APN/CG/002/Dec 2012

Guidelines for Control Cable lengths in contactors

Introduction
Contactors today have become predominant switching devices in many industrial and commercial applications. The
advent of automation systems has further augmented the importance of contactors and with continuous technological
advancement contactors have become much more compact and energy efficient. Importantly, power required for
switching the contactor has reduced considerably in recent years. The reduced power consumption (VA) has brought
with it many benefits like,

Energy savings
Reduction in the size of control transformers

However the reduced VA consumption brings a limitation on the length of control cable that is used for contactor coil
actuation. This is because the contactor fails to drop-off. This phenomenon depends on the cable capacitance, which in
turn is a function of the length of cable between the control device and the contactor coil.

The problem of cable capacitances is mainly encountered in large scale installations such a crane systems in container
terminals or where control is from field devices or automation system situated away from the control panels.

This article explains this concept and describes the limitations due to this.

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Cable capacitances – Effect on contactor operation

As stated earlier, long control cables in AC systems may prevent the contactor from dropping-off due to the cable
capacitances present in the system. The longer the length of the cable, higher will be the cable capacitance. In this
situation even when the contactor coil is de-energized the capacitance between two conductors continues to feed
residual current in the coil preventing the contactor from dropping off. This applies to contactors operating with AC
control supply only.

The effect of cable capacitance depends on the design of the control circuit as shown below,

In this case, when the coil is de-energized the net cable capacitance is disconnected from the supply and discharges
through the coil. Hence there may be a slight delay in contactor drop off due to CL

In this case, the net cable capacitance continues to remain connected to the supply even after the coil supply is switched
off. This capacitance will feed the coil and if the energy stored in the capacitance is more than coil Hold-on VA, the coil
will continue to remain energized and the contactor will fail to drop.

This capacitance CL directly varies with length of the cable and higher the length more is the value of cable capacitance.
At one point of the cable length, the capacitance value will reach a level such that the energy stored in the capacitor is
more than the hold-on VA of the capacitor. This point defines the limit of maximum permissible cable length

The phenomenon is further aggravated by,

High control circuit voltage

Low hold on VA
Low value of contactor drop off voltage

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Lower hold-On VA means even a small capacitance is enough to keep the coil energized. In such a scenario a severe
constraint comes on the length of control cable. Similarly High control circuit voltage and low drop off value also reduce
the permissible control cable length.

This problem is addressed by using following solutions,

Using DC control voltage

Using a lower control voltage
Restricting the length of control cable to an optimum value

Maximum permissible control cable length for reliable contactor drop off
The minimum capacitance at which the contactor remains in ON condition even when the coil is de-energized is given
by,

Where,

Ud = Minimum drop-off voltage in V

Uc = Rated control supply voltage in V
PH = Rated Hold-On power of the contactor in VA

At 50Hz, the above equation transforms into,

…………………………….. (1)

The cable capacitance between two conductors per unit Km is given as,

CL = Cc × L μF …………………… (2)

Where,

Cc = Control cable capacitance in μF / Km

L = Length of control cable in Km

In order to have a reliable contactor drop off operation, CL must be less than Cmin

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Hence permissible control cable length for 50Hz networks is given as,

Note: Cable capacitance Cc assumed to be 0.2 μf / Km

The following table gives a ready reckoner of minimum value of control cable length for a particular control voltage at
which the contactor with continue to remain ON even after the coil is de-energized.

Hence to prevent the occurrence of such phenomenon one must restrict the control cable length to a value less than
the value mentioned in the below table.

Hold-On Min Drop-off

Family Contactors Power Voltage / Control Lper (m) <
PH (VA) Voltage
Ud / Uc 110 Vac 240 vac 415 Vac
MX mini MX 0/6/9/12 AC 4.5 0.2 986.5 207.2 69.3
MN0 MN0 AC 11 0.35 3751.0 788.0 263.5
MNX 9 - 40 11 0.35 3751.0 788.0 263.5
MNX 45 - 80 21 0.35 7161.0 1504.3 503.1
MNX 95 - 140 36 0.35 12276.0 2578.8 862.5
MNX
MNX 185 - 225 56 0.35 19096.1 4011.5 1341.6
MNX 265 - 400 95 0.35 32395.1 6805.2 2276.0
MNX 550 - 650 25 0.35 8525.0 1790.8 598.9
MO 9 - 45 9 0.35 3069.0 644.7 215.6
MO MO 50 - 70 15 0.35 5115.0 1074.5 359.4
MO 80 - 110 25 0.35 8525.0 1790.8 598.9

Notes:

All values for 50Hz coil voltage

Cable capacitance Cc assumed to be 0.2 μf / Km

Important Note:

It is observed that the problem of contactor not dropping off is mainly seen in control contactors. As
evident from the above table, the permissible control cable length for MX0 control contactors is lower
than that of MN0 control contactors. This is mainly due to the lower Hold-On VA of MX0 contactors.
Hence, whenever MX0 contactors are used with high control cable length, this problem occurs

It is recommended to refer the above table whenever control contactors are selected. The selection
must consider the length of the control cables. Any remote switching application where the control
cable length is more than the permissible value for MX0 contactors, it is recommended to use MN0
contactors.
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The following graphs give the trend of permissible control cable lengths with Hold-On VA at different voltage
ranges. It must be noted that the trends are given at most common values of cable capacitances Cc.

Cc= 0.2 and Cc = 0.3 µf/km

Applicable for MNX/MO/MNO contactors

Cc = 0.2 µf / km
1000000

100000

10000

Length (m) 1000 110 V

240 V

415 V
100

10

1
1 10 100 1000
Hold On VA

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Applicable for MNX/MO/MNO contactors

For Cc = 0.3 µf / km
100000

10000

1000

Length (m) 110 V

240 V
100
415 V

10

1
1 10 100 1000
Hold On VA

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Applicable for MX Mini and MX0 control contactors

For Cc = 0.2 µf / km
100000

10000

1000

Length (m) 110 V

240 V
100
415 V

10

1
1 10 100 1000
Hold On VA

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Applicable for MX Mini and MX0 control contactors

For Cc = 0.3 µf / km
100000

10000

1000

Length (m) 110 V

240 V
100
415 V

10

1
1 10 100 1000
Hold On VA

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