On Sunday, August 27, 2017 at 6:18:58 PM UTC-5, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:
On Mon, 28 Aug 2017 00:02:56 +0100, wrote:
On Sun, 27 Aug 2017 14:12:49 -0700 (PDT), Uncle Monster
wrote:
On Sunday, August 27, 2017 at 9:04:54 AM UTC-5, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:
I do notice the lighting (mostly LEDs) changes brightness slightly when it switches to battery. There's also a slight dip in brightness every second, so it's not that even an output. But the main thing is I lose less LED bulbs due to the excessively high voltage I have here, as the smartups drops the voltage with a transformer as necessary. 256V when you're meant to get 230V is rather ****.
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If I measure a voltage out of my outlets at home that's too high, I can call the power company and they'll send out a tech who will check the voltage and take action to correct the problem. Most of the transformers around here have selectable taps that the power company can change so the voltage supplied to homes can be adjusted so it falls within specs. If I saw 256 volts across the phases at my home I would be a bit concerned but if I saw 265 volts I'd call my power company. As I recall, the last time I measured the voltage across the phases at my home, it was below 240 volts which means there was just under 120 volts at the standard receptacles. That was three Summers ago when the central AC was running. None of the LED bulbs I've bought have failed but a lot of the CFL lamps I've owned have died. I think it may have to do with whether a lamp is rated for base up or base down operation. One of my desk lamps at home has vent slits at the top of the bell shaped reflector and the
CFL
lamps lasted longer in that desk lamp than in the other desk lamps I have that aren't vented. All my desk lamps have LED bulbs in them now and are barely warm to the touch with the bell shaped reflector pointing down. ?(?)?
I always have 124 and the PoCo says that is within the nominal limits.
I am also not sure you can tap these transformers. There is a selector
but it is only for the medium voltage inputs.
http://gfretwell.com/electrical/50_kva_label.jpg
http://gfretwell.com/electrical/50%2...ransformer.jpg
Why do Americans have such piddly little transformers? We have nice big things that serve 100 houses:
http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/...7_33574f8d.jpg
Found this by mistake: https://youtu.be/wd-_C6pSmOY
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The country is a little bit larger and the population is more spread out than where you are. 325 million people in the U.S. dispersed in 3.53 million square miles vs 5.4 million crammed in Scotland's 30,414 square miles. The State of Alabama where I live has an area of 52,419 square miles and a population of less than 5 million. When I lived on the family farm, the closest neighbor was a quarter mile away. We had our own pole mounted transformer for the farm. In the big cities there are transformer vaults under the streets with very large transformers and the large buildings have their own transformers in the basement utility areas. I don't know about skyscrapers in the very large cities but I'd imagine there are transformers for every floor or every several floors. I'd have to do some research on the design of their power distribution systems to educate myself. We hear a 60hz buzz in our heads where you folks have a 50hz buzz between your ears. You can't compare our two countries and our power distribution systems because everything is too different but we do kind of speak the same language and many of us are your cousins. ヽ(ヅ)ノ
[8~{} Uncle Related Monster