Voltage fluctuations can be an occurrence in India. They can harm electrical appliances and sometimes even leave them in an irreparable condition. That’s where voltage stabilizers come in. They can protect your valuable electrical devices from voltage fluctuations and act as a safety mechanism to significantly increase the life span of your devices. No one wants to lose their expensive refrigerators, TVs or even laptops to a voltage spike, at a time when we pay good money for the products we use. We discuss the importance of voltage stabilizers, how they work and why you should own one.
What is a voltage stabilizer?
A voltage stabilizer is an electrical device that delivers constant voltage to electrical appliances and electronics. Voltage stabilizers can recognize voltage fluctuations and regulate them to consistent voltage output. Extended periods of over-voltage often cause insulation damages while reducing the overall life of appliances. Even long-term under-voltage has adverse effects as they can overheat electrical appliances and hamper performance.
How do they work?
Voltage stabilizers consist of three main components – a circuit board, in-built transformer and high-power electromagnetic relays. The circuit board controls the stabilizer’s in-built transformer and regulates the voltage with the help of high-power electromagnetic relays. This process is known as boost and buck operations. When a voltage stabilizer detects low voltage output, it uses boost operations to increase voltage output to the rated level while buck operation reduces the voltage levels during overvoltage conditions.
Voltage stabilizers are designed depending on the appliance for which they are going to be used. They are classified on the basis of the energy limit and the features of a particular appliance. Most low-VA rated stabilizers can be used for appliances such as TVs, home theatre systems, and computers. For heavy-duty appliances such as air conditioners, washing machines, oven and treadmill, you often need high-VA rated stabilizers.
How to choose the right stabilizer?
One of the important factors while choosing the right stabilizer is to look at the wattage requirement of the appliance. This is generally noted on the specification sticker near the power socket, or you can also refer to the device’s user manual. Keep a 20 to 25 per cent safety margin so you can use additional devices in the future. You should also consider the surge current which flows when you switch on the device.
For example, if an electrical appliance such as an air conditioner requires 1kVa or 1000 VA of power, keep a safety margin of 20 per cent which will be 200W or 200 VA. Add this to the device’s actual power requirement, which will give you a total of 1,200 kVA. This means, a 1.2 kVA or 1200 VA stabilizer is suitable for the appliance. Low-power consuming appliances such as televisions, home theatre systems usually require 200 VA to 400 VA rated stabilizers.
Other features while choosing a voltage stabilizer
Overload protection
Most modern-day voltage stabilizers come with an overload protection feature that can detect short circuits. It completely turns off the stabilizer’s electrical supply to keep the connected devices safe from damage.
Digitised stabilizers
Voltage stabilizers with digitised feature offer more flexibility and make the function of stabilizers more accurate. The feature lets the stabilizer adapt itself to a variety of devices, which means you only have to shift the stabilizer from one device to another to get it to work.
Time Delay System
This feature is useful if your area often faces short duration power cuts. It creates a delay in power supply so that the air conditioner’s or refrigerator’s inbuilt compressor gets sufficient time to balance the current flow.
Indicators
Most voltage stabilizers come with indicators to show power and voltage status. Newer models are also equipped with LED displays that show real-time input and output voltage level, thus providing more information to users.
Mounting
Look for voltage stabilizers with wall mounting brackets, as they reduce the risk of the stabilizer getting wet or damaged when placed on the ground or anywhere unsafe. It is also highly recommended to place stabilizers high from the ground, and out of reach from children.
These are most of the things need to know before you buy a voltage stabilizer. These small devices can prove very useful in safeguarding your electrical devices from voltage fluctuation. If you are looking for the best voltage stabilizers in the country at one place, that’s Reliance Digital store. Feel free to visit your nearest store and you can also explore stabilizers online by visiting www.reliancedigital.in.
