The electric network in many of our houses cannot boast of high quality, especially this is true for the countryside, which is remote from the city. Therefore, voltage drops often occur. Local manufacturers of electrical appliances take this into account and provide a margin of safety. But many people use mainly foreign equipment, for which such leaps are fatal. In this connection it is necessary to use special devices. And it’s not necessary to buy them in stores, you can make a 220V voltage regulator with your own hands according to the scheme. This task is not entirely difficult, if you do everything according to the instructions.
Only before assembly, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with existing types of such devices and find out what their principle of operation is.
Necessary measure
Ideally, the power grid can work efficiently with minor voltage drops - no more than 10%, both large and lower side of the nominal 220V. However, as actual operating conditions show, these changes are quite significant at times. And this already threatens the failure of the connected devices.
And to avoid such troubles, a device such as a voltage regulator was created. And if the current goes beyond the permissible value, the device will automatically de-energize the connected electrical appliances.
What else might necessitate such a device and why do some people think about making a makeshift voltage regulator 220V according to the scheme? The presence of such an assistant is justified due to the following features:
- Household appliances are guaranteed to work for a long time.
- Mains voltage monitoring.
- The set voltage level is maintained automatically.
- Differential currents do not affect electrical appliances.
If in the place of residence such electrical "anomalies" occur frequently, it is worth considering the acquisition of a good stabilizer. In an extreme case, assemble it yourself.
Varieties of stabilizers
The main component of any such protective electrical device is its adjustable type autotransformer. Currently, many manufacturers produce several types of devices that have their own voltage stabilization technology. These include two main circuits of a 220V voltage regulator for a home:
- Electromechanical.
- Electronic.
There are also ferroresonance analogs that are practically not used in everyday life, but they will be discussed a little later. Now it’s worth moving on to describing existing models.
Electromechanical (servo-drive) devices
Adjustment of the mains voltage is carried out by means of a slider, which moves along the winding. At the same time, a different number of turns is involved. We all went to school, and some may have dealt with a rheostat in physics classes.
An electromechanical voltage regulator works by such a similar principle. Only the slider is moved not manually, but with the help of an electric motor called a servo drive. It is simply necessary to know the device of these devices if there is a desire to make a 220V voltage stabilizer with your own hands according to the scheme.
Electromechanical devices are highly reliable, and provide smooth voltage regulation. Characteristic advantages:
- Stabilizers work under any load.
- The resource is significantly greater than that of other analogues.
- Affordable cost (half lower than electronic devices)
Unfortunately, with all the advantages, there are also disadvantages:
- Due to the mechanical device, the response delay is very noticeable.
- Such devices use carbon contacts, which are subject to natural wear and tear over time.
- The presence of noise during operation, although it is almost inaudible.
- Small working range 140-260 V.
It is worth noting that, unlike an inverter 220V voltage regulator (with your own hands it can be made according to the scheme despite the seeming difficulties), there is still a transformer. As for the principle of operation, the voltage analysis is performed by the electronic control unit. If he notices significant deviations from the nominal value, he sends a command to move the slider.
The current is regulated by connecting more turns of the transformer. In the event that the device does not have time to timely respond to excessive voltage excesses, a relay is provided in the stabilizer device.
Electronic stabilizers
The principle of operation of electronic devices is arranged a little differently. Here are based on several schemes:
- thyristor or seven-phase;
- relay;
- invertor.
Such devices operate silently, with the exception of relay stabilizers. They switch modes using power relays, which are controlled by an electronic control unit. Since they mechanically separate the contacts, noise is heard from time to time during the operation of such devices. For some, this can be a serious minus.
Therefore, the best choice would be to purchase or manufacture an inverter 220V in-house voltage stabilizer with your own hands, the circuit of which is not difficult to find.
Other electronic counterparts have special keys thyristors and heistors and therefore they work in silent mode. It also allows stabilizers to work almost instantly. Among other advantages, we can distinguish:
- lack of heating;
- the operating range is 85-305 V (for relay devices it is 100-280 V);
- compact dimensions;
- low cost (again applicable to relay stabilizers).
A common drawback of electronic devices is the step-wise circuit for adjusting the voltage of the mains. In addition, thyristor devices have the highest cost, but at the same time they have a very long service life.
Inverter technology
A distinctive feature of such devices is the lack of a transformer in the design of the device. However, voltage regulation is carried out electronically, and therefore it belongs to the previous type, but is, as it were, a separate class.
If you want to make a homemade voltage regulator 220V, the circuit of which is easy to get, then it is better to choose the inverter technology. After all, the principle of work itself is interesting here. Inverter stabilizers are equipped with double filters, which allows to minimize voltage deviations from the nominal value within 0.5%. The current supplied to the device is converted to a constant voltage, passes through the entire device, and again takes its previous shape before exiting.
Ferroresonant analogs
The principle of operation of ferroresonant stabilizers is based on the magnetoresonance effect that occurs in that system with chokes and capacitors. In the work, they are a bit like electromechanical devices, only instead of a slider there is a ferromagnetic core moving relative to the coils.
Such a system is highly reliable, but it is large in size and emits a lot of noise during operation. There is also a serious drawback - such devices only function under load.
If earlier such a scheme of a 220V network voltage stabilizer was popular, now it is better to abandon it. In addition, sinusoidal distortions are not excluded here. For this reason, this option is not suitable for modern household electrical appliances. But if the farm has powerful electric motors, hand tools, welding machines, then such stabilizers are still applicable.
Ferroresonant stabilizers were widespread in everyday life 20 or 30 years ago. At that time, old TVs were fed through them, because they had a special design, which did not allow the safe use of the mains directly. There are modern models of these stabilizers, which are devoid of many shortcomings, but they are very expensive.
Homemade machine
And what can you do with a 220V voltage stabilizer circuit yourself? The simplest version of the stabilizer consists of a minimum number of components:
- transformer;
- capacitor;
- diodes;
- resistor;
- wires (for connecting chips).
Using the simplest skills, assembling a device is not as difficult as it might seem. But with an old welding machine, everything is simplified, since it is almost already assembled. However, the problem is that not every person has such a welding machine, and therefore it is better to find another way for a home-made device.
For this reason, we will consider how it is possible to manufacture some analogue of a triac stabilizer. This device will be designed for an input operating range of 130-270 V, and the output will be supplied from 205 to 230 V. The large difference in the input current is more likely a plus, but for the output it is already a minus. But for many household appliances, this difference is acceptable.
As for the power, the circuit of a thyristor voltage regulator 220V, made with its own hands, allows the connection of electrical appliances up to 6 kW. Load transfer is performed within 10 milliseconds.
The benefits of a homemade device
The stabilizer, made independently, has its pros and cons, which you should definitely be aware of. The main advantages:
- low cost;
- maintainability;
- self-diagnosis.
The most obvious advantage is the low cost. All details will need to be purchased separately, but this is still incomparable with the ready-made stabilizers.
In the event of failure of any element of the acquired voltage regulator, it is unlikely that it can be replaced by yourself. In this case, it remains only to call the master at home or take him to a service center. Even if you have some knowledge in the field of electrical engineering, finding the right part is not so simple. It is a completely different matter if the device was made by hand. All the details are already familiar, and to buy a new one, just go to the store.
If someone has already assembled a 220V 10kW voltage stabilizer circuit with their own hands, then a person already understands many subtleties. This means that identifying a malfunction is not difficult.
Disadvantages to consider
Now let's touch on some of the minuses. Whoever and no matter how he praises himself, he will not be able to compete with real professionals in the electrical field. For this simple reason, the reliability of a homemade stabilizer will be inferior to branded counterparts. This is due to the fact that high-precision instrumentation is used in the production, which ordinary consumers do not have.
Another point is a wider operating voltage range. If in the store version it ranges from 215 to 220V, then for a device created at home, this parameter will be exceeded by 2 or even 5 times. And this is already critical for a large number of modern household appliances.
Accessories
To assemble the electronic voltage stabilizer 220V with your own hands according to the scheme, you can not do without such components:
- power supply unit;
- rectifier;
- comparator;
- controller
- amplifiers;
- LEDs
- delay node;
- autotransformer;
- optical keys;
- fuse switch.
You will also need a soldering iron and tweezers.
Features of Home Production
All elements will be placed on a printed circuit board measuring 115x90 mm. Why you can take foil fiberglass. The layout of all working components can be printed on a laser printer, and then transfer everything using an iron. The example itself is below.
Now you can proceed to the manufacture of transformers. And here it is not so simple. All you need to make two elements. For the first you need to take:
- magnetic circuit with a cross-sectional area of 187 mm 2 ;
- PEV-2 wires in the amount of three pieces.
Moreover, one of the wires should be 0.064 mm thick, and the other 0.185 mm. First, a primary winding is created with the number of turns - 8669. For subsequent windings of smaller turns - 522.
The electric circuit of the voltage regulator 220V provides for the presence of two transformers. Therefore, after assembling the first element, it is worth moving on to manufacturing the second. And for this, a toroidal magnetic circuit is already needed. The winding here is also made from PEV-2 wire, except that the number of turns will be equal to 455. In addition, seven taps should come from the second transformer. For the first three, you need a wire with a diameter of 3 mm, and the remaining 4 will be from tires with a cross section of 18 mm². Due to this, the transformer will not heat up when using the stabilizer.
The task can be greatly simplified if you take two ready-made elements of TPK-2-2 12V and connect them in series. All other necessary parts must be purchased at the store.
Assembly process
The stabilizer assembly begins with the installation of the microcircuit on the heat sink. This can be an aluminum plate with an area of at least 15 cm 2 , on which triacs should also be placed. For the stabilizer to work effectively, a microcontroller cannot be dispensed with, for which you can use the KR1554LP5 chip.
Of course, this is not a 220V inverter voltage stabilizer circuit , but such a device is quite enough for domestic needs. At the next stage, you need to arrange the LEDs, and you need to take the blinking ones. However, you can use others, for example, AL307KM or L1543SRC-E, which have a bright red glow. If for any reason you cannot arrange them as required by the circuit, you can place them in any convenient place.
If someone was fond of such assemblies before, then assembling your own stabilizer will not be difficult. This is not only an enrichment of experience, but also significant savings, since several thousand rubles will remain intact.
Installation tips
Some useful recommendations that will allow you to properly operate a makeshift stabilizer. After the device is assembled, it is necessary to find a suitable place where good ventilation will be provided.
It is necessary to correctly implement the 220V voltage stabilizer connection diagram for the home. And there are two ways:
- After the counter - suitable when you need to protect the entire electricity network of an apartment or house. An automatic machine is installed directly on the output from the electric meter, and the voltage regulator is already connected to its output. If necessary, a circuit breaker can also be connected to the stabilizer itself.
- Connecting to a power outlet - in this case, only those devices that are connected to the controller will be protected.
During operation, the appliance will heat up, and the cramped space will not provide proper cooling. As a result, the stabilizer will quickly fail. The best option in this case is an open area.
If this is not possible for various reasons, a niche can be built specifically for the device. In this case, it is necessary to withstand at least 10 cm from the surface of the niche to the walls of the stabilizer. After assembling the device, it is worth checking it and paying attention to the presence of any extraneous noise.
Once the 220V voltage regulator has been successfully created with your own hands according to the scheme , you should not think that this all ends. Every year it is necessary to carry out preventive work that is associated with the inspection of the stabilizer and hauling the contacts, if necessary. Only in this way can one be sure that a self-made “product” will work as efficiently as production analogues.
In conclusion
Without a doubt, the independent manufacture of a stabilizer requires certain knowledge and skills. You also need to understand how such devices work, and to know some of the nuances. In addition, you will need to purchase all the necessary components and perform the correct installation.
Perhaps all the work for someone will seem complicated. Therefore, if there is no self-confidence, then it is better to go to the store not for details, but for the device itself. In addition, all models have a certain warranty period.