A Voltage Flicker Suppression device for residential air conditioners and heat pumps

The voltage fluctuation and subsequent lamp flicker caused by the starting inrush current of residential heat pumps is a well-known issue. While there are technologies on the market designed to mitigate this issue, these solutions cannot completely provide a flicker-free result. Research into the cause of the problem and the development of a solution is the motivation of this work. This paper will present a device designed to utilize the time-proven method of using shunt capacitance for voltage correction. The amount of capacitance is dynamically adapted to the depth, duration, and shape of the voltage flicker event. In essence, by learning the amount of capacitance required to correctly compensate the voltage during the starting event, any visible flicker should be virtually eliminated. The Voltage Flicker Suppression device (VFS) is designed to be a nearly universal, cost effective solution for not only new installations, but one that can be easily retrofit into existing HVAC installations where voltage flicker is an issue.