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House AC Line Variance

A question about AC...

My measured AC line voltage runs from 123 to 130 VAC. Lowest in the evening and highest in the morning. I assume this is due to load in the neighborhood. It really affects the bias on my tube integrated.

So is this a normal range (seems high) and is that big of fluctuation?

Is this something that can be "controlled" at the house or is this the power company?

Thanks for any info.
benb
fatparrot
1,314 posts
 
Porziob, I disagree! The standard is 120v +/-5% [114v to 126v]. Just checked mine at 7:30 PM [TV & A/C running] and it's 122v...but we have a recently upgraded power grid in my area.
jeff_jones
418 posts
 
Sola voltage regulators are very well built and priced for industry instead of audiophile silly, I've installed a lot of them over a lot of years. A quick internet search or a call to your local electrical supply house should get you some info. Monster makes a voltage regulator that should do the trick also.
davidbigeye
28 posts
 
I have 240V AC and it varies between 220 and 255!
I bought a Thor PS10 power station and that unit shows input AC voltatage and output AC voltage on it's display. Now no matter what the input voltage, it always provides a stable 240V output. This has done the trick for me, and given me piece of mind too...maybe you could consider a similar solution.
benb OP
34 posts
 
Thanks for the responses.
I am going to give a voltage regulation (APS 1050) sysem a try.
I love my line conditioner (Sound Application RLS) and what it does to the sound, but this may be the better solution for the large variation in voltage in my house. I just hope it sounds as good.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Benb, the APS will not even approach the sound that you are getting from the Sound Application. I don't have any experience with the Thor, but other voltage regulators are sonically poison. Fortunately, my line voltage varies .2 volts from 124 over an entire week when I had a voltage recorder on the line. This is in a rapidly growing community with much demand from air conditioning. It can be done, but my city power seems more interested that for profit providers. I think your voltage is too high and probably will shorten the life of your components. I would press your provider to deal with your over voltage problem.

Not long ago I visited a friend in Nashville. In the Summer he had a maximum of 114 volts and a low of 103 volts. The sound was awful. He will not raise hell with the TVA to do something. I cannot understand why people don't raise hell if need be to get the ac they have a right to.
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