voltage regulator

voltage regulator, any electrical or electronic device that maintains the voltage of a power source within acceptable limits. The voltage regulator is needed to keep voltages within the prescribed range that can be tolerated by the electrical equipment using that voltage. Such a device is widely used in motor vehicles of all types to match the output voltage of the generator to the electrical load and to the charging requirements of the battery. Voltage regulators also are used in electronic equipment in which excessive variations in voltage would be detrimental.

In motor vehicles, voltage regulators rapidly switch from one to another of three circuit states by means of a spring-loaded, double-pole switch. At low speeds, some current from the generator is used to boost the generator’s magnetic field, thereby increasing voltage output. At higher speeds, resistance is inserted into the generator-field circuit so that its voltage and current are moderated. At still higher speeds, the circuit is switched off, lowering the magnetic field. The regulator switching rate is usually 50 to 200 times per second.

Electronic voltage regulators utilize solid-state semiconductor devices to smooth out variations in the flow of current. In most cases, they operate as variable resistances; that is, resistance decreases when the electrical load is heavy and increases when the load is lighter.

Voltage regulators perform the same function in large-scale power-distribution systems as they do in motor vehicles and other machines; they minimize variations in voltage in order to protect the equipment using the electricity. In power-distribution systems the regulators are either in the substations or on the feeder lines themselves. Two types of regulators are used: step regulators, in which switches regulate the current supply, and induction regulators, in which an induction motor supplies a secondary, continually adjusted voltage to even out current variations in the feeder line.