CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[CasetheCorvetteman]

The UPS will be a non-sinusoidal inverter, so you cant be sure that it will provide a clean enough AC supply.

115v is plenty high enough, and i still cant see that being a concern. As an electrician by trade in Australia i have a fair amount of experience with the effects of AC power supplies being delivered with a leading or lagging power factor.

Leading power factor, which occurs due to excessive capacitive loads, can cause out of control voltages.

Lagging power factor will generally result in a reduction of supplied voltage and potentially excess consumption.

Both leading and lagging can cause noise, with unusual sine wave patterns, and harmonics. Inverter type variable speed drives are sometimes quite bad for harmonics.

The only real way to correct a lagging power factor is to add a capacitor bank in parallel with the supply, best installed at the load causing the lagging power factor, but can also be installed at the point of entry to the premesis, assuming the lag is not caused within that premesis.

Any form of inductor will cause current to lag the voltage, fluro and discharge lamp ballasts, electric motors, wire-wound iron core transformers, all cause a lag to some degree, and that causes increased current draw, essentially wasted energy in the form of "reactive power". This is why the general ohm's law formula is of little use in an AC circuit, unless the load is known to be 100% resistive like a heating element.

Craig, if you have a CRO that is capable of a 120v AC input, try connecting that to a socket outlet you have there in your home, and have a look at the wave form, which should be a very nice even sine wave, with no steps or sharp peaks. If you can post a pic, it might give me something more to go on.

[Nashou66]

[CasetheCorvetteman]

I hope you mean 5kVA Nash!!

[Nashou66]

[CasetheCorvetteman]