Many house owners had to notice that the further their houses are located from the transformer substation, the lower the tension in their house. Conversely, the closer the house is to the substation, the higher the voltage at its entrance. This phenomenon is explained by the fact that in the electric network there is a voltage drop, related to the length of this network.
In the case of a rather long power line, the voltage near the substation will be significantly higher than the nominal voltage, and at the other end of the same line the voltage will be underestimated. However, both low and high voltages are dangerous for many electrical appliances, which could fail or simply not be turned on.
Devices that provide voltage regulation can help in this situation. These devices are called voltage stabilizers, and today we will talk about how to choose a good stabilizer.
Principle of operation and types of voltage regulators
In all types of stabilizers, the principle of operation is similar. The filling of the device analyzes the input voltage and switches the transformer turns in it in such a way as to ensure the necessary magnitude and constant voltage at the output. Currently, the most popular are three types of stabilizers, differing according to the principle of voltage regulation: servo, relay and electronic.
Servo Drive Stabilizers
The operation of the servo drive stabilizers is provided by a servo drive that moves the slider along the turns of the transformer so that the output voltage remains constant. The cost of such stabilizers is lower than the rest, but the same applies to their reliability due to the large number of mechanical components.
Relay stabilizers
Relay stabilizers are the middle link between electronic and servo drives. Switching of the windings in these voltage regulators occurs due to the power relay unit. The advantage of these devices is their comparative cheapness, and the drawback lies in the limited service life, which is due to the presence of a relay, which is essentially a mechanical element.
Electronic stabilizers
Electronic stabilizers are the most reliable, in which the role of the actuator is assigned to electronic keys. These devices are reliable in operation, have a high speed and are almost noiseless. But they cost almost twice as much as their mechanical counterparts.
Selection criteria for the voltage regulator
For the correct choice of the stabilizer, you need to know the total power consumed by all electrical appliances in your home. It should be noted that the total power of each device is indicated on the plate affixed to it in Watt-Amperes( VA).If the power is indicated on the device only in Watts( Watts), then it is only about the active power, which is part of the total power consumption.
Determining the power of the stabilizer, it is necessary to take into account the presence of electric motors in the house, which at the moment of starting requires a current that exceeds the nominal by 3-6 times. This applies to refrigerators, compressors and pumps. When choosing a transformer, it is necessary to take into account the transformation ratio, which decreases directly in proportion to the level of voltage drop. Therefore, the stabilizers are chosen with a margin of 20-30%, and not at all.
