Somewhat high voltage (problem?)

[bankruatsteve]

So, where I am in my village, the voltage is running about 237V. I could speculate that the PEA is compensating for the longer runs outside the village, but I don't know. That has been the case for a long time and my stuff doesn't seem to be affected by it. It does spike up to well over 300V but almost always after a power out and then I wait for it to come down before disconnecting my genset. I watch for that b/c I had a refrigerator crap out from high voltage a few years ago.

Here's the questions: would an AVR be the thing to install for this situation? Would it save anything on the electric bill?

I wouldn't expect an ROI, but wondering if the sustained higher than nominal voltage is going to eventually have affect on things?

[Crossy]

220V +10% is 242V so 237V wouldn't be an issue, over 300V, if sustained, may be.

An AVR would correct for the overvoltage and fix any issues that may be associated with it but likely wouldn't save a measurable amount on your power bill.

But of course it would likely reduce the run time of your genset and the fuel it consumes.

Right now we're pulling a measly 20A and our supply is down to 205V

[bankruatsteve]

Please explain more on how it could reduce genset time? I don't have automatic switch-over.

In any case, in your opinion, an AVR probably wouldn't be a sensible option for me?

[T_Dog]

How long are you seeing 300 volts last after a power outage? That would be a concern I would bring up with the utility company. Our supply was always 242 volts at night with minimal load and none of our stuff had any problems. We did occasionally suffer from regional faults that put the line voltage to 160 volts which had us unplugging the refrigerator and water pump. Most electronic equipment we have use switching power supplies rated from 100-250 volts AC so you can check those ratings yourself. I wouldn't worry about the 237 volts at all but that 300 volts is worrisome. In other words, find the reason for the 300 volts before going the AVR route and don't sweat the 237 volt measurements.

[bankruatsteve]

Thanks. When it was 350+ volts for several hours (about 3 years ago), my TV and audio turned themselves off. Except for the fan going wild, I didn't grasp the problem until I measured. Anyway... I now know that is a somewhat common occurrence after a power out - so I measure it. I suspect it is from 3-phase not fully implemented. The other problem is low voltage (70v) at times during the night when the F-lights will still work in the village so nobody calls the PEA. Then, a call from wifey will usually get things back to "normal" within an hour. So, just saying, the "problem" is not with the PEA as I think they are doing best they can.

[Crossy]

Get an AVR Steve. Either a whole house unit or smaller one just for delicate kit.

Make sure the unit can manage overvoltage (most can but it's worth asking) as they are usually deployed to fix the opposite problem.

My comment on the genset time was simply that, any time that the supply is so high that you would switch over to the genset (to prevent equipment damage) an AVR would allow you to continue using mains power.