Controls World: ICM Motor Protection

I started using the ICM 450 years ago when I found that power problems were taking out motors in Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco. Every summer when outside air temperatures peak there are brown-outs and phase losses that can damage unprotected motors and motor controls. This is an easy installation with the three phase units having three wires for monitoring the three phases line side (190-630vac), three wires for monitoring the three phases load side (190-630vac)(optional), two wires for powering the unit (18-240vac) and two control wires to a switch for shutting down the system in the event of a power problem. These units are fully programmable with a small LCD display and 25-fault memory. They protect against voltage unbalance, high/low voltage, phase loss, phase reversal, faulty power, incorrect sequencing and rapid short cycling. The only complaint I ever had against the original ICM 450 was the lack of an on-board time-clock with a time-stamp to tell me when the fault occurred.

The ICM 455 resolves this problem and expands on the original idea nicely with a 100 fault memory that time-stamps each fault and a 0-10 vdc output for remote monitoring with an energy management system. These units are cheap insurance when you're protecting anything from power problems. The programming is easy, the protection is automatic and once installed there is no maintenance required. A side benefit is that it's fun to scroll through the faults and see how many times this device has saved thousands in repair costs and emergency service calls. I often set up these systems on the supply side of things where I can take down an entire rooftop of equipment with once device.