Modular soft starter

A soft starter module for selectively electrically connecting a power line terminal with an electric motor load terminal, the module comprising:

• a first switching device having a first terminal electrically coupled with a load terminal and a second terminal electrically coupled with a line terminal;
• a second switching device having a first terminal electrically coupled with the line terminal and a second terminal electrically coupled with the load terminal;
• a driver apparatus providing switching control signals to the first and second switching devices for selectively electrically connecting the line terminal with the load terminal;
• and
• a housing with a top, a bottom, and at least one side, the housing comprising:
• a first housing structure,
• a second housing structure mounted to the first housing structure, the first and second housing structures defining a cavity in which the first and second switching devices are mounted and allowing for external access to the load terminal and the line terminal,
• at least one of the first and second housing structures including driver support structures for mounting the driver apparatus to the housing,
• a first set of module mounting structures located on at least one of the first and second housing structures and allowing the housing to be mounted to a flat structure with a first one of the top, the bottom, and the at least one side generally parallel to the flat structure;
• and
• a second set of module mounting structures located on at least one of the first and second housing structures and allowing the housing to be mounted to the flat structure with a second one of the top, the bottom, and the at least one side generally parallel to the flat structure.