How to choose a voltage stabilizer for a country house

Long gone are the days when mains voltage was more or less stable, and was equal to 220 V + - 3-5%. In the realities of today's life.

The voltage, depending on the region of residence, can fluctuate in very large limits. Anyone who is even a little familiar with power grids knows that the further the facility, in this case your house, is from the transformer substation, the greater the voltage drop.

The employees of the organization that distributes electricity, most of which is RES, regulate the output voltage on the transformers so that at the midpoint it (voltage) is 220 V.

As a result, if the power line is quite long, and there are relatively many consumers, then near the substation the voltage will be an order of magnitude higher than the nominal, and at the other end of the power transmission line the voltage will be underestimated. In both cases, for most electrical appliances, both overstated and understated voltage are dangerous; many electrical appliances will simply not turn on or fail.

Only devices capable of regulating voltage can help in this situation. Such devices are called - Surge Protectors.

We will try to figure out how to choose the right stabilizer, what power it is necessary to choose a stabilizer for it to work reliably, and not overpay for extra kilowatts, the amount of which directly affects the cost of the device.

So, for starters, let's determine what stabilizers are, an approximate principle of operation of this device itself. For the most part, all stabilizers work approximately the same. Depending on the voltage in the network, the electronic filling of the stabilizer controls and switches the turns of the transformer, thereby regulating the output voltage.

Types of voltage stabilizers

To date, the most popular can be called the three main types of stabilizers, more precisely the three principles of voltage regulation - servo-stabilizers, relay stabilizers and electronic stabilizers.

IN servo stabilizers regulation of the output voltage occurs due to a change in the number of turns on the transformer. The actuator in this type of stabilizer is a servo-driven motor that “drives” the runner through the turns of the transformer.

The positive side of stabilizers of this class is their relatively low cost. Since there are many mechanical components in such stabilizers, their reliability is far from ideal.

One of the most common failures is sticking of the carbon-graphite assembly and failure of the servo-drive mechanism. In terms of reliability, such stabilizers are much inferior to stabilizers of relay and electronic types.

Relay voltage regulators. This, so to speak, is the middle segment between servo-driven and electronic stabilizers. In these stabilizers, the executive switching mechanism is a block of power relays, which switch the transformer windings.

Relay stabilizers have the advantage of a relatively low cost, as is the case with servo-driven transformers. And since mechanical parts-relays are also present here, the service life of such stabilizers is also limited.

One of the common causes of failure of relay stabilizers is sticking of relay contacts. The average number of trips of a relay is about 40,000 times. About an average number of times an average relay performs in 300-500 working days, it all depends on the quality of the electricity in your network.

Electronic voltage regulators. These stabilizers are perhaps the most reliable and durable devices for voltage stabilization. The executive mechanism in this case are electronic thyristor switches, triacs …

The advantages of electronic stabilizers include: reliability, speed, response time to a change in input voltage of 20-30 ms, silent operation, which is important if the stabilizer is located in a residential building. The only drawback of these devices can be called their cost. Such stabilizers are approximately twice as expensive as their mechanical counterparts.

Now we need to calculate the power that the voltage regulator can withstand. Before you start counting watts, a little theory on electrical engineering.

Many of you probably noticed that on the nameplates of the devices or in the passport for the same devices, the power in Watts (W) or Watt-Amperes (VA) is often written. The fact is that for the CORRECT calculation we need to take into account the FULL (VA) power of electrical appliances. Full power consists of active and reactive energy. When the power in W is written on the devices, it indicates the ACTIVE (W) power.

Also, when calculating the power of the stabilizer, it is necessary to take into account the presence of electric motors. The fact is that electric motors at the time of start-up consume 3-6 times more current than during normal operation. This is especially true for pumps, compressors, refrigerators.

Another important detail is the inclusion of the transformation coefficient, that is, if the voltage "dropped" by 20%, then, therefore, the power of the stabilizer also decreased by 20%. So it is not quite right to take the stabilizer right up to the mark, it is necessary to give a margin of 20-30%.

In any case, before making a purchase, invite a QUALIFIED specialist for accurate measurements.

Connection diagram of a voltage stabilizer for a country house

Connect the stabilizer, if it is designed to provide stabilized voltage to the entire house, it is best immediately after the meter, approximately as in the picture. You can connect the stabilizer yourself, but it is better to entrust the connection of the stabilizer to a professional, he will do it faster and better.

Comments

[#1]

stabilizers are, unfortunately, already an integral part of our lives. even in new homes there is no stable voltage. And after all, few people think that because of this it is possible not only to lose expensive equipment, but also to bring the situation to a fire!

When we drove into a new apartment, the first thing we did was measure the voltage. Horse racing is very good !!! A lot of expensive technology. First they began to look for a stabilizer for the whole apartment, but it turned out to be extremely expensive and then, as I read on the forums, it was ineffective. We opted for several stabilizers with built-in filters from Defender. An electrician advised us on this manufacturer. And now we’ve been living for a year, and stabilizers protect us =)

And yes, they have screens that show what the voltage is right now. A very interesting sight.

[#2 Vadim]

VA isVolt-Amps!

[#3 Vladimir]

We assume that "Watt-Ampere (VA)" is just a typo. It would be right - "Volt-amperes."

[#4 Ilya]

near the substation, the voltage will be an order of magnitude higher than the nominal

Interestingly, what did the author have in mathematics? Does he know what "an order of magnitude" means? I do not know how well the author understands the topic, but even the right thoughts in the presentation of an illiterate person are perceived with great distrust.

[#5 ttt]

an order of magnitude, that means ten times. i.e. 220 * 10 = 2200 Volts.

[#6]

And we got a stabilizer on fire. Electronic. Almost the house was burned down because of him. Kg / a in short, Watts and volts confused this symbolizes.

[#7 MaksimovM]

Ilya, everything is spelled correctly.“An order of magnitude” means a certain value. Each case is individual, the configuration of the electrical networks is different, accordingly one cannot call one generalized value, which would indicate what voltage, where it should be.

There is such a thing as a voltage drop. At the very beginning of the power line, voltage is of greatest importance, as you move away from the source, the voltage decreases. Also, the voltage value depends on the load on the transformers. In winter, when the load is large, a significant decrease in stress is observed. In summer, on the contrary, the load is relatively less, respectively, the voltage is higher. Ideally, employees of RESs should periodically regulate the voltage, depending on the load on the transformers of the lowering substations, and also evenly distribute consumers to each phase of the electric network. In reality, the voltage is practically not regulated. The exceptions are cases when the voltage is increased or decreased at several substations powered by one high voltage source (6 or 10 kV). In this case, an application is submitted for voltage regulation at the district distribution substation, which provides power to the transformer substations of the settlement.

[#8]

The voltage regulator was installed in the country. Outside the city, a frequent occurrence is changes in electricity, which is very inconvenient. The stabilizer does an excellent job - no blinking lights, the brightness of the lighting generally seemed to become higher. They didn’t immediately put it in vain, they suffered for about a year until they decided.

[#9]

Serge, Electronic voltage stabilizers are the most reliable, on fire, I have not heard more than one case that the house burned down. But I heard about electromechanical many times, the servo sticks and raises the voltage at high, as a result, the disconnected equipment burned down, there were fires, I heard complaints directly from people. But electronic not. Well smoked and that's it ...

[#10]

Yeah, thyristors do not burn -) .. they burn and even burn, much more often than relay ones, because thyristors were, by themselves, very warming elements. If, God forbid, active cooling breaks or juzvery puts the thread where the wrong ventilation is .... the thyristors burn out in clusters .... they also can’t stand the overload, they connected the usual low-power one, it was covered, and the repair was a scribe !!! ! dry the oars. Thyristors - VERY DEAR items and very delicate, thyristor stabilizer repairs are very expensive. The second time we asked for more than half the cost of the entire stabilizer in the service, we did not fix it, we just bought a relay stabilizer. It was necessary to immediately buy on the relays they are much more reliable, because the relays do not heat up, do not distort the voltage, and thyristors initially, like electronic components, give strong interference to the network and to remove this effect the control circuit is very complicated and swells, and what happens when the elemental base is huge? Correctly, the probability of failures also increases significantly. in short there is no magic. Relays as they were the best and most reliable remained. Of course, manufacturers come up with something else to put together .... but relays will always be out of competition. it’s generally funny to hear such nonsense on forms about thyristors, it’s ridiculous .... fairy tales from the wild forest are direct .... advertising is the engine of trade-) I would advise you to buy only our proven brands, domestic ones with more than 10 years of production experience: leader, calm, the norm is m, well, perhaps these three are enough.

[#11]

"Near the substation, the voltage will be an order of magnitude higher than the nominal"
An order of magnitude?

[#12 Alexei]

Everything is well described, but what if the voltage exceeds 270 volts? At the same time, the stabilizer shuts off stupidly for a few minutes - it saves itself.It would not be scary if eight times in an hour did not turn off. Any thoughts? Do not send to electricians this whole epic ...