Utilities & Mobile Noreco

VA (Voltampere) is the term about how much power an electrical circuit unit can provide. 1 VA is similar to 1 W (Watt). This means if a transformer have 15 kVA then it can provide at most power up to 15 kW power. Effectively the load you can really connect to a such transformer is about 10% to 20% lower because of the blind load. In the Philippines better calculate with 20% because the appliances have not the quality and efficiency of US and European appliances.

 

15 KVA is the rating of the transformer. 15 KVA means 15,000 Volt x Amps.
So 15,000VA/220 volts = 68 Amps. The rated current from your transformer is 68 amps.

A typical motor draws about 4.25 Amps per horsepower. You could theoretically run about 16 horsepower worth of air-conditioning or who knows how many rice cookers.

15 KVA is certainly a good sized transformer for a single house.
The main advantage to running a large transformer is; If you used the whole 15 KVA the voltage would drop about 22 volts (10%).
If you are only using 7.5 KVA out of 15 KVA, the voltage will only drop 11 volts (or (7.5 KVA/15KVA)*10%).

 

What do you think is the bigger issue in the Philippines. Supply side variances (brown out) or over loading the transformer?

 

I can't comment on all of the Philippines just what I see in my neighborhood.
I don't have a real answer on what is the biggest issue but I do have a gut feel. Overloaded transformer and small diameter wiring cause a lot of problems. Overloaded transformers or lengthy wires feeding 220 volts to the house cause low voltage.
Induction motors for pumps and refrigerators can burn out from under-voltage.
Electronics for televisions and computers usually have a switching type power supply which will tolerate a wide range of input voltages (90-265 volts).

 

Living in both Siquijor and Dumaguete, my nephew works at Siquijor's Prosielco where you can either supply your own xfmr or rent one from Prosielco. In neither case will they use your xfmr for anyone but you. It is a co-op and there is kind of an attitude of split responsibility for power quality. I myself went to 15 kva because we air conditioned almost all of the house. Actually we don't use all air conditioners at one and it is very enjoyable to experience this good clean power with very low voltage drops; that clicking sound from all the regulators is gone. As for Noreco, I would expect that they honor their word IF you asked them to confirm no-sharing and IF they said yes.


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Yes, absolutely. Or you can rent it or sell it based on your own private terms.


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Same for many who want to gain Internet at home, almost all need to install Towers/ Dishes/ improve their side to gain what many in the West deem as an essential service. Here in the Philippines, I think as it stands, any service is a privilege, not a right... Well that is how it seems to me.

And that is how people here look at such things, when I did the wiring here I bought the thickest wire I could in the hope it would carry the current well, but when I looked at the Wire, well; many sections of wire that Papa had the local guy twist, tape and install from 150 meters from the Highway to the house, I really wonder if I made any ground by trying to ensure good wiring when I look at the bottleneck of sorts that supplies us here.

I should have invested in the UPS/AVR supplies here earlier, may have saved my 2x Desktop PC's 2x Monitors 2x PSU's and 1x i7 Laptop.

What do they say in this case?
"Prevention is cheaper than the cure"?

But at the end of the day, I still doubt a Transformer would have saved me those losses in the overall scheme of things the way supply is here.

 

I am guessing again Brian. The list of electronics you listed "should" and the operative word is "should" not be seriously effected by low voltage or moderate voltage variations. If the 220 volt supply get hit by lightning there is NO PROTECTION from that, not here in the Philippines, not anywhere (at least not effectively).
One thing about having your own transformer is that they all have lightning arresters on the 7 Kv side. This should provide some protection from lightning strikes. Having said that, lightning can sometimes contain so much energy the arrester can not stop it from frying everything.
There are "surge protectors" designed to operate at the 220 volt level but they are only good for stopping small transients/spikes that might come from a water pump or other small load stopping/starting.

I'm curious did your electronics fail during normal operation, during a thunderstorm or following a brown out?

 

The 2x Desktop PC's failed during Brownouts, when the power came back on, they did not. Before that though; 1x (Antec 650W) Power Supply went up in smoke fritzing away during normal use, 1x Monitor went up in smoke before my eyes during normal use, then, when 1x Monitor failed to turn on, the wife said she could smell a burning smell (my sense of smell is not so good) but I couldn't smell a thing, but it no longer worked.

The Laptop was damaged during a Storm, I hopped up and turned everything off when I noticed lightning in the distance, and although I am 99% sure I unplugged the Laptop at the same time as the TV and Fridge and Freezer, it *may* have been still plugged into my AU Power-board. At around 1am; I swear the world's loudest clap of thunder woke the dead here! The next morning the Laptop was also dead, but the strange part of that experience was the Modem and Pay TV Box were also fried. The last 2 were not even plugged in (DEFINITELY UNPLUGGED) so in my thinking the lightning must have come in through the ADSL Cable as it is the only way power could have reached both the Modem and TV Box which were unplugged from power, and in part, I suspect maybe because the Modem was connected to the Laptop via the LAN Cable, maybe it caught a jolt also?

 

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I've bought three so far for different properties, it's the only way to ensure the power supply if you have a few aircons. One was for my first property in Dumaguete, which I sold including the transformer. It was a second hand American brand but still going strong after 9 years. However, I had to replace the fuselinks several times due to wet leaves shorting it out. Each time I had to call Noreco to do it but you have to give them something or they won't come out next time.

Talking of Noreco, has anyone contested their 10% penalty for late payment? Surely it can't be legal, even in the Philippines. The legal rate of interest is 6% per year! What possible legitimate justification have they for charging that? My last bill was P13,000, so if I'd pay late P1,300 is a huge penalty for nothing.