Have you ever thought why capacitor is used in ceiling fan. Interesting question! Can you run a ceiling fan without a capacitor? In this article, we will give the answer to this question. The role of a capacitor in a ceiling fan is to make the motor self-starting.
The ceiling fan has a single-phase induction motor. This motor has a capacitor attached that creates rotating magnetic field in the motor and makes it self-starting.
If we remove the capacitor from the ceiling fan, the motor creates pulsating magnetic field when supply is given. This pulsating magnetic field is unable to rotate the motor.
When we add a capacitor to the motor winding, it creates a phase difference between the magnetic fields and creates rotating magnetic field. This rotating field hence rotates the motor.
Can a ceiling fan run without a capacitor?
Yes. You can run the ceiling fan without a capacitor by manually spinning the blades. When you give manual spin to the blades, the ceiling fan starts to spin in that direction. Since this manual process is cumbersome hence a capacitor is attached to the ceiling fan to make it self-starting.
Due to lightning my ceiling fans stopped working.
Can the capacitor change may solve the problem or else.
If your ceiling fan stopped working after a lightning incident, there are high chances either your ceiling fan coils may burn or the capacitor is damaged. Replace your capacitor and check whether it is working or not. If not, then your ceiling fan coils are burned. Are your other appliances working with the same wiring as your ceiling fan? If yes, then the wiring is fine and there is an issue with the fan only. If not, then there is an issue with the wiring.