Electronic – Clipping an AC line voltage

acclamptransformervoltage

I've got a linear step-up transformer (120V AC input) which has an output that under load nominally supplies 230V AC @ 100mA. But with no load it floats to as high as 280 V. I need to switch the load in/out, but for "reasons" I need that no-load voltage to never exceed, say, 240V. Line voltage AC is sort of like a foreign country to me, where I don't get the natives' taste in hats. What's the easiest, cheapest way to do this? Seems like Zener diodes + resistor would have to be very large and probably a crazy way to do it? I don't really want to load that output when it's not being used for its intended purpose.

Best Answer

  • Use a relay with higher voltage tolerance. You are cutting it too close with your specifications.
  • Add a 1uF 400V capacitor to your secondary (perhaps in series with a small <100Ω resistor to attenuate resonances). This should introduce a load current in the secondary, while not consuming any real power beyond the induced secondary and core transformer losses.

Do note that a capacitive load introduces a leading power factor, under the wrong conditions this could actually increase the voltage of the transformer. A purely inductive load would clearly work better, but it would not be practical for this application (>10H would be required).

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