A soft-start is an electrical device that reduces the high surge of current when your A/C compressor starts up.
For some members, soft-starts are necessary to ensure their Base battery can back up the entire home during an outage. Whether a soft-start is required depends on the type of A/C unit you have. Generally, a soft start is needed if your A/C unit's LRA exceeds 100. For LRA values below this threshold, the Base Power battery system can typically handle the electrical demand without additional assistance.
Here’s why:
When an A/C starts, there’s an initial electrical surge known as locked rotor amps (LRA).
Older A/C units typically have higher surge levels, which can exceed the Base system’s capacity to handle these spikes.- Modern and energy-efficient HVAC systems generally have lower LRAs and often do not require soft start installations.
A soft-start helps temper this surge, making it compatible with the system.
If a soft-start is required for your A/C, Base will let you know during the setup process. Base’s HVAC partners will then schedule the installation as part of your setup—at no additional cost to you. Your soft-start may be installed after your battery is installed. If this happens, your battery system and AC unit will still function normally, however during an outage, you may have to briefly turn your AC unit off to allow for the battery system to fully turn on.
Additional consideration: While soft starters handle power regulation, if you're concerned about protecting your AC unit from voltage spikes, you might want to consider installing a separate surge protector. Surge protectors focus on safeguarding the system from unexpected voltage spikes and are different from soft start devices.