What does it mean to say that a voltage regulator is "high performance?" Here are ten key advantages.
Response Time
Our voltage regulators control sags, swells, and transients faster than any other, with a response time of less than one millisecond. You remain voltage compliant, your power quality is higher, you conserve more energy, and you enjoy a 66% reduction in flicker (both Pst and Plt).
Efficiency
Conserving energy means not wasting it heating up a voltage regulator. Due in part to our unique AC to AC converter our regulators transmit, on average, well over 99% of the power they receive. The no load power draw of a regulator is typically 38-40 watts.
Bidirectional Power Flow
The rapid rise of distributed generation makes it important to be able to regulate voltage with power flowing either way between the utility and the customer, and at the same time correct for both overvoltage and undervoltage. In addition to simply holding a static set point in the presence of bi-directional power flow, the operator can also elect to use our bi-directional line drop compensation feature which we call Power Interactive Regulation or PIR. PIR actively changes the set point in proportion to the current flowing thru the regulator as well as the direction of the power flow, in order to further compensate for voltage drop or rise between the regulator and the load.
Simple to Apply, Plays Well with Others
A side effect of VAR control is that it changes the circuit voltage. This was a fortuitous side effect; and consequently, VAR control has been one of the primary methods used to manage voltage since the beginning of the utility industry. Using VAR control to manage voltage is however not its primary use. It certainly has its place in the emerging smart grid, i.e. managing power factor, however in the age of power electronics it is not the best solution to managing voltage. It produces variable results, its prone to resonance, it is inefficient, and it requires significant circuit analysis and/or complex controls to maintain system voltage stability.
Series voltage regulation efficiently produces consistent, stable results. The results do not depend on the x/r ratio of the circuit, or the reactance of the load. Series regulation is more efficient than shunt regulators (VAR control). Up to 10 times more efficient dependent on the circuit reactance. There are circuits that VAR control simply will not adequately control the voltage on.
Series voltage regulation works autonomously, consistently, and reliably on all circuits under all conditions. It is simple to apply wherever you have voltage compliance issues for whatever reason. Insertion of our regulators has virtually zero effect on THD, power factor, impedance, phase angle, and ripple load control signals (AFLC) on you LV network. The stable output voltage does not perturb capacitance in the circuit.
Size & Weight
Our voltage regulators are less than half the volume and weight of competing devices from comparable competitors. This not only means they are less expensive but you can put them where you will often want them, up on the pole, not down on a pad. Our technology advances now resolves the sensitivity issues once associated with torroidal transformers, and takes advantage of their higher efficiency and lighter weight compared to the C-Core transformers used by others.
Balanced Three-Phase Voltage
Voltage unbalance between phases wears out motors and wastes energy. Our regulators let utilities and their customers resolve unbalance regardless of cause. Our three-phase regulators assure that the output voltages are perfectly balanced.
Data Collection
Our regulators store time stamped data about Line In and Line Out voltage, Load current, and temperature in high resolution half second interval files for 48 hours, and 1 minute average data including the half second Min/Max data for each 1 minute interval up to one year. The data is available at the regulator for download via Bluetooth or WAN if required.
Security
Voltage regulators don't all need to be wirelessly connected to the Internet at this point in the evolution of the smart grid. Since every device on a network incrementally increases the risk of intrusion, our voltage regulators can be set up to operate with or without wireless access now, and connected now or later, at your choice, on a device-by-device basis. Our default communication system uses encrypted and authenticated Bluetooth on each device, not networked. You can change settings while parked under the pole. If you'd rather have units with WAN access built in, we're happy to integrate it into your system, but don't get it until you need it for safety's sake.
Durability
We build rugged voltage regulators with nothing else in the box to go wrong: no inverters, no capacitors, no VAR capacity. We've had them running in the Australian outback for a decade with zero attention and reliable performance. Our customers say they "set em and forget them". They are tough as nails.
Value
Because our devices use lighter, more efficient transformers and control circuits, and only do one thing well, voltage regulation, they cost less to build than competing products, and are priced accordingly. For a given budget, you can get more of them--we estimate 75% more, on average. We believe you'll achieve greater benefits from a larger number of our voltage regulators than from a smaller number of "does everything" boxes, with greater efficiency and less maintenance.