How dim is this?
Discussion
On the local news this morning, the power supply to Thatcham in Berks is being reduced from 240VAC to 220VAC, in an effort to save on power consumption. It's not April 1st so I assume that they think this will actually work. However ...
- any thermostatically controlled device will just stay on for longer to compensate for the lower power. So heaters, irons etc. will end up using the same average power as before.
- kettles will take longer to heat up, so again the total energy consumed will be the same
- any electronic device such as a PC, TV or radio has a regulated power supply which, again, will mean the same power consumption as before.
- light bulbs will be a bit dimmer, and this (together with the fact that these silly low-power bulbs are also dimmer than they're supposed to be) will just result in people buying higher-wattage bulbs.
So the end result will be that power usage in the home will be almost exactly the same as it was before. But with the power the same, and the voltage lower, the average current flowing down the power lines will be higher. So the losses in the wires will be higher. It's entirely possible that the end result will be MORE power consumed not less.
And these people get paid to come up with these daft ideas ...
- any thermostatically controlled device will just stay on for longer to compensate for the lower power. So heaters, irons etc. will end up using the same average power as before.
- kettles will take longer to heat up, so again the total energy consumed will be the same
- any electronic device such as a PC, TV or radio has a regulated power supply which, again, will mean the same power consumption as before.
- light bulbs will be a bit dimmer, and this (together with the fact that these silly low-power bulbs are also dimmer than they're supposed to be) will just result in people buying higher-wattage bulbs.
So the end result will be that power usage in the home will be almost exactly the same as it was before. But with the power the same, and the voltage lower, the average current flowing down the power lines will be higher. So the losses in the wires will be higher. It's entirely possible that the end result will be MORE power consumed not less.
And these people get paid to come up with these daft ideas ...
Wikipedia said:
Following voltage harmonization all electricity supplied within the European Union is now nominally 230 V ± 10% at 50 Hz [1]. For a transition period (1995–2008), countries that had previously used 220 V changed to a narrower asymmetric tolerance range of 230 V +6% −10% and those (like the UK) that had previously used 240 V changed to 230 V +10% −6%[2]. Note that no change in voltage is required by either system as both 220 V and 240 V fall within the lower 230 V tolerance bands (230 V ±6%). In practice this means that countries such as the UK that previously supplied 240 V continue to do so, and those that previously supplied 220 V continue to do so. However equipment should be designed to accept any voltages within the specified range.
My bold.Edited by moosepig on Friday 27th November 13:54
moosepig said:
Wikipedia said:
Following voltage harmonization all electricity supplied within the European Union is now nominally 230 V ± 10% at 50 Hz [1]. For a transition period (1995–2008), countries that had previously used 220 V changed to a narrower asymmetric tolerance range of 230 V +6% −10% and those (like the UK) that had previously used 240 V changed to 230 V +10% −6%[2]. Note that no change in voltage is required by either system as both 220 V and 240 V fall within the lower 230 V tolerance bands (230 V ±6%). In practice this means that countries such as the UK that previously supplied 240 V continue to do so, and those that previously supplied 220 V continue to do so. However equipment should be designed to accept any voltages within the specified range.
My bold.elster said:
Morningside said:
At home Ive seen as low as 190!. It think the only thing that has to remain stable by law is the frequency? (or is that BS).
Nope that is BS. The voltage needs to be within a tolerance. Or you have a problem.
t end of the supply then. Living in a Town I have never seen such voltage spikes or brownouts. My UPS is a must not a luxury.
daveake said:
On the local news this morning, the power supply to Thatcham in Berks is being reduced from 240VAC to 220VAC, in an effort to save on power consumption. It's not April 1st so I assume that they think this will actually work. However ...
- any thermostatically controlled device will just stay on for longer to compensate for the lower power. So heaters, irons etc. will end up using the same average power as before.
- kettles will take longer to heat up, so again the total energy consumed will be the same
- any electronic device such as a PC, TV or radio has a regulated power supply which, again, will mean the same power consumption as before.
- light bulbs will be a bit dimmer, and this (together with the fact that these silly low-power bulbs are also dimmer than they're supposed to be) will just result in people buying higher-wattage bulbs.
So the end result will be that power usage in the home will be almost exactly the same as it was before. But with the power the same, and the voltage lower, the average current flowing down the power lines will be higher. So the losses in the wires will be higher. It's entirely possible that the end result will be MORE power consumed not less.
And these people get paid to come up with these daft ideas ...
You're so wrong it's ridiculous. - any thermostatically controlled device will just stay on for longer to compensate for the lower power. So heaters, irons etc. will end up using the same average power as before.
- kettles will take longer to heat up, so again the total energy consumed will be the same
- any electronic device such as a PC, TV or radio has a regulated power supply which, again, will mean the same power consumption as before.
- light bulbs will be a bit dimmer, and this (together with the fact that these silly low-power bulbs are also dimmer than they're supposed to be) will just result in people buying higher-wattage bulbs.
So the end result will be that power usage in the home will be almost exactly the same as it was before. But with the power the same, and the voltage lower, the average current flowing down the power lines will be higher. So the losses in the wires will be higher. It's entirely possible that the end result will be MORE power consumed not less.
And these people get paid to come up with these daft ideas ...
Read this: http://www.powerperfector.com/general/ohms%20law.p...
stefd said:
daveake said:
On the local news this morning, the power supply to Thatcham in Berks is being reduced from 240VAC to 220VAC, in an effort to save on power consumption. It's not April 1st so I assume that they think this will actually work. However ...
- any thermostatically controlled device will just stay on for longer to compensate for the lower power. So heaters, irons etc. will end up using the same average power as before.
- kettles will take longer to heat up, so again the total energy consumed will be the same
- any electronic device such as a PC, TV or radio has a regulated power supply which, again, will mean the same power consumption as before.
- light bulbs will be a bit dimmer, and this (together with the fact that these silly low-power bulbs are also dimmer than they're supposed to be) will just result in people buying higher-wattage bulbs.
So the end result will be that power usage in the home will be almost exactly the same as it was before. But with the power the same, and the voltage lower, the average current flowing down the power lines will be higher. So the losses in the wires will be higher. It's entirely possible that the end result will be MORE power consumed not less.
And these people get paid to come up with these daft ideas ...
You're so wrong it's ridiculous. - any thermostatically controlled device will just stay on for longer to compensate for the lower power. So heaters, irons etc. will end up using the same average power as before.
- kettles will take longer to heat up, so again the total energy consumed will be the same
- any electronic device such as a PC, TV or radio has a regulated power supply which, again, will mean the same power consumption as before.
- light bulbs will be a bit dimmer, and this (together with the fact that these silly low-power bulbs are also dimmer than they're supposed to be) will just result in people buying higher-wattage bulbs.
So the end result will be that power usage in the home will be almost exactly the same as it was before. But with the power the same, and the voltage lower, the average current flowing down the power lines will be higher. So the losses in the wires will be higher. It's entirely possible that the end result will be MORE power consumed not less.
And these people get paid to come up with these daft ideas ...
Read this: http://www.powerperfector.com/general/ohms%20law.p...
Boiling a kettle, for example, takes a set mount of power (for a given volume and starting temperature of water...). If the voltage is lower, then it will take longer. The same goes for other appliances that are performing a function with a fixed target - washing machine/dish washer heating the water, immersion heater heating the water, etc. So overall, current is being drawn for longer, and thus the average current flow in the local mains voltage part of the grid will be higher because more devices will be active at the same time.
Purely resistive loads that are "just on" (eg. an incandescent lamp) will show a power reduction though.
Not sure about the product referred to in the link you posted. There is a technique for saving power by reducing the voltage supplied to a motor once it's up and running and/or at less than peak load. You can't do this simply by plugging an appliance with a motor (eg a fridge) into a box that just reduces the voltage a bit though.
There is a well known scam selling power factor correction devices that show a power saving when plugged into those plug in power meters (the ones that only measure current flow...), but do diddly squat in a domestic environment where there is no cost benefit to having your voltage and current in phase - your electricity meter measures true power usage and cares not for your power factor...
Read this: http://energystar.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/energystar....
and this: http://www.eng-tips.com/faqs.cfm?fid=971
and this: http://www.leonardo-energy.org/energy-saving-volta...
(quickly googled-for links - seemed about right with a quick skim read. DYOR...)
HTH,
Jim
stefd said:
daveake said:
On the local news this morning, the power supply to Thatcham in Berks is being reduced from 240VAC to 220VAC, in an effort to save on power consumption. It's not April 1st so I assume that they think this will actually work. However ...
- any thermostatically controlled device will just stay on for longer to compensate for the lower power. So heaters, irons etc. will end up using the same average power as before.
- kettles will take longer to heat up, so again the total energy consumed will be the same
- any electronic device such as a PC, TV or radio has a regulated power supply which, again, will mean the same power consumption as before.
- light bulbs will be a bit dimmer, and this (together with the fact that these silly low-power bulbs are also dimmer than they're supposed to be) will just result in people buying higher-wattage bulbs.
So the end result will be that power usage in the home will be almost exactly the same as it was before. But with the power the same, and the voltage lower, the average current flowing down the power lines will be higher. So the losses in the wires will be higher. It's entirely possible that the end result will be MORE power consumed not less.
And these people get paid to come up with these daft ideas ...
You're so wrong it's ridiculous. - any thermostatically controlled device will just stay on for longer to compensate for the lower power. So heaters, irons etc. will end up using the same average power as before.
- kettles will take longer to heat up, so again the total energy consumed will be the same
- any electronic device such as a PC, TV or radio has a regulated power supply which, again, will mean the same power consumption as before.
- light bulbs will be a bit dimmer, and this (together with the fact that these silly low-power bulbs are also dimmer than they're supposed to be) will just result in people buying higher-wattage bulbs.
So the end result will be that power usage in the home will be almost exactly the same as it was before. But with the power the same, and the voltage lower, the average current flowing down the power lines will be higher. So the losses in the wires will be higher. It's entirely possible that the end result will be MORE power consumed not less.
And these people get paid to come up with these daft ideas ...
Read this: http://www.powerperfector.com/general/ohms%20law.p...
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