What Your Capacitor's Ratings Mean

Do you know that thing that starts your car’s engine and provides the electrical current to your vehicle? What about the things that power your cell phone, tablet, laptop, or other handheld devices? Each of those items has a battery, and your HVAC system is no different. The battery that keeps your  HVAC motor running is called the capacitor.

Capacitors are measured through two different ratings. The first is voltage, and the second is microfarads. Voltage is the amount of electrical current moving through an electrical system. This is similar to a garden hose in that the higher the water pressure you turn on, the more water comes out of the end of the hose. Well, the same principle applies to electricity. The higher the hose’s water pressure goes, the faster the water moves throughout the hose. The higher the voltage rating on your capacitor (or other electrical item) the faster the electrical current moves.

The second rating is the microfarad (MFD) rating. A microfarad is a term to describe a capacitor’s level of capacity. That means the higher the microfarad rating, the more electrical current it can store. A typical capacitor can range from 5MFD to 80MFD. If you are looking at your capacitor and you can’t find the proper rating, it might also look like µF also.

A few different types of capacitors exist, and they each have a similar, yet slightly different purpose. A single-run capacitor controls the motor (which could be on your furnace or air conditioner), and a dual-run capacitor runs the motor and compressor on your air conditioner. There is also a start capacitor, sometimes known as a hard start kit. Those help jump start your compressor and kick it into run-mode without putting a lot of extra wear and tear on your run capacitor.

For more information on the different types of capacitors, please stay tuned and we’ll get a blog update for more clarification soon.

If you have any questions about your MFD or voltage rating, we’ll always be happy to help out! Just call 866-215-3831 or visit www.hvacpartsshop.com. Thanks for reading!