UK Voltage and your HiFi

[Gazzip]

A few weeks ago I posted a help topic about my amplifiers tripping my household circuit breakers as well as their own inbuilt circuit breakers. I recieved some very helpful advice on this forum so thank you to those who contributed. One thing that I have learnt quite a bit about over the past weeks because of this is UK voltage and its effect on electrical equipment. I thought I would share on here so please forgive me if this is old news to many of you.

UK voltage is not a fixed 240V. The allowable range for UK Voltage is actually 230V plus or minus 10%. This means that the voltage supply to your plug socket is legally allowed to be anywhere between 216V and 253V. However all new domestic mains powered electrical equipment supplied for sale in Europe is designed to optimally perform at 230V.

So what!? I hear you cry. Well, for every incidence of overvoltage and undervoltage we are reducing the active life of our electronics and wasting money through eccess energy use disipated as heat. This is why electrical equipment can get very, very hot even on idle. This is one reason why transformers buzz/vibrate. It can cause speakers to hum and parts to fail. Yes the equipment will work if not bang on 230V, but not optimally and it will be under strain.

The reduction in active life can be quite significant as can the amount of wasted energy that we are paying for. Ever got that why do I keep changing bulbs feeling? Well, a 230V rated lamp used at 240V will achieve only 55% of its rated life. 55%!!!!! A 230V linear appliance used at 240V will draw 4.3% more current and consume 9% more energy. These figure are taken from The UK Wiring Regulations Revision 16 - BS7671

My sockets are currently pumping out a manly 252V. Armed with the facts and figures above I have just invested in a voltage optimiser. A simple little box that sits between the consumer unit and the electricity meter and reduces incoming voltage by 10%. Having invested considerably more than my disposable income in to my system I think that this purchase may well prove to be the best £350 I have ever spent on a "system upgrade". Yes, my kettle might bil a little bit slower but I can live with that.

Hopefully this is helpful.

 

[Electro]

That is interesting , does it hold the voltage at a constant 230v or does that figure vary with the incoming voltage, in other words does it just take 10% off the incoming voltage regardless ?

 

[abacus]

Not that simple as the mains voltage will vary during the day as the amount of power in use varies, (Measure the voltage just after Coronation Street (When everybody puts the kettle on) and you will find the voltage is significantly lower than the 252V you have measured) this means that if the unit you mention just reduces voltage then at certain times of the day your equipment will be consuming a lot more current as the voltage is reduced to well below 230V.

If the unit you mention is a voltage stabiliser (Like you get in more expensive UPS units) which varies its effect depending on the voltage input, then yes it is worth the money.

Bill

 

[Gazzip]

That is interesting , does it hold the voltage at a constant 230v or does that figure vary with the incoming voltage, in other words does it just take 10% off the incoming voltage regardless ?

No it doesn't hold a constant voltage it just reduces whatever is coming in by 10%. My current voltage situation is not swinging by more than 4V so this box will put me in the 225V to 230V zone. There are products that will hold a voltage at a specifed level. These are called regulators and they are usually for industrial/commercial use. There are also regulators used in the music recording industry but they are serious wedge. Links below. Link 1 is what I have bought (a voltage optimiser), Link 2 is a single phase regulator that can be used domestically, and link 3 is a "serious wedge" recording industry option. Sorry about the cut and paste here but my URL insertion tool is not working..... Hmmmm, nor is cut and paste. This website is a shocker. Okay in the order listed above do a google search for:

Voltis VH602

Ashley Edison SES Series 1 to 100kVA

Furman P-6900 A-RE

 

[Gazzip]

Not that simple as the mains voltage will vary during the day as the amount of power in use varies, (Measure the voltage just after Coronation Street (When everybody puts the kettle on) and you will find the voltage is significantly lower than the 252V you have measured) this means that if the unit you mention just reduces voltage then at certain times of the day your equipment will be consuming a lot more current as the voltage is reduced to well below 230V.

If the unit you mention is a voltage stabiliser (Like you get in more expensive UPS units) which varies its effect depending on the voltage input, then yes it is worth the money.

Bill

Hi Bill, I take your point but the voltage drop is not a severe as you suggest after Corrie. More in the reigion of 4V to 5V, which it is doing anyway.

Also the unit that I have purchased will automatically drop in to bypass mode if the voltage drops below 220V and kick back in when it climbs above that figure, avoiding the high current draw you suggest.

It really is that simple!

 

[Gazzip]

If the unit you mention is a voltage stabiliser (Like you get in more expensive UPS units) which varies its effect depending on the voltage input, then yes it is worth the money.

Bill

Also protecting my equipment is worth that kind of money regardless of any voltage instability being "repeated" at a lower voltage.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

So does this mean all those 'mains conditioners' and the like aren't such a waste after all?

Just asking.

 

[Gazzip]

So does this mean all those 'mains conditioners' and the like aren't such a waste after all?

Just asking.

Not sure mate. This post is intended to be more about equipment protection than the sound quality benefits of mains conditioning.

I guess from a protection perspective if you are conditioning 250V and feeding it in to your equipment then yes it would be a waste of money.

 

[wilro15]

Now I have something else to worry about!

 

[TrevC]

£350 for something that does the same job as one of these? http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/autotransformers/0504199/

 

[Gazzip]

£350 for something that does the same job as one of these? http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/autotransformers/0504199/

No it doesn't do the same job.

A Voltage Optimiser (VO) is not a step down transformer (SDT). An SDT reduces the entire power output from one voltage to another using a primary winding, the input, which has more windings than the output coil. The voltage that is removed by this method is wasted as disipated heat.

A VO on the other hand only reduces the voltage required using negative feedback, subtracting this from the original input voltage. For example a VO reducing from 240V to 220V will only transform the 20v that needs to be transformed which is fed back in to the original incoming votage to reduce it in a much more energy efficient way.

 

[Vladimir]

As long as the voltage regulator is linear and not with relays, like Electro pointed out, flipping between -/+10%. I have a relay based cheap AVR for my PC. Does the job but would go upmarket for expensive Hi-Fi gear and use a linear regulator like Gazzip listed in his post.

 

[TrevC]

£350 for something that does the same job as one of these? http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/autotransformers/0504199/

No it doesn't do the same job.

A Voltage Optimiser (VO) is not a step down transformer (SDT). An SDT reduces the entire power output from one voltage to another using a primary winding, the input, which has more windings than the output coil. The voltage that is removed by this method is wasted as disipated heat.

A VO on the other hand only reduces the voltage required using negative feedback, subtracting this from the original input voltage. For example a VO reducing from 240V to 220V will only transform the 20v that needs to be transformed which is fed back in to the original incoming votage to reduce it in a much more energy efficient way.

Utter cobblers. An auto transformer doesn't dissipate dropped voltage as heat, only a resistor does that.

 

[Native_bon]

Actually I did have a lot of stuff breaking down at my old house. Since I moved to my new place over a year now no such problems. Also my main fuses tripped a lot. Good post, not just good to know but need to know.

 

[Gazzip]

ermm... yes it does, but to be fair most is lost due to magnetic effects in the core.

 

[ifor]

ermm... yes it does, but to be fair most is lost due to magnetic effects in the core.

Erm, no it doesn't. It works in exactly the same way as a transformer with a separate secondary and the losses are the same. What do you imagine happens if an autotransformer is used as a step up device, for example to raise 110 volts to 240?

Here we go again; the gospel according to St TrevC. Nobody else can be right or have anything useful to contribute to this forum.

 

[TrevC]

ermm... yes it does, but to be fair most is lost due to magnetic effects in the core.

Erm, no it doesn't. It works in exactly the same way as a transformer with a separate secondary and the losses are the same. What do you suppose happens if an autotransformer is used as a step up device, for example to raise 110 volts to 240?

 

[TrevC]

ermm... yes it does, but to be fair most is lost due to magnetic effects in the core.

Erm, no it doesn't. It works in exactly the same way as a transformer with a separate secondary and the losses are the same. What do you imagine happens if an autotransformer is used as a step up device, for example to raise 110 volts to 240?

Here we go again; the gospel according to St TrevC. Nobody else can be right or have anything useful to contribute to this forum.

Why thanks, although I wouldn't have put it as strongly as that. :O)

 

[ifor]

I've seen this bit of kit highly recommended elsewhere.

www.powerinspired.com/ag1500-ac-regenerator-1500w-psu-p-1742.html

 

[TrevC]

I've seen this bit of kit highly recommended elsewhere.

www.powerinspired.com/ag1500-ac-regenerator-1500w-psu-p-1742.html

Won't affect sound quality one iota, so what's the point?

 

[ifor]

I thought this thread was about managing mains voltage.

 

[abacus]

I've seen this bit of kit highly recommended elsewhere.

www.powerinspired.com/ag1500-ac-regenerator-1500w-psu-p-1742.html

Won't affect sound quality one iota, so what's the point?

Well TrevC you are normally very sensible, however this time you seem to have missed the point.

1. It has nothing to do about altering the sound

2. Its about reducing voltage to increase the longevity of connected equipment, as well as reducing power consumption.

3. Have you seen the price of a 60A Single Phase Step Down Transformer. (And thats not including building the enclosure to suit, or finding somewhere suitable between the Meter and consumer Unit for such a large item)

Bill

 

[Gazzip]

I thought this thread was about managing mains voltage.

Thank you. It is! Somehow I am being drawn in to a debate about how a transformer works. I don't really care how it works to be honest, as long as it gets my 253V down to 230-ishV.

 

[SteveR750]

This!

 

[TrevC]

I've seen this bit of kit highly recommended elsewhere.

www.powerinspired.com/ag1500-ac-regenerator-1500w-psu-p-1742.html

Won't affect sound quality one iota, so what's the point?

Well TrevC you are normally very sensible, however this time you seem to have missed the point.

1. It has nothing to do about altering the sound

2. Its about reducing voltage to increase the longevity of connected equipment, as well as reducing power consumption.

3. Have you seen the price of a 60A Single Phase Step Down Transformer. (And thats not including building the enclosure to suit, or finding somewhere suitable between the Meter and consumer Unit for such a large item)

Bill

1500 watts @ 250v is 6 amps not 60. :O) Most hifi with a solid state amplifier will average a heck of a lot less than 1500 watts.

Of course derating a filament lightbulb will increase its life, but it will also reduce brightness. There's no evidence that reducing the voltage input to an an amplifier designed for our mains will last any longer, and the amount spent on reducing the voltage is out of all proportion to the electricity saving. In the winter you use any dissipated heat in the room.