And the electricity bills for the user who has 260v will also be higher than the user who's supply is at 230v.
But as much as 13% more?
Mains Voltage
- Thread starter Oxia
- Start date
And the electricity bills for the user who has 260v will also be higher than the user who's supply is at 230v.
But as much as 13% more?
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This time you have made a mistake and you are wrong. Power increases are in proportion to the square of voltage increase so it would be 28% not 13%.
BUT. Any modern equipment with a switch mode power supply, TV, HF fluorescent light, electronic 12v transformers, CFL lights, etc are constant wattage over a wide voltage range. Boiling a kettle of water uses the same amount of energy, it just happens quicker. Same applies with a fan heater, the room heats up quicker than the thermostat kicks in. Tungsten bulbs will use more and be so much brighter one would be tempted to use the next size down. Not sure about motors in fridge, washing machine etc.
All true. I'm not sure about the motors, either. There would usually be a bit more total energy consumption at 260V as compared with 230V, but nowhere near the 'theoretical' 28% (nor even 13%). Some loads might even use slighly less energy at 260W - since if the kettle, tank of water or whatever heats up more quickly, the losses might be less.
The biggest 'catch' is that 'high power' heating appliances (fan heaters, oil-filled radiators etc.) are not uncommonly used in situations for which they are under-powered - such that the thermostat rarely, if ever, operates. In that situation, they obviously would use 28% more at 260V. I'm not sure about tumble dryers (one of the greatest energy guzzlers in many homes!). There will obviously with 'thermal cutouts' to prevent excessive temperatures but, that aside, I'm not sure whether they are thermostatically controlled (I suspect not) or merely run the heating element 'flat out' under normal circumstances. If the latter, they would also use 28% more at 260V.
In the spirit of TTC's comments, I suppose one could try charging the DNO for the reduced life of tungsten lamps, but with 260V being less than 3% above permitted maximum of 253V (about a 25%-30% reduction in lamp life), that would not make anyone a fortune!
Kind Regards, John
Hi
Having read through this interesting thread, I took voltage readings at some of my sockets. All read 241V to 242V (AC), although I was surprised to see a very small voltage when the switch was turned off (but the wires still connected). This varied between 0.2V and 1.5V (AC) at different sockets.
Is this normal? If so, how is it caused?
I'd be grateful for any advice.
Having read through this interesting thread, I took voltage readings at some of my sockets. All read 241V to 242V (AC), although I was surprised to see a very small voltage when the switch was turned off (but the wires still connected). This varied between 0.2V and 1.5V (AC) at different sockets.
Is this normal? If so, how is it caused?
I'd be grateful for any advice.
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One thing to rememeber about modern digital multimeters is they have a high input impedance, 10 megohms is typical.
There is no such thing as a perfect switch. Any switch will have some leakage capacitance and resistance. Your voltage readings suggest that the impedance of the switch when turned off is of the order of a few gigohms which is more than high enough to be acceptable.
There is no such thing as a perfect switch. Any switch will have some leakage capacitance and resistance. Your voltage readings suggest that the impedance of the switch when turned off is of the order of a few gigohms which is more than high enough to be acceptable.
Indeed, but I didn't want to confuse the OP with detail (someone asking the question he asked would very probably not understand the meaning and significance of input impedance of a meter), so merely wrote:
Kind Regards, John
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Yep, any of those, or even their little sibling, an example of which is still in service on my bench:
Kind Regards, John
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Aah that takes me back. An Avo minor.
I think the battery leaked in mine
I think the battery leaked in mine
That's a pity. Mine still works fine, although the original leads and the plastic 'pouch' died decades ago. I've had mine since the mid-60s, so nearly 50 years old.Aah that takes me back. An Avo minor. I think the battery leaked in mine
Kind Regards, John
I really ought to add an Avo (or two) to my collection.
With an analogue needle/scale the result is in the eye of the beholder, as is making sure the correct scale is selected.
Some readings are logarithmic (see the Ohms scale on the Avominor) which also increases the chance of an incorrect/inaccurate reading.
IMO digital will be more accurate than analogue.
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