Exploration of the Efficiency of Autotransformer Discrete Alternating Voltage Regulators

In recent years, energy efficiency issues have become increasingly popular. This is due to the increase of both the electricity consumption and the price of the basic energy sources. One of the approaches for satisfaction the increased requirements for the quality of electrical power is related to the regulation of the amplitude of the input voltage, which changes over time. An effective method for limiting the supply voltage range can be realized by using autotransformer alternating voltage regulators. The paper is dedicated to the research on the loading of such regulators at different ranges of commutation (different input voltages) and the change of the efficiency coefficient. An automated computer program has been created, which allows the simulation of the processes in the discrete regulators in the MATLAB environment. An experimental check of a prototype was performed showing a good compliance with the simulation results.