Types of automatic voltage regulators
Voltage regulators Operational reliability for industrial applications is highly dependent on the stability of the incoming voltage.
In this sense, it means choosing the right automatic voltage regulator for your system, with different types of AC voltage regulators on the market, which one is the best in terms of cost, reliability and function?
In this article, we will explore several commonly used automatic AC voltage regulators and share our professional opinion on each.
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What is AC automatic voltage regulator
The Automatic Alternating Current Voltage Regulator, or AC AVR, is designed to ensure that the output voltage remains constant at a predetermined level regardless of fluctuations in the input voltage.
The automatic voltage regulator is designed with control components that sense the change in the output voltage and compensate the difference accordingly, as a result, the connected systems receive a constant and stable voltage at all times.
Why do you need an AC automatic voltage regulator
Unlike theoretical photography, incoming voltages for real-life applications are subject to fluctuations. This may cause the voltage to sag, bulge or flash, resulting in a deviation from the nominal rated voltage of the connected device.
Some equipment may have greater tolerance against voltage differences but others may not perform well even with a slight deviation from the nominal value. For example, a three-phase AC motor is more tolerant of voltage differences than its single-phase counterpart.
Even if AC motors operate reliably with occasional voltage drops, DC controllers may not operate. DC components such as actuators, relays, and logic circuits are very sensitive to unstable voltage levels.
Flickering in AC mains tubes can affect the regulated DC voltage supplied to electronic control components.
Without an automatic AC voltage regulator, you risk the entire system in uncertainty from voltage spikes, sag, and fluctuations.
Some utilities may also experience significant voltage drops due to wire resistance. This could lead to process disruption, shortened component life, or, in less severe scenarios, suboptimal performance.
Voltage regulation protects companies from costly repercussions, such as production losses, rejections, delivery delays, and other indirect issues, installing an automatic AC voltage regulator is the only reasonable option.
Common Types of Automatic AC Voltage Regulators
When looking for automatic AC voltage regulators, you will come across different structures. Here are 4 popular AVR software and their pros and cons.
1. Servo (Linear / Rotary)
The servo voltage regulator provides a stable voltage by varying the transformer winding ratio based on a negative feedback circuit, featuring a servo motor shaped moving mechanism and an attached carbon brush.
Servo voltage regulators are known for their high accuracy, the regulator is accurate up to ±1% for input voltage variations of up to ±50%. It is also fairly reliable and cost-effective.
In a typical setup, a servo automatic voltage regulator is constructed with the following parts:
Buck-Boost converter, which is partially connected to the autotransformer to enable variable turn ratio.
AUTO ADAPTER OR DAMMER - Toroidal shaped adapter with fixed faucet connected to buck support adapter and variable faucet connected to a servo motor via a carbon brush.
Carbon brush - acts as a moving mechanism that moves the autotransformer according to the position of the servo.
Servo motor - receives the positioning signal from the control circuit and rotates its arm accordingly.
control circuit - an electronic circuit consisting of active and passive components such as a microcontroller, an amplifier, and logic integrated circuits.
It samples the output voltage, calculates the required adjustment and sends the respective displacement signal to the motor.
magnetic voltage regulator
When you need a low maintenance AVR that operates reliably in harsh environments, a magnetic induction regulator is the perfect choice. A magnetic induction voltage regulator can sometimes be confused with an induction motor.
The magnetic induction regulator and the induction motor are similar in that they feature a stator and a rotor, however, the induction motor rotates without restriction, but the angle of the AVR is limited to less than 180 degrees.
The principle of the magnetic induction voltage regulator is to change the proximity between the primary and secondary winding, by doing this, the coupling magnetic flux through the windings changes in magnitude and direction, depending on the relative position of both windings, the output voltage can be increased or decreased to a maximum.
Fixed type (pressure switch)
You might think that the fixed tap switch regulator is a great option because it is completely electronic and has no moving parts, besides, the fixed tap regulators are also cheap compared to their counterparts
Before you decide on a click switch, you should be wary of its limitations, particularly the Full Power Semiconductor (FPS) type, as it is not the safest or most reliable option.
The pressure switch regulator in the FPS has the following components:
Multi-click converter.
An array of SCR (Silicon Control Rectifier), connected in series to each of the taps.
Control circuit to activate the SCR based on the tested output voltage.
The response time of static pressure regulators depends on the microcontroller algorithm, the majority of static tap regulators use the error signal feedback method or ESBM.
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