Explain the purpose of capacitor in a fan
Fans are supplied with single-phase voltage. For any motor to run it needs at least two-phase with the difference in phase angle. Capacitors virtually create the second phase and help the fan motor to rotate. We usually experience a slowing down of fan speed when the capacitor gets weak.
The motor used in the fans is a single-phase induction motor. A Single-phase induction motor is not a self-starting motor(the motor cant produce a change in flux, because of this single-phase winding). So the capacitor start run method is used to produce a change in flux with the help of an Auxillary winding. The capacitor also helps to store the charges that come directly from the source so that it can be suitable for the current to flow through the inductor if the capacitor is not mounted the a.c source coming directly would damage the coil i.e the inductor and the fan wouldn’t rotate