Electrical transformers have been used for a long time because of their ability to transform the voltage form a specific level to another, like for instance, from a higher to a lower voltage. This is done through the application of the principle called magnetic induction between the coils which helps to covert current levels or voltage.Transformers are highly important because they play a vital role when distributing electrical power. They help to raise the voltage of electricity that is generated at power plants to the levels that are required in order to transmit electricity efficiently.
There are also other transformers that help to reduce voltage at places where electricity is supposed to be utilized. Many of the households have transformers that lower or raise the home current voltage to the amount required by the house. For instance, stereo and television equipment require a higher voltage whereas thermostats and doorbells require lower voltages. Polemount Transformers are mostly used to service rural, urban, commercial, and residential loads.
How Transformers Work
Electrical transformers are more of passive devices that help to transform alternating current from one circuit to another through the mechanism called electromagnetic induction. A transformer contains a ferromagnetic core along with two coils or more consisting of an insulated wire called the windings. The changing current within the primary winding initiates an alternating magnetic field within the core. This makes the core multiply this field and transmits most of the produced flux through secondary transformer windings. This causes an alternating voltage to be produced in the secondary coils.
As mentioned above, there is a step up transformer that helps to increase the voltage, and then there is a step down transformer that helps to decrease the voltage.
Reasons Why AC Voltage Transformer Is Used
The reasons why we use an AC voltage transformer is because these currents and voltages have to be reduced to a much lower, usable, and a safer level while being supplied and used within our workplaces and homes. This is exactly what transformers help to achieve. They reduce a high alternating voltage to a lower one before entering our homes.
History
The transformer was first invented by Ottó Bláthy, Miksa Déri, and Károly Zipernowsky for commercial and experimental systems. The induction property in the transformer was first discovered in the 1830’s, however William Stanley was the first one to build the first design that was refined and could be commercially used. The very first AC powered transformer was used in the Great Barrington in Massachusetts in the year 1886.
Usage in the Olden Days
The building of a transformer about 130 years ago brought a technical revolution in the world of electrical energy that we see today. Nobody now will be able to imagine living without electricity. The earlier hydro and small steam generators could not generate enough power to supply to the increasing demands of the industrial and fast growing city centers. The voltage levels were required to be increased and something needed to be done about voltage drops and incurred losses. This paved way to the power transformer. With the transformer, more electricity could be transmitted to cater to the increased demands of the city life.
Transformers are a necessity for the lifestyle that we live today because without them there will be no electricity. They help to generate electricity and transmit this electricity over long distances without any interruption so that industrial complexes and urban centers could be provided with power. We can see around us that transformers these days have progressed a lot and will continue to progress in the future as well.