Voltage Optimisation FAQ
What about thermostatically controlled heating appliances that are plugged into ring circuits such as a dishwasher. Should these circuits be left out?
We recommend that all ring circuits in typical residential properties are supplied via VPhase. There may be some appliances connected that will not save energy however the majority of appliances in the home will consume less power.
In addition to heating loads there are often other loads in the appliances such as pumps and fans. Appliances like dishwashers and washing machines have shown energy savings when supplied by VPhase.
Can an electric cooker be supplied by VPhase?
Appliances that will not save energy are electrical heating devices that operate to a thermostatically controlled level, these appliances continue to consume the same amount of energy when voltage is reduced. Therefore dedicated heating circuits such as cookers, electric showers, storage heaters and immersion heaters are not connected to the VPhase output.
Small closed loop heating appliances that plug into ring circuits can be supplied via VPhase but no energy savings will be made.
What is the power consumed by the VPhase device?
VPhase only converts and transforms the “anti-phase” component of voltage and not the complete supply to the house. Therefore VPhase losses as a percentage of the whole house load are very small, approximately equivalent to the energy used by a low powered child’s night light. The level of power consumed by VPhase is typically only a fraction of the energy saving potential.
Is there any galvanic isolation between input and output? Are the earths linked across both terminals?
There is no galvanic isolation. The Neutral terminals are linked. There is only one earth terminal which accommodates the earth conductor for both the input and output cable.
Is there any mitigation of generated harmonics or any consequence to larger neutral currents due to electronic power supplies? Does the VPhase offer transient and surge protection?
There is no mitigation to power supply issues within the VPhase unit . The output voltage is regulated to the set voltage however the VPhase unit offers no compensation for fast transients and does not offer surge protection.
What is the power rating of the VPhase device?
The VPhase VX1 is designed to be suitable for typical domestic residential properties.
The VPhase VX1 is thermally controlled. During periods of high continuous load the VX1 will switch into bypass mode and voltage regulation will cease. Voltage regulation will restart automatically when the load current reduces.
How does the unit go into bypass?
Under normal operating conditions the VPhase ramps out the anti-phase component of voltage before closing the bypass contactor. Similarly the anti-phase component of voltage is set to a minimum before opening the bypass contactor following a bypass event.
For what durations could the unit operate in Bypass? Will the energy savings be lost during these periods?
The unit can operate in bypass mode indefinitely. There is no limit to the duration the unit can operate in bypassmode. When in bypass mode there will be no energy savings.
The length of time the unit can operate beyond its continuous rating before entering bypass is dependent upon several factors:
- Ambient conditions
- Previous loads
- Actual load current
Typically the unit can run for several hours at 10A but only 10 minutes or so at 16A. For the majority of homes weanticipate that the unit will only rarely enter bypass mode.
