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Power Conditioner vs Stabilizer: An Overview
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Power outages across the United States frequently occur due to outdated power grids. These outages are costing businesses and consumers billions of dollars. Some American power lines date back to the 1880s, and the ever-increasing demands for power are pushing capacity to the limit with no signs of slowing down.
You might think there is little you can do to combat power outages; however, you can protect your facility’s supply. Consider the differences between a power conditioner vs. a stabilizer and the roles they perform in ensuring a steady supply of power.
What are Power Conditioners?
A power conditioner is also known as a power line conditioner or a line conditioner. These devices are intended to improve the quality of power delivered to any equipment that is supplied via an electrical load.
Most businesses are familiar with surge protectors as a defense of protecting computers and other electronic devices against damaging voltage spikes. A power conditioner operates in a similar way to offer additional protection for components of home office devices. What causes your devices’ damage is that voltage fluctuations surge through the electrical lines, phone lines, LAN connections, and COAX TV inputs. These power surges degrade the performance of the device and lead to system failure.
A power conditioner acts as a buffer between the outlet in the wall and the system that smooths out voltage fluctuations. Because radio and electromagnetic interference affect system performance, a power conditioner can ward off these fluctuations.
Strengths & Weaknesses of Power Conditioners
Pros
- They protect your equipment against power surges and voltage fluctuations.
- They remove noise coming from the electrical lines you find in mobile devices.
- The correct voltage and waveform distortions.
Cons
A balanced transformer offers noise reduction that is superior to passive-types. It balances the AC power feed better suited to audio and video devices. In addition to being more costly than passive type filters, power conditioners are larger, noisier, heavier and offer limited power delivery in industrial and commercial settings.
The AC regenerative types also tend to be larger and pricier. They tend to throw off a lot of heat; however, they are much better at addressing noise problems found on the audio and video spectrum.
Passive-type filters are the least expensive and offer fundamental noise-reduction capabilities. When it comes to the quality of your power and the optimal performance of your equipment, keep in mind the rule of thumb: you get what you pay for.
What are Power Stabilizers?
A Power System Stabilizer (PSS) is the generator equipment used to produce high quality and stable power supply in the event of a disruption to electrical services that produce a significant deviation of the main voltage. Modern stabilizers use high-performance control circuits to set voltage requirements through digital control circuitry.
Power stabilizers are a solution to optimize power to electronic appliances that are sensitive to voltage fluctuations. They deliver a constant voltage to an electrical load regardless of voltage fluctuations. They also work on many different devices such as air conditioners, televisions, monitors, medical equipment, computers, CNC machines, and telecommunication equipment, to name a few.
Strengths & Weaknesses of Power Stabilizers
Pros
Power stabilizers are used in industrial applications such as laboratory equipment, industrial machines, medical apparatus, and offset printing machines. Voltage stabilizers are often preferred to using costly electrical equipment to protect against harmful low/high voltage fluctuations.
Cons
Voltage stabilizers are mostly used for low rating appliances in residential, commercial, and industrial applications. This is because they are low weight and low cost. They have limitations when it comes to slow voltage correction speed. They tend to be less durable, less reliable, and with interruption to power, cannot withstand high voltage surges.
Power Conditioners vs. Stabilizers – Which One Is Best For Your Needs?
Best used for large power swings in harsh electrical environments, power conditioners and stabilizers both are similar in function, but have their best use case scenarios. If you regularly experience voltage fluctuations such as spikes , transients, or electrical noise, a power conditioner can truly make a difference in protecting sensitive loads by delivering pure and clean power. Conversely, a voltage stabilizer protects equipment against surges or drop offs without causing changes to incoming voltage. To decide which is best for your needs, carefully weigh the pros and cons of each system outlined above and compare them to your power demands.
Keep Your Power Clean with Voltage Correction
Want to find out more about the power conditioner vs. stabilizer you need for your specific business? Voltage Correction will work with you to understand your needs and keep your business and equipment always safe & running.
Contact Voltage Correction today for a consultation on how we can help you protect your equipment and business from damaging voltage fluctuations. Call 855-240-6776
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