220 volt supply problems

[shortcircuitbob]

Hi guys. I was a commissiong technician before I retired. Hardware and software industrial automation. Miss the work but not the endless travel/ airports hotels etc. Those that know, know what I mean.
I retired to Thailand 220 - 240 volt single phase 50 hertz supply here. Im used to 3 phase or 24 volt control supplies.
I need a sanity check/ advice to pass on please.
The amount of shops being supplied from the one government source exceeds the supply. So at 6pm when the lights all come on the guys at the end cant run a microwave and lights flicker.
Im thinking of installing equipment to step the voltage down from variable to steady 110 volts ac and change all the fitttngs to run on 110 volts as USA equipment. I cant think of any reason why not, any thoughts or recommendations welcome.
The supply company will not be improving the system for some time. Thanks in advance

 

[DPG]

Welcome to the forum.

Bear in mind you're still going to need to draw the same amount of overall power though.

 

[James]

A simple transformer won’t help you.
as the input voltage decreases, the output voltage decreases by the same proportion
one way to do it might be with a ups,it will take a lower voltage at times and keep the output stable at nominal voltage.
however, assuming your load is constant, if the voltage in were to drop by 50% the current will double so you could end up making a bad situation worse.

 

[shortcircuitbob]

A simple transformer won’t help you.
as the input voltage decreases, the output voltage decreases by the same proportion
one way to do it might be with a ups,it will take a lower voltage at times and keep the output stable at nominal voltage.
however, assuming your load is constant, if the voltage in were to drop by 50% the current will double so you could end up making a bad situation worse.

Thanks for the quick reply. I am aware of the problems thanks. Im looking for a possible solution. What would you do James?

 

[DPG]

If there is insufficient power being provided then maybe it is necessary to use a generator or consider lpg for cooking?

 

[shortcircuitbob]

If there is insufficient power being provided then maybe it is necessary to use a generator or consider lpg for cooking?

Considered those options too thanks. Cooking is gas anyway but freezers, tv's sound sytems and fans crap out at 6pm. This is actually a row of restaurants/shops that this effects and it is a standoff who pays for a new supply land owner wont pay, electric compay wont upgrade for free and renters contracts are not secure enough to spend out vast amounts of money when they could be turned out at any time. A couple of shops have paid for upgrades but it is still the same. Thanks for replying though.

 

[James]

The more I think about it, the more I am convinced you needto be looking at a battery storage solution.
it won’t be cheep,
inverter about 3k
battery packs about £1300 per 5Kwh module.

 

[shortcircuitbob]

The more I think about it, the more I am convinced you needto be looking at a battery storage solution.
it won’t be cheep,
inverter about 3k
battery packs about £1300 per 5Kwh module.

Well going that way it would probably be better here in Thailand to use solar panels to charge batteries for evening. But they probably wouldnt be there in the morning!!! Food for thought though cheers.

 

[mainline]

Hi guys. I was a commissiong technician before I retired. Hardware and software industrial automation. Miss the work but not the endless travel/ airports hotels etc. Those that know, know what I mean.
I retired to Thailand 220 - 240 volt single phase 50 hertz supply here. Im used to 3 phase or 24 volt control supplies.
I need a sanity check/ advice to pass on please.
The amount of shops being supplied from the one government source exceeds the supply. So at 6pm when the lights all come on the guys at the end cant run a microwave and lights flicker.
Im thinking of installing equipment to step the voltage down from variable to steady 110 volts ac and change all the fitttngs to run on 110 volts as USA equipment. I cant think of any reason why not, any thoughts or recommendations welcome.
The supply company will not be improving the system for some time. Thanks in advance

You need to do some current and volt measurements at the source.

How are these shops supplied have they each got a separate supply from the source.

 

[shortcircuitbob]

You need to do some current and volt measurements at the source.

How are these shops supplied have they each got a separate supply from the source.

Its a radial line that drops off to each shop from the same supply. There is a huge volt drop. From 220v down to 150 at night. Thats why the question was directed at the idea of using 110 volts instead. Thanks for the input

 

[mainline]

Its a radial line that drops off to each shop from the same supply. There is a huge volt drop. From 220v down to 150 at night. Thats why the question was directed at the idea of using 110 volts instead. Thanks for the input

150v at the source ?
Do you know what current is being drawn at source ?

If the Voltage at source drop it’s too bad you could try adding another cable from source to the one farthest away.

 

[shortcircuitbob]

150v at the source ?
Do you know what current is being drawn at source ?

If the Voltage at source drop it’s too bad you could try adding another cable from source to the one farthest away.

Thanks for the input but this is a row of shops and bars supplied almost 500 meters along the beach. It is not possible to calculate the current. The question was actually directed at using 110 volt appliances in place of 220 volt and any equipment that maybe suitable to acheive that.
Thanks for your input.

 

[mainline]

Thanks for the input but this is a row of shops and bars supplied almost 500 meters along the beach. It is not possible to calculate the current. The question was actually directed at using 110 volt appliances in place of 220 volt and any equipment that maybe suitable to acheive that.
Thanks for your input.

300W is 300W regardless of the voltage. The lower the voltage, the higher the current, but same power consumption overall.


You can clamp meter at the source to see the current draw so I can’t see why that’s not possible.

I would have thought the cost of altering all the appliances, lights etc are going to far out way the cost of 500mtrs of cable.

You need to know what current is being drawn at the head it’s obvious that the fuse is holding up so it’s probable that the cable is undersized.