Power protection on a STRICT budget.

[mbhangui]

Just one question, any reason for this consistent over voltage in Mumbai since it is very often between 243 to 252 V.

The reason is the country's EE standards have been lowered (compromised) to have large tolerances to suit certain private businesses to install cheaper power generation equipments. So now it is 240 +- 10 %.

Earlier it was 230 +-5%

 

[mbhangui]

Just one question, any reason for this consistent over voltage in Mumbai since it is very often between 243 to 252 V.

I have underlined the most important part in bold from our IEC standards. You can very well understand for whom the economic advantage is!!!. The most audacious part is that this sentence is there in the IEC standards document

The standard voltage ( in India ) for low and medium line distribution was 230 V for single phase and 230 / 400 V for three phase system but due to economic advantage IEC recommended 240 V for single phase and 240 / 415 V for three phase system voltage with ± 6% voltage variation.

Standard Alternating Voltage in India

The IEC decided ± 10% voltage variation allowed for 240 V for single phase and 240 / 415 V for three phase system voltage in the year 2009.

www.myelectrical2015.com

 

[Nitin K]

The reason is the country's EE standards have been lowered (compromised) to have large tolerances to suit certain private businesses to install cheaper power generation equipments. So now it is 240 +- 10 %.

Earlier it was 230 +-5%

Thank you Bhangui ji. Hence other users may have to suffer because of this poor supply standard if any of their equipments conk off. Since most of the gears are adhered to 230V in a lot of countries .

 

[mbhangui]

Thank you Bhangui ji. Hence other users may have to suffer because of this poor supply standard if any of their equipments conk off.

It is mostly TV sets that are conking off. Most connect TV sets directly to the power outlet without any stabilization or protection. Next most thing that is conking off are the laptop charges, cell phone chargers. Throughout the world the maximum voltage is 240 volts. So most equipments manufatured for the world generally have the max voltage as 240 volts.

New equipments getting imported in the country have to undergo the IS certification tests where the max voltage is 265 volts. So they will be safe. But any equipment that you have that are older than 2021 or so are unsafe. Also grey market equipment will not be having the capability to withstand the wide voltage tolerance.

 

[Nitin K]

It is mostly TV sets that are conking off. Most connect TV sets directly to the power outlet without any stabilization or protection. Next most thing that is conking off are the laptop charges, cell phone chargers. Throughout the world the maximum voltage is 240 volts. So most equipments manufatured for the world generally have the max voltage as 240 volts.

New equipments getting imported in the country have to undergo the IS certification tests where the max voltage is 265 volts. So they will be safe. But any equipment that you have that are older than 2021 or so are unsafe. Also grey market equipment will not be having the capability to withstand the wide voltage tolerance.

Thanks again for the useful info. Will surely keep this in mind since the computer and phone chargers are directly connected at present.

 

[mbhangui]

Thanks again for the useful info. Will surely keep this in mind since the computer and phone chargers are directly connected at present.

My computer SMPS was one of Adani standard earliest victim. Luckily computer SMPS are standardized. Got one corsair from Amazon and replaced it. I think this costed around Rs 2000 or so. Other things that conked off were
1. RO water purifier SMPS. Got it replaced. I must have paid around 2000 or so
2. Allo shanti fuse. Allo shanti comes with a spare fuse in a hidden receptacle.
3. Iphone charger
4. Yamaha avr SMPS. The official repair center were quoting an attrocious price. They wanted to replace the entire board. I did some troubleshooting and found the culprit. IC 254 smps ic. I think this costed me less an Rs 200 or so. Don't remember exactly. But I have made a post on hifivision somehwhere. The max voltage this IC can withstand is 265 volts which is just around the max Adani voltage of 264 volts. Plenty of AVR's use this IC family (IC 254, IC 258, etc) Marantz, Denon, etc. They all have max voltage rating of 265 volts in the spec sheets. They are highly at risk from the current voltage which allows 240 +10% = 264 volts. Using a voltage stabilizer or a UPS before avr in India is highly recommended.

Now I have done the following.
1. Two AC voltage stabilizer in the kitchen. They protect microwave oven, washing machine, dish washer and cloth dryer.
2. Two tiny voltage stabilizer in the kitchen. One for fridge and one for the RO purifier
3. One AC stabilizer in my music room for all equipments and large plasma tv. Installed one cut out like the one @Sean de Silva has
4. One APC ups in my music room for my HTPC and Raspberry PIs.
5. One AC stabilizer + APC UPS for my son's room to protect laptops, computer, LG tv and Sony Playstation
6. One vguard stabilizer for Hinsense TV and one small cheap computer UPS (chinese) for my raspberry PI and cell phone, laptop charger in master bedroom. Almost all UPS have built-in voltage regulation inside, even the cheap chinese ones.
7. One AC stabilzer in guest room. All outlets are coming from stabilizer output.

Overall I think I have spent < Rs 20000 on stabilizer plus high voltage cutout plus some electrical work that I did myself. I'm safe now and not lost a single equipment since 2020 Nov or so

 

[Nitin K]

My computer SMPS was one of Adani standard earliest victim. Luckily computer SMPS are standardized. Got one corsair from Amazon and replaced it. I think this costed around Rs 2000 or so. Other things that conked off were
1. RO water purifier SMPS. Got it replaced. I must have paid around 2000 or so
2. Allo shanti fuse. Allo shanti comes with a spare fuse in a hidden receptacle.
3. Iphone charger
4. Yamaha avr SMPS. The official repair center were quoting an attrocious price. They wanted to replace the entire board. I did some troubleshooting and found the culprit. IC 254 smps ic. I think this costed me less an Rs 200 or so. Don't remember exactly. But I have made a post on hifivision somehwhere. The max voltage this IC can withstand is 265 volts which is just around the max Adani voltage of 264 volts. Plenty of AVR's use this IC family (IC 254, IC 258, etc) Marantz, Denon, etc. They all have max voltage rating of 265 volts in the spec sheets. They are highly at risk from the current voltage which allows 240 +10% = 264 volts. Using a voltage stabilizer or a UPS before avr in India is highly recommended.

Now I have done the following.
1. Two AC voltage stabilizer in the kitchen. They protect microwave oven, washing machine, dish washer and cloth dryer.
2. Two tiny voltage stabilizer in the kitchen. One for fridge and one for the RO purifier
3. One AC stabilizer in my music room for all equipments and large plasma tv. Installed one cut out like the one @Sean de Silva has
4. One APC ups in my music room for my HTPC and Raspberry PIs.
5. One AC stabilizer + APC UPS for my son's room to protect laptops, computer, LG tv and Sony Playstation
6. One vguard stabilizer for Hinsense TV and one small cheap computer UPS (chinese) for my raspberry PI and cell phone, laptop charger in master bedroom. Almost all UPS have built-in voltage regulation inside, even the cheap chinese ones.
7. One AC stabilzer in guest room. All outlets are coming from stabilizer output.

Overall I think I have spent < Rs 20000 on stabilizer plus high voltage cutout plus some electrical work that I did myself. I'm safe now and not lost a single equipment since 2020 Nov or so

Wow ! That's a lot of repairs and expenses but the reality is seeping in.
A pity that the voltage is not standardised in a city like Mumbai/ Pune and one has to spend more for that.

 

[mbhangui]

Wow ! That's a lot of repairs and expenses but the reality is seeping in.
A pity that the voltage is not standardised in a city like Mumbai/ Pune and one has to spend more for that.

I think this is pan india. Before the covid, voltages used to hover around 230 volts. I was in Chennai before 2012. Even there it used to be 230 volts. When it became 240 +- 10%, I don't know. But definitely during the covid period when I saw equipments suddenly going bad in my society during the covid. Initially I thought this was because of low electricity demands because many industries weren't operating at peak. Later I came across a blog post by an electrical engineer protesting what was being done in the power sector. That's how I came to know about the IEC standards.

 

[vishalrao]

I have installed a protector device at my power meter side... an ACCUREX DX9050 model device that is supposed to cut off for 2 minutes during over/under voltage (and I don't remember about current/amps though)... is that a decent device? It doesn't suppress voltage fluctuations of course, just the advertised cutoffs.

I have a Luminous Eco Volt Neo 2300+ model inverter (2000VA) with two 200Ah batteries that provide backup to whole home.

No other protection for my OLEDs and Denon AVR, Polk HTS12 sub, floorstanders etc.

So far so good, fingers crossed, touchwood!

 

[jonassmariaa]

Hi,
I think you should protect your Yamaha HTR-2071 AV Receiver on a budget of Rs. 5000, you could consider getting a basic voltage stabilizer or a small capacity UPS specifically for the receiver. A voltage stabilizer will help manage the voltage fluctuations and ensure a steady supply to the receiver, which is crucial given the power cuts and generator switch-over time. Additionally, a small UPS can provide backup power during short outages, ensuring your receiver is protected. Brands like V-Guard offer reliable stabilizers and UPS systems within your budget. This approach should help safeguard your AV receiver without exceeding your budget.

Thanks