Posted on 07/07/2012 1:12:52 PM PDT by Windflier
Not very likely, Europe runs 230 Vac 3 phase @50Hz, some parts of South America are 40Hz. Problems start with noticeable flickering of fluorescent lights and electric motors running hot.
It's very east to determine if your electric utility is fudging on frequency, check your electric clock against a known time reading (cable decoder box, the Weather channel, &c.). If they are running 40Hz your electric clock will lose 20 minutes per hour, since mechanical clocks use synchronous motors which maintain an rpm slaved to the cyclic rate of the line voltage and electronic (digital) clocks actually count the 'zero' crossings of the line voltage and divide that down to get a one second tick to drive a counter.
If I recall correctly the power delivered by a utility is rather loosely specified in terms of voltage because voltage is not directly under their control. Voltage varies with the load (current), as load goes up voltage tends to sag. Transmission losses occur because of electrical resistance in the distribution system, the further away from the generating station the greater the drop.
Frequency on the other hand is specified by the National Bureau of Standards as 60 cycles per second with any deviation to be corrected so as the total cycle count for a 24 hour period is within +/- 1 cycle of 5,184,000. So if for some reason a utility allows it's generators to run slower then 3600 rpm for part of a day, they are required to make up the 'lost' cycles before the next day. For the power distribution grid to work with multiple generating plants all connected together it is necessary that they maintain synchronization of generator speed.
It may seem strange but if you watch an electric clock with a sweep second hand as midnight approaches you might see it speed up a bit just before the last minute of the day passes. It doesn't happen very often but then nobody's perfect.
Regards,
GtG
How do they differentiate pets from people. What if you had a boy and girl dog with the bitch in heat? This is really getting to me. I'm going to rip out all my copper.
Greetings:
Just to clear up a few details, through variable frequency drive (vfd) technology, 60Hz motors run at a slower rpm during lower load demands. Varying the Hz signal to the motor for a slower rpm saves energy.
With electric grids, all of the intertied generating apparatus must have switchgear protection devices: over/under voltage, overcurrent, and timing relays. Every generator matches and maintains grid voltage and frequency; otherwise a generator will not join, or must drop from the grid.
The grid target voltage is determined by ICC rules, generally (4160) 118.9 VAC household. As loads add and drop from grid, voltage varies. Utilities attempt to keep grid votlage between (3700) 105.7 and (4600) 131.4 VAC. Undervoltage relays generally trip switchgear at (3500) 100 VAC; overvoltage at (4900) 140 VAC.
Whenever large sections of grid drop during failures, restarting the grid is a major issue. Voltage must reach peak just below the overvoltage protection device trip point limit before closing switchgear for additional grid sections, yet not drop below the undervoltage/overcurrent protection trip point before the intertied generators sense signal droop and react. Historic load demand profiles are used when restoring grid sections, which helps explain why different sections of grid return in a different order.
There’s a difference between the various “smart” and “remote” meter technologies. Some remote report via piggyback Hz signal down the 60 Hz utility buss to the utility, providing billing demand feedback and help utilities determine service interuptions. The “smart” ones are only limited by available applied technology and our immaginations.
Given the abuses of power by busybody government agencies, I would personally refuse smart meter service. As creatures of habit, just imagine what Google might do with that data too.
Utilities always make more money from the connected utility service than from metered electric consumption. Should a crony-utility threaten to disconnect your service, tell utility of your plan to install two internal combustion generators at home with waste heat recovery system for much improved reliability and free heat/cooling; and they must remove all the utility wires/poles from your property should they disconnect your service. Or you’ll remove it and sell for scrap. Believe me, the utility wants you as a customer, writing their steady monthly paycheck.
Cheers,
OLA
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