism | Breaking and accelerating when supply frequency (F s ) changes | Breaking occurs when resistance is applied at rotor. |
| Power & Control Circuitry | Power and control circuits are difficult and quite complex in design. | Power and control circuits are simple to design and less expensive as compared to their counter-parts. |
| Size in terms of Power Rating | Power to Weight ratio is very large. | Power to Weight ratio is considerably small. |
| Components | Have converter and inverter. | Have converter and chopping circuit. |
| Commutation | There is no commutation which makes AC Drives less bulky and inexpensive. | Because of commutation, they are more heavy and costly. |
| Rectifier | There is no need of rectifier circuit | Rectifying circuit is necessary |
| Speed Control | Sped control is achieved by changing the frequency | Speed control is achieved by armature and field control |
| Corrosive and Wet Environment | Can be used in such environment since their operation is spark free | Cannot be used because sparks can be produced in brushes easily. |
| Cost | In AC Drives, motors are less expensive especially squirrel cage motors. | In DC Drives, motors are significantly expensive. |
| Speed limit | There is no upper limit for speed. | Speed is limited because of commutation process. |
| Harmonics | Converters produce harmonics in supply as well as in load | Converters do not produce harmonics |
| Motor speed | Can reach up to 10000 RPM | Can reach up to 2500 RPM |
| Speed regulation | ~1% speed regulation is attainable | Not possible to achieve 1 % speed regulation |
| Dynamic response | Offer high dynamic response | Offer low dynamic response |
| Starting torque | Do not produce high starting torque | Produces high starting torque |
| Battery use | Cannot be run directly by batteries without using extra circuitry | Can be run directly through batteries without adding an extra components |
| Noise | Operation is noisy which is highly unfavorable in certain applications | They are not noisy as compared to AC Drives |
| Power consumption | Consume less power | Consume more power |
| Circuit complexity | More complex as it involves inverter (DC → AC) and converter (AC → DC) | Less complex because of single power conversion process from AC to DC |
| Brushes life | Very high (~10000h) | Low (~3000h) |
Conclusion
Although the DC drives are quite renowned for offering high starting torque, bearing simplified circuitry and are effective with constant speed applications, they are believed to have a lot of problems because of commutation process and brushes in the DC Motors which require periodic and extensive maintenance. On the other side, AC drives are quite energy efficient and can manage abrupt speed changes very well. They frequently have numerous programmable parameters for protections.
