Testing Your Current Transformer Meter and The Ability to Save on Power
Considering all of the electricity used throughout your home on a daily basis, there is almost always something that has your current transformer meter running. The basic unit of power is the Watt with the kilowatt being the measure of 1,000 Watts. A simple measurement of the power that you use could include vacuuming. When your 1,000-Watt vacuum is plugged in and run for one hour, you use one kilowatt-hour (kWh) of power. Then, you see your bill from the power company measured in the total number of kWh of energy that you have used over the course of a month. This is what the current transformer meter in your home calculates for them.
The Transformer and Power Bills
Your home includes single-phase power, also known as 120-volt AC service. During this time, the power lines that lead to your homes are often rated between 400,000 and 700,000 volts. Additionally, the appliances in your home likely use voltages much lower than this, as low as 110 volts but up to 250 volts. This means that the lines supplying power to your home do not need to be this powerful. This is the factor that makes them so completely dangerous when there are weather troubles that knock down power and other utility lines.
Working to Improve Efficiency
Many different tests can be run to help improve the efficiency of transformers in your home, or even the power lines that surround your home as well. There is a value to energy meter testing for your home individually, especially in the amount of power that is being measured and calculated for the power company to bill you every month.
There is also the need for transformer testing for both your home itself and the power that is supplied to your home from the electrical company. Meter testing and transformer testing equipment are not things that you can find on your own and complete as a DIY project. Electrical contractors are required to do some intense evaluation that will help determine the ratio of the power being used to the power being generated in your home.
One important time to consider evaluating the current transformer meter in your home is if you have made or will be making the change to solar power. This is due to many regions’ standards on the savings that you are supposed to receive based upon the power that is measured by the meter in your home. It is important at these times to make sure that your meter is working accurately and that there is a proper calculation of the difference between power being brought into your home and power being generated by your home.