The operation of split-phase induction motors from pulse width modulated (PWM) voltage source inverters is examined in this paper. Splitting the phase windings leads to reduced voltage ratings for the inverter switches. As compared with seven positions for the space phasor of voltage in three-phase machines, 48 different locations bounded by a 12-sided polygon are possible in the split-phase machine. Based on space phasor modulation, a three-phase inverter can give a maximum peak fundamental of 0.577 V-DC. In comparison, the split-phase configuration can provide an equivalent three-phase maximum peak fundamental of 0.643 V-DC with a dc bus voltage of 0.5 V-DC/cos15.