What's Your Voltage?

[Teken]

Just wanted to see how well the electricity is regulated in your part of the world is . . .

Around here my voltage is a rock steady 120, and has been this way for a year now . . .

I'm curious to see how many folks either monitor, look, or even know what their voltage in their homes are . . . Seems to me many of the members on this site are above the average consumer and this might be one of those area's where they also are in the know . . .

Alright let me know who's at the bottom of the 110, and who is at 120. Let me know if it varies from day to day, or if its pretty much the same all day long with out any hiccups . . .

 

[SiGmA_X]

117-119v in a 95yo house in Portland.

 

[lametec]

~115v.......

 

[hifi_hokie]

Tends to run higher, 124-125V.

I build vacuum tube amps (hence the screen name) that have very little in the way of power supplies sometimes, so it's important to know what the wall AC is doing

 

[MrMark]

117-123 volts They obviously shoot for 120. It does move around.

 

[Joe92GT]

So many variables to get the right voltage. The main distribution transformer has to be sized right and in th right tap setting for the whole line's load, then the secondary transformers have to be tapped right to compensate for voltage drop down the line. Then you have voltage drop form the transformer to your house, and finally from your main panel to your outlets/fixtures depending on length of wire.

That doesn't even include the constant power juggle of power stations, lines, solar/wind starting and stopping, and major power plant shut downs that happen all day long.

Its a miracle we get 120V!

That said,we are in the power monitoring business, so I play around sometimes and data log my panel. Voltage is around 119-120VAC on each line, fluctuates slightly.

 

[Teken]

If anyone see's a drop from their steady voltages at home say for example 120, and the next month or so its at 110 VAC.

Anyone ever call the POCO? Also, if you're at 100 - 105 VAC what have you seen first hand that affects your home the most?

 

[MrMark]

If I had less than 115 volts for my area I would consider that a fault and investigate. When I put a 15 amp load on one leg I will see a voltage drop of 1.5 volts. I believe this to be normal and within specs.

 

[JustBob]

I am seeing 127 to 130 volts for a couple of years now, usually at 130. I like it when they made the increase, the table saw and the welder are happier now that they get 260 instead of 230(before rewire and voltage increase).

 

[Teken]

At 130 VAC have you seen any home electronics give up the ghost or lesser life span?

 

[shotgunfatcat]

Conjunction Junction, what's your function?

I plug stuff in, it works. Whenever I have checked it, I didn't write it down, no breakers blow, and everything functions accordingly.

 

[ForceFed70]

At 130 VAC have you seen any home electronics give up the ghost or lesser life span?

Doubt it. Most home electronics are rated to work on up to 240V so that they don't have to make special models for use in other countries. Take a look at some of your own electronics if you are curious. All CSA approved electrical devices require a sticker that shows wattage, line voltage, and frequency.

 

[MattT]

At 130 VAC have you seen any home electronics give up the ghost or lesser life span?

130v is hell on incandescent lamps. Never experienced any other failures in the place I lived 6 years that had ~130v.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

If you have a Kill-A-Watt, you can easily see the volts and freqs on the side of the buss the unit is plugged into. Mine runs 121-122 most of the time, and the freq is right on at 60 cps.

 

[Teken]

If you have a Kill-A-Watt, you can easily see the volts and freqs on the side of the buss the unit is plugged into. Mine runs 121-122 most of the time, and the freq is right on at 60 cps.

Yup, I have two killo watt meters to plug into random devices to measure their consumption.

I have a whole house unit that measures each branch circuit, along with each phase entering the service panel.

I can graph, chart, and read the duration, consumption, dollars, and future power sent back to the grid.

Just wondering if others kept track of their voltage such I.

 

[foolishpride]

So many variables to get the right voltage. The main distribution transformer has to be sized right and in th right tap setting for the whole line's load, then the secondary transformers have to be tapped right to compensate for voltage drop down the line. Then you have voltage drop form the transformer to your house, and finally from your main panel to your outlets/fixtures depending on length of wire.

That doesn't even include the constant power juggle of power stations, lines, solar/wind starting and stopping, and major power plant shut downs that happen all day long.

Its a miracle we get 120V!

That said,we are in the power monitoring business, so I play around sometimes and data log my panel. Voltage is around 119-120VAC on each line, fluctuates slightly.

That's why we have these my friend, to keep the voltage nice and steady. They are voltage regulators. They are basically autotransformers, with stepped taps. They sense and maintain a constant voltage at all times.