A Guide To Voltage Stabilizers in India

Voltage stabilizers have become an essential part of our household because of the various power surges and fluctuations. India is hugely affected by voltage issues and thus, poses a great chance of damaging and affecting the equipment and appliances. Voltage stabilizers are electrical appliances that are designed to deliver a constant voltage to a load at its output terminals regardless of the changes in the input or incoming supply voltage. This is beneficial in protecting the equipment or machine against over-voltage, under-voltage, and other voltage surges.

How a Voltage Stabilizer Works

Mostly, each and every electrical equipment or device is designed for a wide range of input voltage. Depending on the sensitivity, the working range of the equipment is limited to specific values. For instance, some equipment can tolerate ± 10 percent of the rated voltage while others ± 5 percent or less.

Voltage stabilizers, therefore, ensure that the voltage fluctuations at the incoming power supply do not affect the load or electrical appliance. In a voltage stabilizer, voltage correction from over and under-voltage conditions is performed through two essential operations, namely boost or buck operations. During under-voltage condition, boost operation increases the voltage to a rated level while buck operation reduces the voltage level during the over-voltage condition. The basic concept of stabilization involves adding and subtracting the voltage to and from the mains supply.

Types of Voltage Stabilizers

Today, with the advancement of electronic circuitry and automation, the process of stabilization is a simpler and more effective one. The various types of voltage stabilizer include:

• Servo motor stabilizers: These are simply termed as servo stabilizers, and it uses a servo motor to enable the voltage correction. These are mainly used for high voltage accuracy. In this stabilizer, one end of the buck-boost transformer primary is connected to the fixed tap of the autotransformer, while another end is connected to the moving arm that is controlled by the servo motor. The secondary of the buck-boost transformer is connected in series with incoming supply, which is nothing but stabilizer output. Most servo stabilizers use an embedded microcontroller or processor for the control circuitry to achieve intelligent control.

There are various advantages of using servo stabilizers compared with relay type stabilizers. Some of these are higher correction speed, high precision of stabilized output, capability to withstand inrush currents, and high reliability. However, these require periodic maintenance due to the presence of motors.

• Static stabilizers: Static voltage stabilizer doesn’t have any moving parts as a servo motor mechanism in the case of servo stabilizers. It uses a power electronic converter circuit to achieve voltage regulation rather than a variac in the case of conventional stabilizers. It is possible to produce greater accuracy and excellent voltage regulation by these stabilizers compared with servo stabilizers. It essentially consists of a buck-boost transformer, IGBT power converter (or AC to AC converter), and a microcontroller, microprocessor, or DSP based controller. Microprocessor controlled IGBT converter generates the appropriate amount of voltage by pulse width modulation technique, and this voltage is supplied to the primary of the buck-boost transformer. The IGBT converter produces the voltage in such a way that it can be in phase or 180 degrees out of phase incoming line voltage, in order to perform adding and subtracting voltages during fluctuations.

• Relay Stabilizers: In this type of voltage stabilizers, voltage regulation is accomplished by switching the relays so as to connect one of a number of tapings of the transformer to the load. It has an electronic circuit and set of relays besides the transformer (which can be toroidal or iron core transformer with tapings provided on its secondary). The electronic circuit comprises rectifier circuit, operational amplifier, microcontroller unit, and other tiny components.

The electronic circuit compares the output voltage with a reference value provided by a built-in reference voltage source. Whenever the voltage rises or falls beyond the reference value, the control circuit switches the corresponding relay to connect a desired tapping to the output. These type of voltage stabilizers are mostly used for low rating appliances in residential, commercial, and industrial appliances, as they are low weight and low cost.

Read More: How Mainline Voltage Stabilizer for Low Voltage Works for Your Home

Advantages of Voltage Stabilizer

Be it your home, office or any other place, electricity is a great necessity. And voltage fluctuations are a very common aspect of electricity, irrespective of where ever you live. There may be various reasons for the voltage fluctuation, such as electrical faults, faulty wiring, lightning, short circuits, etc. These fluctuations may be in the form of over-voltage or under-voltage.

Effects Of Over Voltage To Home Appliances

• It causes permanent damage to the appliances
• It causes damage to the winding insulation
• It leads to unnecessary disruption in the load
• It leads to over-heating of the cable or device
• It may degrade the longevity of the device

Effects Of Under Voltage To Home Appliances

• It leads in low-efficiency of the device
• It leads to equipment’s malfunction
• It leads the device to draw large currents that further causes over-heating

The various advantages of voltage stabilizers are:

• Ensures Safety: Electricity is a grave requirement for uninterrupted flow and working of our household. A voltage stabilizer ensures the safety and secure power supply for proper functioning of devices anywhere.
• Efficiency Under Adverse Conditions: If the voltage of a specific electric appliance is above or below the desired levels, several problems can occur. A voltage stabilizer is the right answer for the smooth and constant functioning of devices and keeps voltage intact. The main purpose of a voltage stabilizer is to provide constant voltage to a load even during voltage fluctuations.
• Safety Of The Appliances: A voltage stabilizer acts as a protective shield and protects the appliances and devices from permanent damages. Every electric device is designed in a way that works correctly under different levels of voltage. But frequent or recurring voltage fluctuations can result in equipment damage permanently and may affect the wiring of your house too.
• Helps In Saving The Electricity: A poor power quality manifests itself as frequent voltage fluctuations. When your equipment does not get optimum voltage, it consumes excessive energy. This energy wastage is, however, invisible & goes unnoticed, but this poor-quality power will have a great impact on the energy bills as well as costly equipment could be damaged due to this voltage fluctuation. Thus, a voltage stabilizer is a genuine way of saving utility bills.

Read More: Importance of voltage stabilizer for household appliances

Need of Voltage Stabilizers

Voltage stabilizers are needed for the stability of appliances, gadgets and devices. Stabilizers consume very less power, typically about 2 to 5% of the maximum load (i.e., rating of stabilizer). These are high-efficiency devices, typically 95 to 98%. The various areas where voltage stabilizers are used are:

• Voltage Stabilizer For AC: The intricate functioning of an AC compressor is highly sensitive to voltage fluctuations. Protection against voltage fluctuations and spikes is of paramount importance for the smooth and long-lasting functioning of this high-end appliance.

• Mainline Voltage Stabilizer For Home: The stabilizer is installed between the main power supply of your home and your home appliances. This product is designed to smoothen any voltage fluctuations coming from the main power supply and provide a constant supply to the devices. It provides a constant supply of electricity within your device’s operating range. This helps prevent any unwanted damage due to overloading and increases the life of all the home appliances.

• Voltage Stabilizer For TV: TV stabilizers are only equipped with a high voltage cut-off and are designed to provide protection against voltage fluctuations and spikes. This helps prevent any unwanted damage due to overloading and increases the life of television.

• Voltage Stabilizer For Refrigerator/fridge: Refrigerator stabilizers are built with innovative techniques and advanced features. They ensure overload protection and optimal functioning for best results in safeguarding the refrigerators from voltage surges.

Read More: Benefits of installing voltage stabilizers at home

What Is The Difference Between Voltage Regulator And Stabilizer

Often people get confused between a voltage stabilizer and a voltage regulator. Both perform the same action to stabilize the voltage, but the main difference between voltage stabilizer and voltage regulator is:

• Voltage Stabilizer: It is a device that is designed to deliver constant voltage to the output without changes in incoming voltage.

• Voltage Regulator: It is a device or circuit which is designed to deliver constant voltage to the output without changes in load current.

How To Select a Suitable Stabilizer For Home Needs

Choosing the right voltage stabilizer is of great importance as it affects the overall performance of the appliance as well as the household. There are several factors that need to be considered before selecting the voltage stabilizer for an appliance. These factors include wattage required by the appliance, level of voltage fluctuations that are experienced in the installing area, type of appliance, type of stabilizer, the working range of stabilizer, type of control circuit, and other factors. The basic steps to select a stabilizer includes:

• Check the power rating of the appliance.
• Calculate the wattage by simply multiplying the voltage of the appliance by the maximum rated current.
• Check for safety margin to the stabilizer.
• Consider a power factor while calculating kVA rating of the stabilizer. If stabilizers are rated in kW instead of kVA, multiply the power factor with voltage and current product.

Where to buy a voltage stabilizer

Livguard offers efficient stabilizers to protect your home and appliances from these unwanted voltage spikes and surges. Our range of voltage stabilizers is designed and manufactured with advanced, innovative technology and stringent quality measures to safeguard all the electrical appliances from crucial fluctuations.

The wide range of Livguard voltage stabilizers comes with reliable and advanced technology features to safeguard all equipment from voltage fluctuations. We ensure overload protection and optimal functioning for best results in safeguarding the appliance from voltage surges. So, empower your home and your life with Livguard stabilizers.

Read Also: Things You Should Know Before Buying A Stabiliser