NEMA Starters

The NEMA starter fundamentals.

NEMA, short for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, is responsible for one of the major standardization systems of motor starters and contactors in North America. Whether you’re looking for a motor starter or a soft motor starter, there’s a NEMA starter for every job and every application. Used in control panels and electrical systems across commercial and industrial sectors, NEMA starters are offered as enclosed starters and open-style starters.

The advantages of NEMA starters.

The foundation of all NEMA rated components is applicability. NEMA starter sizes are rated by two factors: horsepower and voltage. This makes choosing your motor starter much easier since you don’t have to worry about other details of your application. All NEMA starters are also designed with extra capacity built in, and it’s this leeway that allows a single type of NEMA starter to be used for a number of different applications with identical voltage and horsepower ratings. As far as size, NEMA starters are a bit bigger than IEC starters, however after NEMA 3, there’s little to no difference in physical size. NEMA starters also allow for easier maintenance, as coils and contactors can be replaced as opposed to throwing out and replacement of the entire unit.