Rotor resistance based motor thermal protection

Motor overload protection device is equipped with a thermal monitor that can determine expected rotor temperature rise from rotor resistance estimates. The thermal monitor determines expected rotor temperature rise by using a correlation between rotor temperature rise computed from rotor resistance estimates, and motor thermal state estimates. The correlation can be derived by fitting a line to a plurality of points, with each point defined by an ordered pair composed of a rotor temperature rise estimate and a corresponding motor thermal state estimate, and determining a slope of the line. This rotor temperature slope can then be used by the thermal monitor to determine a rotor temperature rise given a rotor resistance estimate and a corresponding motor thermal state estimate. If the rotor temperature rise exceeds an expected rotor temperature rise by more than a predefined threshold, the thermal monitor issues an alarm and/or takes corrective actions in some embodiments.