They’re Not Robots in Disguise: 5 Things You Should Know About Electrical Transformers
Modern life depends rather desperately on the power that most homes get from the electrical grid. That grid is a fairly complex system of energy production plants, transmissions lines, and distribution lines. To this day, you can see power lines hovering over streets, although more and more lines now go under the ground.
Some crucial pieces in this electrical puzzle are electrical transformers. These devices largely enable power plants and utility services to provide you with useful levels of electricity. Are you asking, “What is an electrical transformed, and what should I know about them?”
Keep reading to learn five key things about them.
1. Transformers Convert
Unlike the animated robotic heroes, electrical transformers don’t change their own shape. Instead, they covert the voltage in a line to either a higher or lower voltage. For example, electric transformers step the voltage from a power plant up to a higher voltage before it enters the transmission lines.
The more common transformers you see in communities across the nation step the voltage down to the 110 or 220 voltages commonly used in residential and commercial spaces.
2. You Can Find Them in Consumer Devices
Most people think of transformers as something used primarily by utility companies. Yet, they are common in all kinds of consumer devices.
For example, mobile devices like phones and tablets use transformers to step down the voltages from the outlet as part of the recharging process. Without the transformer, the voltage would damage the internal components of the devices.
3. Common in Travel
You’ve likely heard that you need an adapter for your devices if you plan on traveling to Europe. While 110V is common in North America and much of South America, 220V is standard in much of Europe, Africa, and Asia.
The adapters are actually voltage transformers that step down the 220V to 110V so you can use your devices safely.
4. You Can Hear Them
Transformers are not silent. If you get near a bigger one, you can actually hear it working. They make a distinct humming noise as they go about their job of turning one voltage into another.
5. You Can See Them
Odds are good that you looked at lots of transformers already. They are those light-colored, barrel-shaped objects you see on telephone poles across the nation.
If you’re curious about the different types of transformers out there, you can learn more about them over at Bay Power.
Electrical Transformers and You
Electrical transformers are part of your everyday life and you likely never knew it. On the whole, though, most people interact with transformers indirectly.
They convert the voltages that we get out of wall outlets before it ever reaches us. They sit inside of devices to enable things like charging batteries. In fact, the only time you’ll likely ever directly interact with one is if you need an adapter while traveling somewhere.
Want to learn a little more about the technologies that drive modern life? Check out some of our other posts.
