On 6/15/2012 6:49 PM, Glen Zook wrote:
> Having spent 10-years with TXU, the electric company for almost half the
> State of Texas:
For many years I was an instrument tech and did instrument calibration.
I even worked in round robin tests traceable to the bureau of standards
and helped develop some calibration standards. I still worked for that
company when we moved here nearly 28 years ago. Our nominal line
voltage (at this location) has always been 117 volts. The highest I've
seen it was 120 just a few times and I think the lowest was maybe 116
except during a couple of storms where we had "brown outs".
In the old days (through the 60s and 70s) out on the farm which was also
a bit over a mile from the substation it ran 110 give or take.
73
Roger (K8RI)
>
> The ambient line voltage for most major electric companies has been 125-volts
> +/- 2-volts for decades. Because of the additional load from
> air-conditioning during the warmer months the voltage is usually on the high
> side. Now solar generation may play a role in California. However, in most
> of the country solar generation from homeowners, etc., is so insignificant
> that it is not going to affect the line voltage.
>
> The ambient line voltage in this country has not been 110-volts for a long
> time. This voltage has been increased from 110-volts to 115-volts, then to
> 117-volts, then 120-volts, then 122-volts, and finally, today, 125-volts.
> The primary reason for increasing the voltage is that the customer pays by
> the kilowatt-hour. Modern appliances require more kilowatt-hours and the
> distribution lines (the lines supplying the power to your house) have a fixed
> resistance which drop the voltage as the current goes higher. To supply the
> higher kilowatt-hour requirements and to keep the voltage from sagging, the
> ambient line voltage has increased. It is VERY expensive to replace the
> distribution lines so the least expensive way of supplying more power is to
> increase the voltage.
>
> Collins specifications call for 115-volts or 230-volts on the 30L-1.
> However, the linear can handle a wider range of voltages than the
> specifications. Remember, the 30L-1 was used in a lot of military
> applications where the line voltage varies all over the place. If one is
> worried about the line voltage, then it is very easy to add a voltage
> "bucking" transformer to drop the input voltage.
>
> Glen, K9STH
>
>
> Website: http://k9sth.com
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Jerry Kaidor <jerry@tr2.com>
> To: amps@contesting.com
> Sent: Friday, June 15, 2012 5:38 PM
> Subject: [Amps] Lines Voltage High
>
> Hello,
>
> I've noticed that the 110V at the wall socket has crept up over the past
> several years. Nowadays it always seems to be 125V. I read somewhere
> that such high voltage is not good for the 30L-1, and I took steps to set
> the bias point properly with a diode string in the PTT line.
>
> OK, last week I had an opportunity to ask a PG&E ( the local power
> company ) guy about it. Why has the voltage come up? His answer was
> simple:
>
> ************ SOLAR *************
>
> The price of solar stuff has come down, the government is giving
> incentives, so there are more and more systems out there. Little
> generation facilities that the power company has no control over,
> pumping electrons into the grid. So it's become harder for them to
> regulate the grid voltage. Before, if it got too high, they'd just
> generate less. Easy. Now, when there's excess energy - what can they
> do? They can send it elsewhere, but what if elsewhere also has an
> excess? Gotta dump it, I guess. In a *big* dummy load somewhere.
> Wait, they can still generate less. Maybe it has more to do with
> voltage drops. Up till now, the residential grid was a pure *consumer*
> of current....
> _______________________________________________
> Amps mailing list
> Amps@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/amps
>
_______________________________________________
Amps mailing list
Amps@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/amps
|