Our voltage fluctuates quite a bit, although in general its high, often
>248/249v at the sockets, dropping quite a bit at times. Is this a problem
>and can anything be done about it?
It is only likely to affect filament light bulbs, unless you get serious brownouts. If it is really bad, you may need to speak to the electricity company.
Christian.
The spec is 230v +10% -6% or 253 to 216v. I think the change to 230v
+/- 10% has been thrown out (for the time being).Filament bulbs might not last quite as long as they should, most other equipment won't mind. If the variations are frequent and large enough to be annoying I'd contact your local electricity distributor and complain. They may come and fit a monitor to your supply, after the results of that they may or may not do anything, depends on what the monitor shows.
The dips only seem to go to around 225, so doesnt appear to be a problem. Thanks for the reply.
Jaime
Thanks for the reply, good to know that it should be ok.
Jaime
In message , Jaime writes
Stop plugging your new shiny new DMM into the mains. This will significantly help the state of mind, getting to sleep at night bit.
Exactly what do you mean by fluctuates quite a bit" ?
Plug a dmm into the mains, nope I'm not that stupid. Using a nice little pluging power meter gadget from maplins as well as the ups line monitoring. Fluctuates a bit means moves between about 220 - just under 250 depending on time of day etc..
Thanks
Jaime
It is within the 230v +10% -6% permitted tolerance, so it should not cause any problems.
Colin Bignell
Yep, it happens. Your incoming voltage *will* vary quite noticeably through a 24 hour period. This is because the voltage at a primary substation is constantly monitored. When the load increases during the day, the voltage drops, so the system transformers automatically change tap to make allowance for this.
There is an increasing tendency for users to look at a DMM and notice just how often it shows changes in the supply voltage on a minute by minute basis. Tip, get an old Avo from a boot sale and use that to check your supply voltage.
True enough but going from almost at the lower tolerance to the upper one is pushing it IMHO, especially if it does in a step manner several times a day.
Personally I think such a range together with step transitions could indicate an overloaded local distribution system or a fault. A slow variation from one end to the other over 12hrs or so isn't so bad but I wouldn't like it.
Most DVMs, if not all, have a range specifically for measuring mains voltage.
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