The best voltage regulators for gas boilers
Power surges are not uncommon in the private sector. Their high value can disable the electronics of the gas boiler, and low values contribute to the shutdown of equipment and stop the heating. Rating voltage regulators for gas boilers, made with the characteristics of devices and user reviews will help you choose a model that provides trouble-free operation of heating equipment.
This product selection has been made on the basis of reviews, opinions and ratings by users, available on various Internet resources. All information is taken from public sources. We do not cooperate with manufacturers and brands and do not recommend to buy this or that product. This article is for information purposes only.
What is a voltage regulator and why do you need one?
Most modern gas boilers are stuffed with electronics and automation is very sensitive to supply voltage. For stable and trouble-free operation, the input of the heater must have a voltage of 220V with a perfect sinusoidal.
Picture 1: The mains stabilizer “Energy” for household boilers for gas
Unfortunately Russian power grids are mostly of very low quality due to outdated equipment and violations of installation. Voltage in them is often less than the supposed 220V and its shape is far from ideal. Power surges are also not uncommon. They can be caused by a sudden thunderstorm front, you or your neighbors plugging in powerful appliances such as drills, welders, refrigerators or electric heaters.
According to statistics of services for repair of gas boilers, 25% of breakdowns are due to improper quality of the supply voltage. All these cases are not under warranty and the owner has to pay for expensive repair at his own expense.
Photo 2: Scheme of connecting the gas boiler “Bosch” to the network through the stabilizer “Teplokom
Connecting a gas boiler through a voltage stabilizer solves all these problems. At the converter input, a low-quality voltage from the power grid is fed, which it converts into 220 V with a perfect sinusoidal wave, which subsequently powers the electronics of the heater.
In addition to gas boilers in the protection of sensitive electronics from low-quality voltage also need and modern models on solid fuel such as, for example, wood boilers for long combustion “Viessmann” Vitoligno. It is better to connect them to the network through the stabilizer.
Popular brands and brands of voltage stabilizers
The market offers a wide variety of brands and models, manufactured by both Western manufacturers and domestic companies, which have long established production and often offer good options in terms of price/quality ratio. Popular brands on the market are Luxeon, Logic Power, Resanta, Energy, Progress, Ruself, Lider, Sven.
How to choose a voltage regulator for a gas boiler: a review of the best models 2021 and connection
Before you choose a voltage stabilizer for the gas boiler, you need to decide what kind of stabilizer is suitable for your particular operating conditions of the device. After all, they come in both mechanical and electronic. And each one will find its own application, depending on the situation.
Stabilizer for the gas boiler allows the owner to protect against such financial costs by providing stable voltage parameters in the power grid.
The gas boiler consists of many separate parts, which are placed in a large housing. Modern device is designed not only for heating, but also to ensure safety during operation. For this purpose, electronic units and various microprocessors are installed in boilers.
In order for the equipment to work smoothly and safely, all the blocks of the circuit electronics must work in the right mode and not shut down due to unstable operation of the network. In order to avoid early breakdowns, I advise you to install voltage regulators for boilers. To understand whether you need a voltage stabilizer, you need to get acquainted with its capabilities. Boilers use power supply of 220-230V with a small margin of error of 10-15%. If the power decreases by 20 V, the boiler will be able to operate without changes. But with a greater drop in voltage, the equipment will not be able to function fully and will shut down. Such problems often occur in remote areas away from big cities, where laid weak power lines. Boilers there can function unstable, periodically shutting down. This will lead to the fact that one day the device will burn out.
To eliminate the possibility of such troubles, you need to put a voltage regulator for the boiler heating. So you can increase the time of its work.
Calculator for calculating the power of a voltage regulator for gas boilers
Many modern models of gas boilers are equipped with a fairly complex electronic control system. It provides maintenance of a pre-set operating mode of the system, controls circulation pumps, fans of air intake into combustion chamber, gives a command for operation of various solenoid valves or cocks, sometimes it keeps in memory necessary settings and even analyzes external data to develop the most optimal algorithm of the heating system as a whole.
Calculation calculator of voltage regulator capacity for gas boiler
Of course, it’s all convenient, but if the power supply is not enough voltage stability, then the control system can start to malfunction, or even “hang” at all. To avoid such situations, it is strongly recommended to equip such boiler equipment with a dedicated stabilizer. And correctly choose the model that is suitable for your specific conditions will help calculate the capacity of the voltage regulator for gas boilers.
Stabilizer for gas boilers
If during the calculations there are questions, then under the calculator there are necessary explanations of how to work with it.
Calculation calculator for calculating the power of a voltage regulator for a gas boiler
Some necessary explanations for the calculations
The criteria for selecting a voltage regulator are many. One of these is its power. To be precise, of course, we are talking about the volt-ampere characteristics, that is, not about the useful power (watts), but about those parameters of the output current (volt-ampere), which the device can maintain in normal operating mode. But still the input parameters for calculation, of course, will be the value of power consumption of devices connected to the regulator.
- A simple summation will give a highly inaccurate result. The fact that most devices consume not only useful but also reactive power. It is calculated by a special formula, and it should be taken into account. Our calculator takes this into account.
- Further, when transforming the voltage to the required rating, power losses are bound to occur, and they are greater the greater the deviation from the established 220 V. Therefore, before proceeding to the calculations, it is recommended to conduct a kind of “research”. organize measurement of the voltage in the network, for example, in the morning, during the day and in the evening peak hours of consumption, for several days. You should get a clear picture. and the value that differs most from the nominal, and will be the initial parameter for calculations.
- The calculator will ask for the power consumption of the boiler. IMPORTANT: do not confuse with the thermal output of the boiler equipment! The power consumption of the boiler is specified in its passport, and refers exclusively to its electrical parameters.
- If you plan to connect external (not part of the boiler configuration) circulating pumps to the stabilizer, their power consumption is also taken into account. In the calculator you only need to specify the number of pumps.
- Finally, the stabilizer is sometimes connected and other external equipment necessary for the operation of the boiler room (for example, it could be forced ventilation). In this case, you will need to specify in a special field of the calculator the total power consumption of all additional devices.
The result will be obtained in volt-amperes. It will be one of the key criteria for further selection of the required stabilizer model.
How to choose the optimal model?
Combi Boiler with Two Heating Zones, 230V Switching
In the sale there is a wide range of devices of this class, varying both in principle and performance characteristics. Do not make a mistake when choosing a voltage stabilizer for the boiler will help a special publication of our portal.
Gas or electric boiler today is one of the most popular household appliances in apartments and private homes. In order for it to work smoothly, you need a constant voltage of electricity. Almost no one is immune from its fluctuations and surges, so craftsmen and manufacturers recommend using special stabilizers. In the great variety of equipment and components, it is difficult to independently choose good-quality devices, sifting out obsolete, low-quality goods. For this purpose, experts have made a rating, where reliable manufacturers were named, the best voltage stabilizers for the boiler of single-phase and three-phase type, evaluation criteria, tips for buying.
Relay circuits
Relay circuits operate with an autotransformer or transformer with multiple taps in the primary and/or secondary winding. In this case, the relays act as switches that connect the necessary outlets of the transformer so as to ensure that at the output of the device the voltage is as close as possible to the specified.
In fact, this principle of operation resembles electromechanical devices, in which voltage stabilization is also carried out by changing the transformation ratio, but not by a moving contact, but by switching the key (contact group relay).
This got rid of the main disadvantage of electromechanical stabilizers. arcing.
In addition, such devices are characterized by other advantages:
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Reaction speed to changes in input voltage, which depends on the response time of the relay (lies in the range of 10-20 ms, which is comparable to the time of 0.5-1 period of line voltage).
- Simple and reliable control circuitry.
- Significant MTBF, depending on the relays used.
- Long service life and low cost of replacement parts.
- Low sensitivity to current overloads.
The main disadvantages of the circuit are the step voltage regulation, which reduces the accuracy of stabilization, the complexity of the winding node.
How to choose a voltage regulator for the gas boiler
The devices are divided into three types. Electromechanical appliances use a servo drive, needed to activate moving parts that walk on the winding. These variants are characterized by low speed of reaction and increased wear and tear of components. When buying such equipment, you should think about the availability of a service center in the city where you can replace the parts. Relay switch windings due to built-in relays in the body, which actuate with a certain delay when the signal changes. This option is better than the servo in terms of component reliability, but not the best in terms of accuracy of current stabilization, since it uses the step input voltage regulation. Triac models almost instantly respond to outages with high-precision stabilization, but are much more expensive.
The main selection criterion is not only the topology of the construction and type of gas equipment (dual-circuit or single-circuit), but also the power of devices-consumers.
Most gas boilers consume 100-200 W, but in the peak load, this figure can increase by 5 times, which should be considered when buying a stabilizer. Plus you’ll need a small margin (no more than 10-15 percent), since 100% efficiency never happens. Accordingly, the power calculation for the above parameters is carried out according to the formula: (200 W 5)10% of the result. The wider is the range of input voltages, the better will be the resource consumption of the device. Also do not forget about the parameters of protection against power surges, because 300-400V will literally destroy any household appliances connected to the socket. For gas boilers, it is recommended to take single-phase stabilizers with inverter technology, which significantly increases the efficiency of the system, and reduces energy consumption.
It is not necessary to choose the device relying exclusively on users’ reviews, because the service life of the leveler also depends on the electric boiler and the reliability of the electric network.
