Power Conditioners
Power Conditioners provide power protection when the mains power is present but polluted. EcoPowerSupplies has several types of power conditioner including:
| Type | Power Problem Solved |
|---|---|
| CVT – Constant Voltage Transformer | Spikes, Electrical Noise, Sags, Surges, Brownouts |
| Low Impedance Transformer | Spikes, Electrical Noise (Common and Series mode) |
| Medical Isolation Transformer | to meet the requirements of BS EN 60601-1 |
Transformer-based power conditioners from EcoPowerSupplies provide Galvanic isolation. This is a complete separation of the load from the incoming electrical supply which results in high-grade output supply.
For larger power conditioning applications an electro-mechanical voltage stabiliser is recommended.
The Power Quality experts at EcoPowerSupplies can help you select the right power conditioner for your application and solve your power problems. Please contact the Eco Power Projects team for advice or to arrange a site survey or quotation on 0800 612 7388, email us or complete our enquiry form.
Ferro-resonant Transformer CVT Design and Operation
Constant Voltage Transformers (CVTs) are extremely robust. Their standard input voltage window is +/-15% and within this range the CVT will automatically output a regulated supply to within +/-3% of the nominal set output. When presented with a local transient lighting surge, the CVT will protect both itself and any connected loads by presenting a low impedance to the mains supply.
Spike and Electrical Noise Power Protection
Spikes and electrical noise (Common and Series mode) are neutralised and attenuated even up to 75dB. The Galvanic Isolation – separation of the input and output transformer windings (primary and secondary) ensures there is no physical connection between the connected loads and the mains power supply and therefore provides a physical barrier which is two way. Galvanic isolation can also therefore prevent an electrically ‘noisy’ load from polluting the local mains supply and affecting upstream connected systems.
Surge, Brownout and Sag Ride Through
A CVT can automatically correct for changes in the mains power supply of up to 50% of nominal. The ferro-resonant nature of a CVT transformer means that it has inherent capacitance and the ability to fill in millisecond breaks in electrical voltage. As long as at least 30% of the nominal supply voltage is present a correctly sized and specified CVT can provide adequate power to critical loads.
Automatic Sinewave Generation
The ferroresonant transformer in a CVT will generate a perfect sinewave when supplied with a polluted or non-sinusoidal input such as a square-wave or step-wave supply.
Short-circuit Proof Performance
Output overloads cause a ferro-resonant transformer to current limit and protect itself. The output automatically voltage drops and removal of the short-circuit returns the CVT to normal operation without any need for a manual reset.
Life Extending Performance For SMPS
Switch Mode Power Supplies (SMPS) are the engine of almost all IT hardware systems. When powered from a ferro-resonant transformer, CVTs provide waveform should-lifting, harmonic buffering and improved reservoir capacitor hold-up performance to tackle micro-power cuts and millisecond breaks in electrical supply – a frequent grid switching problem.
Ferro-resonant Uninterruptible Power Supplies
In the 1980s and early 1990s CVTs were used at the heart of a ferro-resonant UPS system. Two predominant brands and types included the Galatrek MicroBak UPS manufactured by Galatrek International and FerrUPS and Micro-FerrUPS manufactured by Best Power Technology. Some of these uninterruptible power supplies are still in operation today. EcoPowerSupplies.com can provide service support and battery replacement services for ferro-resonant uninterruptible power supplies.
Ferro-resonant UPS typically included sizes from 500VA to 20kVA. Whilst their design made them extremely robust the CVT technology could only extended typically up to 20kVA single phase due to its size and weight.
Today CVTs can be used to provide a similar robustness at the front-end of a line interactive or on-line transformerless UPS system. The CVT is used to protect the UPS and absorb or neutralise any damaging sags, surges, brownouts, spikes and electrical noise. An alternative arrangement would be an electronic automatic voltage stabiliser or electro-mechanical voltage stabiliser.
