Documentation sections

Motor Inrush Current

POSThttps://rftools.io/api/py/v1/calculate

Slug motor-inrush-current. Calculate motor inrush current, voltage drop during startup, and I²t value for fuse/breaker selection.

Inputs

Send every one of these in inputs, in the units shown. Most are required: a call without one is refused (400) and costs nothing; one the calculator can do without takes the default shown. An input outside its range is still computed and flagged in the provenance.

Inputs of motor-inrush-current
Name	Unit	Range	Default	Description
ratedCurrentnumber	A	at least 0.01	5	Rated Full-Load Current
inrushMultipliernumber	×	1 … 15	6	Typically 5–8× for induction motors
startupDurationnumber	s	at least 0.001	0.1	Startup Duration
supplyVoltagenumber	V	at least 1	120	Supply Voltage
lineResistancenumber	Ω	at least 0	0.5	Line Resistance
dipLimitnumber	%	0.1 … 50	10	The dip the supply may take during the start: a design limit, 10 % by default. Other loads on a public supply are held to less (IEC 61000-3-3)

Outputs

Returned in values, by key. A value that is unbounded or undefined is null.

Outputs of motor-inrush-current
Field	Unit	Description
inrushCurrentheadline	A	Inrush Current
voltageDropAtInrush	V	Voltage Drop
voltageDropPercent	%	Voltage Drop
fuseISquaredT	A²s	I²t (fuse energy)
peakPower	W	Peak Power Draw

Calling it

Calculate: one call, the request and response in full, and its errors.
Batch: this calculator with others, or a sweep, in one request.
Solve for a target: the value of one input that brings an output to a target.

curl -X POST https://rftools.io/api/py/v1/calculate \
  -H "X-API-Key: $RFTOOLS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "slug": "motor-inrush-current",
    "inputs": {
      "ratedCurrent": 5,
      "inrushMultiplier": 6,
      "startupDuration": 0.1,
      "supplyVoltage": 120,
      "lineResistance": 0.5,
      "dipLimit": 10
    }
  }'

import rftools

client = rftools.Client()  # reads RFTOOLS_API_KEY, or the key `rftools login` saved

result = client.calculate("motor-inrush-current", {
    "ratedCurrent": 5,
    "inrushMultiplier": 6,
    "startupDuration": 0.1,
    "supplyVoltage": 120,
    "lineResistance": 0.5,
    "dipLimit": 10,
})
print(result.values)
print(result.warnings, result.provenance.formula_ref)

const response = await fetch("https://rftools.io/api/py/v1/calculate", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "X-API-Key": process.env.RFTOOLS_API_KEY,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    "slug": "motor-inrush-current",
    "inputs": {
      "ratedCurrent": 5,
      "inrushMultiplier": 6,
      "startupDuration": 0.1,
      "supplyVoltage": 120,
      "lineResistance": 0.5,
      "dipLimit": 10
    }
  }),
});
console.log(response.status, await response.json());

package main

import (
	"bytes"
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
	"os"
)

func main() {
	body := []byte(`{
	  "slug": "motor-inrush-current",
	  "inputs": {
	    "ratedCurrent": 5,
	    "inrushMultiplier": 6,
	    "startupDuration": 0.1,
	    "supplyVoltage": 120,
	    "lineResistance": 0.5,
	    "dipLimit": 10
	  }
	}`)
	req, err := http.NewRequest("POST", "https://rftools.io/api/py/v1/calculate", bytes.NewReader(body))
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	req.Header.Set("X-API-Key", os.Getenv("RFTOOLS_API_KEY"))
	req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
	res, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	defer res.Body.Close()
	out, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
	fmt.Println(res.Status, string(out))
}

application/json

{
  "slug": "motor-inrush-current",
  "values": {
    "inrushCurrent": 30,
    "voltageDropAtInrush": 15,
    "voltageDropPercent": 12.5,
    "fuseISquaredT": 90,
    "peakPower": 3600
  },
  "warnings": [],
  "errors": [],
  "provenance": {
    "method": "calculator:motor-inrush-current",
    "version": "api@3f2c1a9b04de",
    "formulaRef": null,
    "assumptions": [],
    "validRange": {
      "status": "inside",
      "bounds": {
        "ratedCurrent": {
          "min": 0.01,
          "max": null,
          "unit": "A"
        },
        "inrushMultiplier": {
          "min": 1,
          "max": 15,
          "unit": "×"
        },
        "startupDuration": {
          "min": 0.001,
          "max": null,
          "unit": "s"
        },
        "supplyVoltage": {
          "min": 1,
          "max": null,
          "unit": "V"
        },
        "lineResistance": {
          "min": 0,
          "max": null,
          "unit": "Ω"
        },
        "dipLimit": {
          "min": 0.1,
          "max": 50,
          "unit": "%"
        }
      },
      "outside": [],
      "model": null
    },
    "computedAt": "2026-09-24T14:05:11.003Z",
    "inputs": {
      "ratedCurrent": 5,
      "inrushMultiplier": 6,
      "startupDuration": 0.1,
      "supplyVoltage": 120,
      "lineResistance": 0.5,
      "dipLimit": 10
    },
    "seed": null,
    "elapsedSeconds": 0.003
  }
}

{
  "detail": [
    {
      "type": "float_parsing",
      "loc": [
        "body",
        "inputs",
        "ratedCurrent"
      ],
      "msg": "Input should be a valid number, unable to parse string as a number",
      "input": "abc"
    }
  ]
}

An input sent as text. Nothing was counted.

{
  "detail": "More than 120 requests in 60 seconds from this address.",
  "errorKind": "rate_limited",
  "limit": 120,
  "windowSeconds": 60,
  "upgradeUrl": "https://rftools.io/pricing/"
}

Too many requests in a minute, with Retry-After.

Same inputs on the calculator pageMotor Inrush Current, at these values