Mains power voltage drop to reduce usage?

Nov 06, 2022 Last reply: 3 years ago 820 Replies

Primary load is automatically shed - to maintain very stringent system frequency limits. The big thermal generators are very fussy about system frequency. " Small frequency deviations (e.g., 0.5 Hz on a 50 Hz or 60 Hz network) will result in automatic load shedding or other control actions to restore system frequency. " John T.

Shedding what? I'm aware they ramp up the steam to speed them up if they get too slow.

Funny you should mention that. Our neutral broke in high winds yesterday. Both remaining legs seem to be well balanced.

Not any more.

Apart from resistive loads and motors almost all other consumer items like TVs will simply draw more current at the lower voltage to maintain a constant power output. My PC and other office kit will quite happily run on 110v as will the LED lights. Incandescent lights are visibly orange on that voltage and a kettle takes forever to boil.

This happens in rural locations when one phase out of two supplying a village goes down and the remaining live phase is left taking the strain.

How did the neutral break but the lives didn't?

As for well balanced, that depends how many people were using that broken neutral. If it was just to your house, chances are your loads are not balanced enough.

But you're referring to small things that use very little power. Normally, I can draw 6kW for computers.

TWO?!

I'm not a power expert, but I suspect this is about power distribution between the generators, very large scale. Not the voltage given to customers.

No idea. I don't live there :-)

LOL.

It was not optional here.

Actually, it was the right wing who did this. :-P

Where do you get that idea?

I have 2.3 KW on my entire house.

Typically, most homes have 3.6 KW. Max you can have is 15 KW.

LOL

Several ways that can happen. During high winds - I'm guessing a branch took the neutral out but missed the conductor at the top of the pole. John T.

[snip]

In the US, 100 amps (50 amps on each of the 2 120V legs) or roughly 12 kw, was the standard for 1950 onward. It's been upgraded to 200 amps, or 25 kw, for a bunch of decades.

You could always blow it up.

We can have more, on a home, switching to three-phase system. And way more expensive.

Why would a right wing government do such a thing?

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"smart meters can give readings that are SEVEN times too high because dimmer switches and LED bulbs confuse the devices Smart meters can be confused by modern dimmer switches and LED bulbs Meters come up with readings that are 582 per cent higher than they should be It comes after an SSE had to apologise to customers earlier this week after malfunctioning smart meters handed them bills for as much as £44,000 a day The Government wants them installed in all 26million homes by 2020"

That last line, ROFL! It's now 2022 and only half of us have one.

We really shouldn't have wires above ground. It's how my neighbour's house caught fire.

The 3 % / 5 % voltage reductions are applied to the station busses that supply the feeders - - sometimes called sub-transmission - 14 / 28 / 44 kV . Not at the higher transmission voltages. It's not unheard of for a subtransmission distributing station to have only a fixed-tap ie : no automatic tapchanger for voltage regulation - so those customers would see the 3 % 5 % reduction - if they were intent on measuring it. Many distribution stations have on-load automatic tapchangers which will correct the voltage to the customers ! imagine that. John T.

How the hell do you manage with that little power?

The dark ages.

Of course I don't often use that much, I've never gone over 18kW, and not over 8kW for any long period.

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