What are the key benefits of soft start?

Soft start enhances motor start performance in many ways including:

• Smooth acceleration without the torque transients associated with
  electro-mechanical reduced voltage starters.
• Voltage or current is applied gradually, without the voltage and
  current transients associated with electro-mechanical reduced
  voltage starters.
• Lower start currents and/or shorter start times because constant
  current control gives higher torque as motor speed increases.
• Easy adjustment of start performance to suit the specific motor and
  load.
• Precise control over the current limit.
• Consistent performance even with frequent starts.
• Reliable performance even if load characteristics vary between starts
  (eg loaded or unloaded starts).

In addition to superior starting performance, soft starters also provide a
range of features not available from other reduced voltage starters. This
includes areas such as:

• Soft stop (which helps eliminate water hammer)
• Braking
• Motor and system protection
• Metering and monitoring
• Operating history and event logs
• Communication network integration

NOTE
The extra features built into soft starters can reduce the overall installed cost of the equipment and reduce the long-term maintenance requirement.