Causes of Stress Jumps And Ways Of Protection From Them

Currently, for us, as for consumers of electricity, a huge problem is jumps in the voltage in the network or constantly lowered (increased) its value. This threatens the failure of domestic electrical appliances, which are designed to deviate in voltage by no more than 20-30 V. And dangerous not only high voltage, when the device can burn, but also low. For example, the compressor of the refrigerator may not start

One of the main reasons for the deviation of the voltage from the normal value is the inability of the electric grids to cope with the current loads. Since they were designed and built 20-30 years ago, since that time the load on the network has increased hundreds of times. In addition, the nature of the load has changed, a large number of devices have appeared that change the sinusoidal component of the voltage.

As a result, when a large number of consumers are switched on simultaneously, there is a temporary drawdown of the voltage, for example, when an enterprise switches on its electrical installations.

In winter, when a large number of heaters work, the load on the network is so great that the voltage value can be constantly lower than normal.

There is also a skew of the phases, which occurs as a result of an uneven load on different phases. As a result, on the loaded phase, the voltage decreases, and on the underloaded phase it increases. The situation is aggravated by a large number of impulse technology in our apartments, which further increases the skewness of the phases.

As a separate cause of power surges, emergency modes of the network can be identified. For example, if there is a break in the zero wire, all electrical appliances in the house may be under 380 V. The same can happen if the electricians do not follow the good contact of the neutral wire at the common point of the transformer windings. Another reason can be a lightning strike, not only when hit directly into the power line, but also next to them, causing a sudden power surge.

One way to protect against voltage surges is to install a voltage relay. This device allows you to disconnect the voltage to the home network, when it goes beyond the limits set in the settings. The voltage is connected only after the voltage is normalized. The disadvantage of this method is the negative effect of a sudden cutoff of voltage on electrical appliances.

If the voltage in your apartment or house is constantly lowered, setting the voltage relay here can not help. The easiest way is to check the voltage on the adjacent two phases. Perhaps you are simply connected to an overloaded phase, and at a time when you have a voltage of 190 V, and your neighbors can have 250 V. In that case, it's enough to connect to another phase.

If the voltage in the neighboring phases is the same low, you will most likely need to install a voltage regulator. This device allows to maintain a constant voltage at the output, regardless of the value of the incoming voltage. There is a huge variety of voltage stabilizers, the main criterion for their choice is the design capacity given to the network.

In any case, if the voltage in your apartment is low or high, there are jumps in voltage, it is necessary to call an electrician. He will diagnose the causes of voltage deviations and propose possible solutions to the problem.