Difference between Servo voltage stabilizer and Relay stabilizer?

Aulten heartily welcomes you to this informational blog. If you have reached here, then you must be aware of the importance of voltage stabilizers. Stabilizers are crucial to protect home appliances from voltage fluctuations or voltage interruptions. Voltage stabilizers deliver required constant voltage to output terminals after correction of incoming voltage fluctuations.

Do you know voltage stabilizers are of various types that work differently combined with different components? Among which servo voltage stabilizers and relay stabilizers are commonly used. At first, voltage stabilizers were operated manually with electromechanical relays. After technological advancements, additional electronic circuitry was introduced that turned manually operated stabilizers to tap changer automatic voltage stabilizers or regulators.

Let’s discuss some important features and working mechanisms of servo voltage stabilizers and relay stabilizers. Then, we will point out some crucial differences between servo and relay stabilizers.  

Servo Voltage Stabilizers:

Servo Voltage stabilizers are different kind of stabilizers that uses servo motor for voltage correction. Servo stabilizers offer high output voltage accuracy approx. ±1% with changes in input voltage of up to ±50%. These stabilizers consist of a servo motor, buck-boost transformer, auto transformer, control circuitry, and motor driver as essential components. In Servo Voltage Stabilizers, end of primary buck boost transformer is connected to fixed tap of auto transformer tap and other end of primary buck boost transformer is connected to moving arm controlled by servo motor. The electronic control circuit detects voltage fluctuation and in case of error, the circuit operates a motor that moves the arm on the autotransformer. This feed primary of buck-boost transformer in a way that voltage across secondary should be the desired voltage output. The servo stabilizers use a microcontroller or processor so that control circuitry can achieve intelligent control. Servo stabilizers can further be classified as single-phase, three-phase (balanced or unbalanced). Advantages of servo stabilizers are high correction speed, high reliability, high precision of stabilized output, and able to withstand inrush currents.

Relay Stabilizers:

Relay type voltage stabilizers accomplish voltage regulations by switching the relays to connect one of several tappings of the transformer to the load. Relay voltage stabilizer has an electronic circuit and set of relays besides the transformer that can be a toroidal transformer or iron core transformer with tappings on its secondary and the electronic circuit consists of an operational amplifier, rectifier circuit, microcontroller unit, and other components. The stabilizer switch on working mode when the reference value mentioned by built-in reference voltage source does not match with incoming voltage. When the circuit identifies the fluctuation, it switches the corresponding relay to connect the desired tapping to the output. Relay stabilizers work or change the voltage in case of input voltage variation of ±15% to ±6% with output voltage accuracy of ±5% to ±10%. These stabilizers are popular for low-rating appliances due to their low weight and cost. Along with this, these stabilizers have certain limitations including slow voltage correction, less durability, interruption to power path, and less reliability.

After a brief description of servo stabilizers and relay stabilizers, let’s talk about differences between both of them.

• Voltage Accuracy: Servo stabilizers have output voltage accuracy of ±1% whereas relay stabilizers have output voltage accuracy of ±10%.
• Technology: Servo stabilizers use servo motors whereas relay stabilizers use relays.
• Components: Servo stabilizers consists of servo motor, buck-boost transformer, auto transformer, control circuitry, and motor driver whereas relay stabilizers comprises of operational amplifier, rectifier circuit, microcontroller unit, and other components.
• Functioning criteria: Servo stabilizers uses buck boost transformer connected with fixed tap whereas relay stabilizers uses set of relays besides the transformer.
• Reliability and durability: Servo Stabilizers are more reliable and durable than relay stabilizers.
• Voltage correction speed: Voltage correction speed of servo stabilizer is more than relay stabilizers.

Now, you are aware of about the differences between servo stabilizers and relay stabilizers so you can choose any of the stabilizers of your choice that will be suitable to fulfil your requirements.