What is the frequency of the current in the outlet. System Operator of the Unified Energy System

Hz (Hertz)
Frequency is measured in Hertz, denoted by the letter "F" (the number of occurrence of an event per second). Well, for example, a person's pulse is 60 beats per minute, which means that the frequency with which the heart beats is F=60/60=1 Hz. When playing a vinyl record, it makes 33 revolutions per minute - F=33/60=0.55 Hz. The refresh rate of a CRT monitor screen is 200 Hz, which means that the electron beam "runs through" the screen 200 times per second.

In relation to energy, frequency is understood as the frequency of alternating electric current in the power system. Or else they say "industrial frequency". We and in Europe have a frequency of 50 Hz. In the USA and Japan 60 Hz. What does it mean? This means that 50 times per second, the electric current flows with increasing-decreasing (according to a sinusoid) in one direction, 50 times in the other. A few words why the industrial frequency is exactly 50 or 60 Hz. It's just that the frequency of the current appears due to the rotation of the generator rotor. If you increase the rotor speed (and, accordingly, the frequency in the power system), you need to make the design of the generator more durable. And it is impossible to increase the strength to infinity, any structural materials have a limit. In short, 50-60 Hz is a balance of many technical limitations.

When there are no problems with the frequency, there is no mention of this value in journalistic materials. But this may not always be the case. What can the frequency deviation from the nominal lead to (we have 50 Hz)? To a serious accident! When the frequency is higher than the nominal 50 Hz, centrifugal forces of greater magnitude act on the rotating rotor of the generator and turbine than are inherent in their design. This can lead to their destruction. Of course there is automation. If F reaches 55 Hz, the unit will automatically disconnect from the mains to prevent damage. If the frequency is below 50 Hz, there is a decrease in the performance of all electric motors (reduction in their rotational speed) connected to the power system - both those that provide the operation of escalators in the supermarket, and those that rotate the conveyor belt in the factory, and those that provide the production process electricity at power plants. The last one is the most dangerous. Frequency decreases, power generation decreases, which leads to an even greater decrease in frequency, as a result - power plants can simply “go to zero” (if the frequency drops to 45 Hz), this is a complete repayment, as they say blackout. Of course, there is automation here too. In order to prevent a deep decrease in frequency, some consumers are automatically turned off, including “household” ones. The above is of course extreme cases of accidents. But the frequency can also deviate by smaller values. This is also bad. And the power system provides automation to avoid this. Here I painted a little how it works, if you are interested, read it.

A little more theory (be patient, since we have reached here). The frequency in the system, the value of exactly 50 Hz can be only in one case - if at each moment of time exactly as much active power is generated as it is consumed. If this balance is violated, the frequency "leads" to one side or the other, and this leads to an accident. Imagine any other enterprise (furniture factory, bakery, car factory) and the same task - every fraction of a second to produce exactly as much product as consumers need. You can see how complex the production of power engineers is. What is interesting here - if the frequency is higher than 50 Hz, then the generators produce more power than the power of all consumers, well, this is easily treated - the output at power plants is reduced, and that's all. If the frequency is below 50 Hz, the power consumption is greater than the generated power. And if the frequency is always below 50 Hz, then there is a power shortage in the power system. Power plants were not built on time - this is a big problem.

Today, Russia provides us with a high-quality frequency of 50 Hz. It is there that high-speed frequency regulators with an impact on Russian stations are located. When you turn on the iron, somewhere far away in Russia, the generator is loaded with an additional 1.5 kW, and vice versa (this is a bit simplified, but for the most part it is). Neither in the UES of Kazakhstan, nor in the energy systems of Central Asia, today, there are no systems that allow you to keep the frequency "in tune" at the level of 50 Hz. If we separate from Russia (electrically), our frequency will fluctuate, which is very bad.

And one more thing - the frequency is a global factor. It is the same everywhere in the power system. And in Kazakhstan and throughout Russia (the part that is part of the EEC), it is the same at the same time. If in some part the frequency has changed, then this part is electrically disconnected (due to an accident or for other reasons) and is isolated from the main power system.

Just don’t tell me: “Dad, who were you talking to right now?”. Just kidding, of course :) Let's move on.

EEC - Unified Electric Power System. This is a set of power plants, substations and transmission lines connected by a single common technological mode of operation. In short, everything that works "in parallel" and is interconnected (everything that is interconnected by power lines) constitutes the EEC. And although there is the UES of Kazakhstan and the UES of Russia, in fact it is more of a political division, “electrically” it is all one energy system, which used to be called the UES of the USSR. But, for example, the power system of Australia is not included in our UES, since it is not connected with us by power lines.

CL - cable line power transmission - a cable is laid underground, of course with powerful insulation. The cost of cable lines is much more expensive than overhead lines, therefore in the USSR, it was customary to lay cable lines only inside settlements so as not to disfigure the appearance. Such savagery, as in other countries, when all the intestines are unwound through the streets, you will not find here.

The very first cable line was designed not to transmit electricity, but to transmit signals. In 1843, the US Congress announced a tender for the construction of an experimental telegraph line, which was won by Morse (known to us by the "Morse code"), so they decided to lay the line underground. However, due to the fact that Morse's companion decided to save money on insulation for wires, instead of a line, there was one continuous short circuit (such situations still happen today, when merchants begin to control techies). And more than enough money has already been spent. Engineer Cornell, participating in the project, suggested such a way out of the situation - to place poles along the route, and hang bare telegraph wires directly on these poles, using the necks of glass bottles as insulators. This is how an overhead telegraph line appeared, an electric overhead line is practically its copy, and even today the design has not fundamentally changed.

VL - overhead power line. Serves for the transmission of electricity through wires that are suspended from the support by means of insulators. The higher the operating voltage of the overhead line, the higher the supports and the greater the number of insulators in the garland. There is only one insulator on the 6.10 kV overhead line, 2 insulators on the 35 kV overhead line, 6 insulators on the 110 kV overhead line, 12 insulators on the 220 kV overhead line, 24 insulators on the 500 kV overhead line, so in appearance it is not difficult to determine the operating voltage of the overhead line.

hydroelectric power station - a hydroelectric station (it can also stand for a hydraulic power station, try not to use the colloquial "hydro station" - in my opinion, it sounds vulgar). A hydroelectric power station is a power plant where electricity is obtained by converting the energy of water (the flow of water turns a turbine). There are not many large hydroelectric power stations in Kazakhstan. If compared in terms of capacity, then all HPPs will make up no more than 10% of all generating capacities in the UES. This is bad. In order for the energy system to be self-sufficient, it is necessary to have at least 20-30% of hydroelectric power stations in the system, but what can you do - water resources are not enough. The advantage of a hydroelectric power station is its high maneuverability. Such stations can quickly pick up the load and also quickly dump it (this is necessary for accurate frequency control at the level of 50 Hz). What hydroelectric power plants do we have?

European customers who had to purchase in the US electronic devices or household appliances, they know that American equipment has a different plug configuration than we are used to. There is also a difference in the voltage range of the network. So, the norm for the United States is a voltage of 110 volts, while in the networks of European countries it is 220 volts.

Therefore, people who want to buy a laptop, smartphone, TV or epilator in the US are afraid that they will not be able to use these devices.

In fact, they can, but for this it will be necessary to take certain steps. Next, we will try to figure out how to determine the voltage level at which the device operates, and how to adapt a North American device to the networks of the European continent.

How to determine the permissible voltage limits for a particular device?

Currently, almost all manufacturers complete their products with universal type network adapters, power supplies and devices for recharging gadgets, which allows the equipment to work in any country in the world.

Finding out the voltage range for a particular product is not difficult. To do this, just look at:

• instructions for the device (section on technical parameters);
• specification on the sticker located on the back of the product;
• description of the device model on the manufacturer's website.

Standard network adapters of this type are supplied with all modern laptops. In the data indicated on the sticker, we can see that this device is universal and can operate in the range from 100 to 240 volts (highlighted in red).

Before purchasing a product, the buyer can first find out what the operating range of the corresponding device is. In addition, the question of the shape of the fork and acceptable level voltage can be set by the seller of the product. But it should be remembered that almost any device can be adapted to work with a suitable voltage level.

On the sticker of the electric razor charger, we see that the device also works at a voltage of 100-240 volts (highlighted in red)

Equipment that operates at voltages between 100 and 240 volts

After receiving the goods, you must first of all make sure that this power supply is really universal, because otherwise there is a high risk of damage to the electrical device.

Standard Charger for mobile phone. Red highlighted information that indicates its universality

Then you need to solve the problem with the American type plug, which is different from the European standard. If, when ordering a product, the store does not offer a European-style plug as an option, then there are two ways out of this situation.

Purchasing an adapter

Buying an adapter for an American-type cord to a European-type network is the easiest, cheapest and most popular way to solve the problem. But in this case, one important nuance must be taken into account - the presence or absence of a ground contact on the plug.

Mains plug equipped with a grounding contact

If the plug of the purchased device is equipped with a grounding contact, then you should select a universal type adapter. If there is no ground contact, then a standard adapter is most suitable.

A plug that does not have a grounding contact

The purchase of such an adapter is the best solution. Such devices cost about two or three dollars and are sold in many electrical stores. True, the difficulty lies in the fact that they are not always available for sale.

Types of mains adapters designed for plugs without a grounding function

But this problem is not insurmountable, since such devices can be purchased on radio markets or via the Internet. For example, a large assortment of such products is presented on the American online auction eBay.

Purchasing the correct power cord

An alternative solution to the problem is to purchase a new power cord with a properly configured plug. You can also use the cord from some other device, for example, from a camera or camcorder.

The cord can be purchased for $3-5 at any electronics or home appliance store. But it should be noted that the connector of the purchased cord, which is connected to the equipment, must fully correspond to the connector of the American cord.

Consider a fairly common situation: a laptop was purchased in the United States with a plug configuration typical for this state. The gadget's network adapter indicates that it is universal and can operate at a mains voltage of 100-240 volts. You can solve the problem of replacing the cord in a very simple way:

The easiest way out is to replace it with a power cord suitable for European networks. Nothing else needs to be done, because the laptop's network adapter can work with any network.

Cases when the purchase of a cord is impractical

For some types of equipment, the purchase of cords is unjustified, and in such cases, preference should be given to the purchase of adapters. Devices used primarily with adapters include:

• mobile phones and smartphones, since the purchase of a new device for recharging is unprofitable;
• large home appliances in which the cord is connected to the device itself, and only masters of specialized repair centers can replace it;
• devices equipped with complex connectors and connected directly to electrical equipment; in such situations, you can purchase a suitable cord only at the service center of the manufacturer.

Electrical equipment operating at a voltage of 100 to 110 volts

Currently, household appliances are often found operating strictly at 110 volts. This is, first of all, large equipment, which users rarely order through online stores from other parts of the world.

But if the buyer nevertheless received such a product, then he can solve the problem quite easily. The best way out in this case is to purchase a step-down transformer.

This device reduces the voltage electrical network 220V to 110V suitable for the device. It is equipped with all the necessary connectors, so you do not need to purchase any additional adapters. The process of connecting the device to the mains through a transformer is carried out by connecting the plugs, no settings are needed.

Selecting the correct power transformer

When choosing a transformer, it is necessary to pay attention to the power level of the electrical appliance with which it will be used, since for large equipment, in particular, refrigerators, televisions, electric heaters, etc., a higher power transformer is required. Therefore, you first need to find out what the power of the electrical appliance is (in Watt‑W or Watt), and then buy the most suitable transformer device.

Step down transformers vary in size. So, for equipment with a low power level (up to two hundred watts), transformers are barely larger in size than devices for recharging smartphones. A device for equipment with a power of up to three thousand watts can be comparable in its parameters to a two-liter bottle.

Step-down transformer for high power electrical applications

Many buyers order such products via the Internet, in particular, on the American eBay auction, where there is always a large selection of step-down transformers.