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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 7,520
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Harmonisation is a joke anyway. What about all the different plugs and sockets ? Just like the new cables as well, one reason supposedly being so that manufacturers can sell them all across Europe. Except that U.K. style T&E (Romex-like) is little-used outside the U.K. & Ireland, regardless of the color code. SMPS has a wide range, usually from 170 - 270 Volts ac. Or more. 90 to 260V or so isn't at all unusual now.
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,253
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I do think the UK would be better off using 230V but not for power saving reasons. Because the UK's a relatively small market compared to the entire EU (or the entire former 220V market) the vast majority of appliances are designed to cope with 220-230V.
I've heard that there are issues with peak voltages in the UK pushing what are really 220V appliances beyond their designed upper limits e.g. increasingly electronic-laden domestic appliances like washing machines, dryers etc blowing when they're presented with a UK peak voltage...
It'd make sense purely to avoid all these minor problems..
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Joined: Aug 2001
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In theory, the maximum voltage which should ever be present by statute is 254.4V (240V +6%). I've seen a supply very slightly over that a few times (maybe 256V), but it's very rare.
240V only became fully standard across the country in the early 1970s. Prior to that the nominal declared voltage varied from place to place.
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Joined: Dec 2002
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Paul,
I've just come across a lot more fried equipment in the UK than I have in the Republic of Ireland.
E.g. newer domestic appliances that have a high degree of electronic control. Cookers, washers etc with lots of chips and even solid-state switching on board sometimes don't take well to higher voltages.
Typically if you connect a multimeter across a supply here you'll get between 220 and 228V. In rural areas in particular (long lines) you'll often get about 215-220V. It's not unheard of to have problems with voltage dips in some rural areas. E.g. I've heard of gas boilers failing to start and when the technician checked the supply voltage it was sitting at barely 190V !! This was a farm way out in the middle of nowhere. Once the poco was alerted to this they fixed the voltage issue.
The UK seems to have the other extreme in some urban areas though, where you're close to the transformer..
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Joined: Aug 2001
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The UK seems to have the other extreme in some urban areas though, where you're close to the transformer.. In some cases the utilities have had to cope with extra loading which has caused low voltages at the extremities of the LV lines during peak load hours, so they've altered the taps to compensate while still keeping within the upper tolerance limit. It's not unusual for the line voltage to sit around 245V during low-load times in a lot of areas, and I've heard of places where 250V is more the normal no load voltage. Where I am it's rare for the line to go above about 242 or 243V during quiet times, and it seldom ever drops below 230V even during peak hours (faults excepted).
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 1,803
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I'm at an advanced stage burning waste veg-oil in a pressure-jet burner for C.H.. The latest model burners [Danfoss, Trianco, etc.] are now fitted with low / high voltage sensing and shut off if v is outside certain limits.
After an hour wading through reams of EEC directives, I'm no wiser as to what they actually are!!
A Directive is an oxymoron, if you can't find it!
Wood work but can't!
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 8,443 Likes: 3
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The UK seems to have the other extreme in some urban areas though, where you're close to the transformer.. In some cases the utilities have had to cope with extra loading which has caused low voltages at the extremities of the LV lines during peak load hours, so they've altered the taps to compensate while still keeping within the upper tolerance limit. Paul, A few places around over here have had to be installed with Auto-tap changers, you get a dairy shed at the end of a spur-line and you have some issues with the gear used in them sheds (mostly PLC/computer controlled sensors) as well as a VF Drive on the actual rotary platform. I was at a dairy shed last Friday (3am) that had burned out the VF Drive because of low voltage, it took the motor and the gearbox with it as well. What makes it even worse, is a guy screaming at you down the phone that he has another 800 cows to milk and the platform won't turn!
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 869 Likes: 4
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Similar in Auckland, Mike.
A few new 11 kV regulators have been installed on long spur lines to keep the voltage within limits.
Also some 11 kV lines have been upgraded to 22 kV, with new insulators and transformers. At halfwaypoint a 22 / 11 kV transformer will feed the rest of the line, so not all equpment had to be replaced and reduce some costs.
CBD Auckland used to run on 6.6 kV. Has been upgraded to 22 kV now.
Also the new 22 kV switchgear is not much bigger at all, or the same in size as 11 kV gear.
Cheers, Raymond
The product of rotation, excitation and flux produces electricty.
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,498
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Harmonisation is a joke anyway. What about all the different plugs and sockets ? Not only the plugs are different, but there are at least 5 different and completely incompatible mounting box standards in Europe alone! Legrand sells 3 different kinds of boxes for the similar looking French, Belgian and German sockets! Italy uses rectangular boxes, Switzerland too but a different size, UK and IE use square... go figure.
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 4
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Hm, I am from austria.
We switched from 220V to 230V a few years ago.
And my voltmeter says: 237-247 in the last days-
242V at the moment.
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Posts: 812
Joined: April 2004
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