Having analyzed the current state of electric networks in Russia, we can understand that they have one common parameter. It relates to deviations from the nominal voltage figures of 220 volts. Sometimes this value deviates by 10-15 percent, both in a positive and in a negative direction. Of course, electrical appliances, and especially expensive refrigerators and computers, are at risk of failure. But what to do? There is an exit. In order to protect the devices from emergency loads, a 220V voltage stabilizer for the home is purchased . How to choose it, and what it is - read further in our article.
Appointment
Before choosing a voltage stabilizer, you should understand why it is needed. And this device serves to protect household electrical appliances from various kinds of current drops, as well as other noise, including pulsed.
That is, a device such as a voltage stabilizer (we will help you to choose it right now) is a reliable protector, a kind of "iron shield" for your home or summer house. Thanks to the normalization of current, it will protect electrical devices from drops, thereby prolonging their life.
About the need to purchase a device
Before installing this unit, you should take measurements of your working network and decide on the need to purchase such a device. Before choosing a voltage stabilizer for a private house, it is recommended to make several measurements of the maximum current consumption throughout the day. Perhaps you do not need to buy such a device.
But how to determine how much current is consumed in the house right now? To do this, use measuring instruments such as True RMS. Thanks to the data obtained, you can determine with high accuracy what voltage is supplied during a given period of time.
Now about the results. If the device showed a value between zero and phase of the order of 205-235 Volts, the installation of a stabilizer is required only for added safety (for example, to protect devices that are highly sensitive to extremes). That is, these values are normal for all modern electrical appliances.
The situation with deviations of the order of 10 percent in the positive and negative direction is slightly different. When the device displays values from 198 to 235 Volts, installation of a stabilizer is recommended for all current consumers.
Critical deviations
A critical value is from 187 to 242 volts or more. In this case, the devices are at serious risk; accordingly, a voltage stabilizer of 220V for the home should be used to protect them. How to choose this device, consider below.
Single phase or three phase?
First of all, we note that all devices are divided into two groups and can be:
- single phase;
- three-phase.
How to choose a voltage regulator for a private house of the right type? Everything is very simple. For example, if the apartment uses exclusively 1-phase voltage, therefore, you need to buy 1-phase devices here.
In the case when the house has a 3-phase input, and there is also air conditioning or other equipment with electric motors (including pumps), then a 3-phase stabilizer will be best for such a room.
Consider another situation. For example, when a 3-phase voltage is connected to the house, but you do not have the use of such devices (all of them are 1-phase, that is, household), there is an opportunity for optimization. Here you need to analyze how the load is distributed between the phases.
What to do if each of the three is loaded equally and there are important current consumers on it? Then you should install three 1-phase stabilizers with the same power. You can go the other way. If it is possible to concentrate the main consumers of current on 1 or 2 phases, the remaining groups of electrical appliances are connected to the network directly.
Types
Before choosing a voltage stabilizer, consider its types. All these devices can be divided into several types:
- Relay.
- Electromechanical (they are also called servomotor).
- Triac.
- Thyristor.
- Double conversion.
Relay
The first type is products, the operation algorithm of which is to switch the windings of a step type transformer using a relay. This is perhaps the cheapest equipment option with an input current range of about 100-290 volts and high speed. However, its contact group can be considered a relay contact group. It is this part that most often fails and thereby can give an error when switching windings up to 20 Volts. In addition, if a welding machine is connected to the line, the probability of failure of the relay increases significantly. For general purposes (one device for the whole house), they are hardly suitable. However, as an individual stabilizer (only on TV, for example) - a very good option.
Electromechanical
The second type of equipment works by moving special brushes along the transformer winding. At a cost they relate to the budget option. Also, electromechanical stabilizers operate on a motor without distortion of the sinusoid.
This allows for easy maintenance, accurate output voltage, and smooth tuning. The main disadvantage of this equipment is the need for frequent replacement of carbon brushes and cleaning the transformer. However, all these operations you can do without the help of specialists.
Triac devices
Thyristor, like triac products, operate due to the automatic switching of transformer sections through power switches. Such equipment in its design is a bit like a relay. However, unlike their counterparts, triac stabilizers have a small tuning error (no more than 5 percent) and a large number of stabilization steps.
The disadvantage of this type of device is its sensitivity to heat transfer, which requires forced cooling of the power switches. Also, a significant disadvantage is their high price, so these devices are less popular than the first two.
Double conversion
It is an excellent voltage regulator for the refrigerator. How to choose it, we will consider in the next section. Double conversion equipment is recommended for use with the most sensitive to voltage drops current consumers with a capacity of 1-30 kilowatts. These stabilizers are characterized by complete suppression of external interference and are characterized by silent operation. Their error is not more than 1 percent at the output. Also, double conversion equipment has a large input voltage range (from 118 to 300 Volts). In cost they are more similar to triac analogs. However, in terms of reliability and quality of work, they surpass them significantly.
We select the device by power
How to choose a voltage regulator depending on the power of household appliances? To do this, calculate the total load consumed by your refrigerator, washing machine, computer and other devices. This information can be found in the technical data sheet for the device or in the operating instructions. Sometimes a manufacturer makes a sticker on the back of the product, where the maximum power consumption is indicated (on monitors, for example). This value is indicated by the letter W.
When calculating power, you should also pay attention to the starting value. For example, for devices in which electric motors are designed, special multiplicity factors are used to calculate such values. For each line of devices they are different. For example, for a refrigerator, it is 5 and 10 for new and old models, respectively. The air conditioner has coefficients of multiplicity from 2 to 35. The washing machine - from 3 to 5. Microwave and rotary hammer - about 3. To calculate the power consumption, multiply the coefficient by the nominal data. For example, if an old refrigerator has a power of 100 watts, it will consume 1000 watts when the engine starts. By the way, for these devices, this ratio is most important, because the startup time can last up to 1-2 seconds, and this is a relatively large load on the network.
What else to consider before choosing a voltage regulator?
Also, when calculating the total power of devices, it is important to consider how much they can work synchronously. If some devices do not turn on at the same time, the total power will be an order of magnitude less. Consider the fact that all stabilizers must have a power reserve of at least 20 percent.
In any case, it is difficult to imagine what other electrical appliances will appear in your home after purchasing this device. Therefore, the larger the stock, the better. Moreover, all devices have recently become more and more powerful. What is one refrigerator!
Often the voltage regulator for the refrigerator (how to choose it, read on) is rated for power at an input voltage of 220 volts. The main parameter for it is the maximum input current, which is measured in amperes. Most often, the product of a given voltage and the peak input from the stabilizer is the maximum value of the input power.
For example, we have a "Guarantor SN7000" - a voltage regulator 220V for the home. How to choose and find out if it is suitable for our premises? According to its characteristics, it has a peak power of 7000 watts with an input value of 220 volts. The input current is 32 amperes. That is, at a voltage of 150 volts, the maximum load power will be 4800 watts. Thus, the stabilizer is designed for a load of not more than the above value. This is enough for lighting at 200 watts, a refrigerator for 1000 watts, a washing machine (2300 watts) and an electric kettle for 1200 watts.
How to choose a voltage stabilizer for cottages and apartments?
We need to calculate the power of the stabilizer for a room where a TV, refrigerator, air conditioning, computer and lighting with a capacity of 100, 200, 1500, 170 and 300 watts, respectively, are used. It should be noted that the second and third devices consume an order of magnitude more current than in normal operation (do not forget about the multiplicity factors). So, our calculation will look like this: 100 + 1500 * 2 + 200 * 5 + 170 + 300, where in total we get 4.57 kW. In addition to the above devices, an additional kettle, iron and vacuum cleaner can be connected. Thus, the load can grow by as much as 1000 watts and even more.
Depending on what devices are located in your apartment or in the country, add or remove some of them. This will help determine how powerful your overvoltage protector should be.
By the same principle, voltage stabilizers for gas boilers are purchased . How to choose them? Now modern boilers consume more energy than before, since most of them are equipped with circulation pumps. By power they take about 130-150 watts. Accordingly, this value should be added to the obtained figure (we have 4.57 kW), as a result, the device should have a capacity of up to 5-6 kW (do not forget about the power reserve of 20-30 percent!). Of course, you can buy a cheaper option. However, in this case, without a power reserve, you will have to manually turn off certain devices so that, for example, you do not burn the voltage regulator for the computer. How to choose it, we have already figured out. The main thing is not to lose money with the power reserve and not to forget about the coefficients.
Conclusion
Now you know how to choose a voltage regulator for the boiler, TV, refrigerator and other electrical household appliances. Such a device is a very expensive pleasure, but sometimes its use is simply necessary. For example, in cases where the voltage is so low that the devices simply can not start without the presence of this element. Do not save on the purchase of this device if you have expensive electrical equipment in your home. On this, the question of how to choose a voltage stabilizer for the home can be considered closed.