
MAY 2010 2 Volume 39, No 5
Some experienced electricians are relatively casual
about touching 110 V circuits, but all respect 230 V.
(This constitutes a "don't-try-this-at-home thing, though
--it's quite possible to get a fatal shock or start a fire
with 110 V!) Current trends are toward the use of even
lower voltages (24V, 12V, 5V, 3.3V...) for any devices
which do not draw much total power to increase safety.
Power is rarely distributed at these lower voltages;
rather it is converted from 110 V or 230 V by a trans-
former at the earliest opportunity. Even in North Amer-
ica, 220-240V is commonly used in residential appli-
ances for most high-power electrical appliances (ovens,
furnaces, dryers, large motors, etc.) so that the supply
current and supply wire size can be smaller. Higher
power industrial applications often use 480 V or more.
And, of course, transmission lines use progressively
higher voltages as the distance and total power go up
(22,000 V for local distribution to 1,000,000 V for long
distance lines).
How does 220w work from the fuse box?
For 220 volts you have two 110 hot lines and a neutral
coming to your box. A 110 breaker only uses one line
of this to send power to whatever you have connected
to it and then the power is returned on your neutral
wire. A 220 breaker uses one of each of the two lines
to send 220 volts to whatever you have connected to it
the neutral does not complete the circuit as it does in a
110 volt circuit. In a breaker box each slot that a
breaker can connect to the power is alternately picked
up from one line and then the other line. Slot 1 would
use line 1…slot 2 would use line 2...slot 3 uses line
1...slot 4 uses line 2 etc etc. A 110 volt breaker only
uses one slot and a 220 volt breaker uses two slots..
What is the difference between a voltage converter
and a voltage regulator?
A voltage regulator functions as a voltage converter as
well as a voltage stabilizer.
A voltage stabilizer will stabilize the electricity to a
fixed current. This unit is usually used in countries
where the voltage currency is not stable.
The voltage regulator will stabilize a voltage fluctua-
tion between 75v-130v to 110v (+- 4%).
The voltage regulator will stabilize a voltage fluctua-
tion between 180v-260v to 220v (+- 4%).
I have a product that has a UK, Australian or Indian
plug on it can I connect it to the VC models?
Yes, you can connect it directly to the VC series trans-
formers since they come with a UNIVERSAL outlet
which can accept any 220 Volt/50Hz (overseas) plug
type except for the South African plug.
Do voltage converters convert the cycle (Hz)?
All voltage converters only convert the voltage and
not the cycle, however most appliances and electronics
will function properly with them.
North America 110-120 volt electricity is generated at
60 Hz. (Cycles) Alternating Current. Most foreign 220
-240 volt electricity is generated at 50Hz. (Cycles) Al-
ternating Current. This difference in cycles may cause
the motor in your 60Hz North American appliance to
operate slightly slower when used on 50Hz foreign
electricity. This cycle difference will also cause analog
clocks and timing circuits that use Alternating Current
as a timing base to keep incorrect time. Most modern
electronic equipment including battery chargers, com-
puters, printers, stereos, tape and CD players, VCR/
DVD players, etc. will not be affected by the differ-
ence in cycles.
What is the Difference between Servo and Relay
type voltage regulators?
The Servo type voltage regulator
stabilizes the voltage by adjusting
the transformer to the desired output
voltage. This ensures the highest
precision in voltage stabilization.
The relay type is all done electronically, therefore less
precision.
With the exception of
passive shunt regula-
tors, all modern elec-
tronic voltage regula-
tors operate by com-
paring the actual out-
put voltage to some
internal fixed reference voltage. Any difference is am-
plified and used to control the regulation element in
such a way as to reduce the voltage error.
SERVO TYPE
RELAY TYPE
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