Soft starters

[chander]

Looking for some input on pros and cons of different manufactures starters. I am looking at Schneider Electric series Altistart 22 or 01. My application would be on a HRU with 15 HP motor, 460 3 ph.
A VFD is not needed, as this is a constant cfm HRU. Customer is looking to save wear and tear on unit from high start torque.

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[rjk_cmh]

I can't help with your product selection, but keep in mind that most soft starters have a maximum limit on the number of starts per hour. VFDs do not have this limitation - just keep that in mind when selecting your starters.

[chander]

On this application, the HRU would come on only when the building was occupied. That would be one start per day. Thanks for the input, I did see that starts per hour was a determining factor for selecting what starter could use. I see that some starters have optional fans installed that can increase the number of starts per hour.

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[71CHOPS]

you may find installing a VFD could also save your customer money.

if your system is CV, and may not have been properly balanced, or changes have been made over the years, then installing a VFD with static pressure control could allow you to actually run the motor at a slower speed and still maintain the correct CFM's for the application.

a simple controller like a JCI P352P along with a drive might be a more economical solution.

[Palmer Hackle]

This is my first post to the site and I am hoping to benefit from others experience and maybe even assist at some point with my own.

I need to install a back up generator for my home in western NC. We are at the end of a Duke Power line and experience numerous grid perturbations and much higher grid failure than the national average. We have 400 amp service with approximately 200 amps allocated to support start-up demand on a 3.5 and a 3.0 heat pumps having 110 and 75 LRA, respectively. The installer quoted a 32kW genset, which is way over my budget even with my pouring the pad and running conduit. I want to consider the opportunity to attach soft start controllers to each unit to so I can reduce start up current and size a smaller, affordable genset. If anyone out there has encountered a similar situation and discovered a workable solution, or has some thoughts on the matter, I would appreciate hearing from you.
Many thanks...