Voltage regulator 220V by hand. AC voltage regulator. There are two options for solving the problem

Such a simple, but at the same time very effective regulator, can be assembled by almost anyone who can hold a soldering iron in their hands and even slightly reads the circuits. Well, this site will help you fulfill your desire. The presented regulator regulates the power very smoothly without surges and dips.

Scheme of a simple triac regulator

Such a regulator can be used to control lighting with incandescent lamps, but also with LED ones, if you buy dimmable ones. The temperature of the soldering iron is easy to regulate. You can adjust the heating steplessly, change the speed of rotation of electric motors with a phase rotor, and many more where there is a place for such a useful little thing. If you have an old electric drill that does not have speed control, then by using this regulator, you will improve such a useful thing.
In the article, with the help of photographs, descriptions and the attached video, the entire manufacturing process is described in great detail, from the collection of parts to the testing of the finished product.


I say right away that if you are not friends with your neighbors, then you can not collect the chain C3 - R4. (Joke) It serves to protect against radio interference.
All parts can be bought in China on Aliexpress. Prices are two to ten times less than in our stores.
To make this device you will need:
  • R1 - a resistor of about 20 Kom, with a power of 0.25 W;
  • R2 - a potentiometer of approximately 500 kΩ, it is possible from 300 kΩ to 1 mΩ, but 470 kΩ is better;
  • R3 - resistor approximately 3 Kom, 0.25 W;
  • R4 - resistor 200-300 Ohm, 0.5 W;
  • C1 and C2 - capacitors 0.05 uF, 400 V;
  • C3 - 0.1 uF, 400 V;
  • DB3 - dinistor, is in every energy-saving lamp;
  • BT139-600, regulates the current 18 A or BT138-800, regulates the current 12 A - triacs, but you can take any others, depending on what load you need to regulate. A dinistor is also called a diac, a triac is a triac.
  • The cooling radiator is selected from the value of the planned control power, but the more, the better. Without a radiator, you can regulate no more than 300 watts.
  • Terminal blocks can be put any;
  • Use the breadboard at your request, as long as everything is included.
  • Well, without the device, as without hands. But the solder is better to use ours. It's more expensive, but much better. Good solder Chinese did not see.


Let's start assembling the regulator

First you need to think over the arrangement of parts so as to put as few jumpers as possible and solder less, then we very carefully check the compliance with the diagram, and then we solder all the connections.








After making sure that there are no errors and placing the product in a plastic case, you can test it by connecting it to the network.

Recently, in our everyday life, electronic devices are increasingly used to smoothly adjust the mains voltage. With the help of such devices, the brightness of the glow of the lamps, the temperature of the electric heaters, and the speed of the electric motors are controlled.

The vast majority of voltage regulators assembled on thyristors have significant drawbacks that limit their capabilities. Firstly, they introduce quite noticeable interference into the electrical network, which often adversely affects the operation of televisions, radios, and tape recorders. Secondly, they can only be used to control a load with active resistance - an electric lamp or a heating element, and cannot be used in conjunction with an inductive load - an electric motor, a transformer.

Meanwhile, all these problems can be easily solved by assembling an electronic device in which the role of a regulating element would be performed not by a thyristor, but by a powerful transistor.

circuit diagram

The transistor voltage regulator (Fig. 9.6) contains a minimum of radio elements, does not interfere with the electrical network and works on a load with both active and inductive resistance. It can be used to adjust the brightness of a chandelier or table lamp, the heating temperature of a soldering iron or electric stove, the speed of rotation of a fan or drill motor, and the voltage on the transformer winding. The device has the following parameters: voltage adjustment range - from 0 to 218 V; the maximum load power when using one transistor in the control circuit is no more than 100 watts.

The regulating element of the device is the transistor VT1. The diode bridge VD1 ... VD4 rectifies the mains voltage so that a positive voltage is always applied to the collector VT1. Transformer T1 lowers the voltage of 220 V to 5 ... 8 V, which is rectified by the VD6 diode block and smoothed by capacitor C1.

Rice. Schematic diagram of a powerful 220V mains voltage regulator.

The variable resistor R1 serves to adjust the magnitude of the control voltage, and the resistor R2 limits the base current of the transistor. Diode VD5 protects VT1 from getting negative polarity voltage to its base. The device is connected to the mains with an XP1 plug. Socket XS1 is used to connect the load.

The regulator operates as follows. After turning on the power with the toggle switch S1, the mains voltage is supplied simultaneously to the diodes VD1, VD2 and the primary winding of the transformer T1.

In this case, the rectifier, consisting of a diode bridge VD6, a capacitor C1 and a variable resistor R1, generates a control voltage that is supplied to the base of the transistor and opens it. If at the moment the regulator is turned on, the network has a negative polarity voltage, the load current flows through the circuit VD2 - emitter-collector VT1, VD3. If the polarity of the mains voltage is positive, the current flows through the circuit VD1 - collector-emitter VT1, VD4.

The value of the load current depends on the magnitude of the control voltage based on VT1. By rotating the engine R1 and changing the value of the control voltage, they control the collector current VT1. This current, and hence the current flowing in the load, will be the greater, the higher the level of the control voltage, and vice versa.

With the extreme right position of the variable resistor engine according to the diagram, the transistor will be fully open and the “dose” of electricity consumed by the load will correspond to the nominal value. If the R1 slider is moved to the leftmost position, VT1 will be locked and no current will flow through the load.

By controlling the transistor, we actually regulate the amplitude of the alternating voltage and current acting in the load. At the same time, the transistor operates in a continuous mode, due to which such a regulator is free from the disadvantages inherent in thyristor devices.

Construction and details

Now let's move on to the design of the device. Diode bridges, a capacitor, a resistor R2 and a diode VD6 are mounted on a circuit board 55x35 mm in size, made of foil-coated getinax or textolite 1 ... 2 mm thick (Fig. 9.7).

The following parts can be used in the device. Transistor - KT812A (B), KT824A (B), KT828A (B), KT834A (B, V), KT840A (B), KT847A or KT856A. Diode bridges: VD1 ... VD4 - KTs410V or KTs412V, VD6 - KTs405 or KTs407 with any letter index; diode VD5 - series D7, D226 or D237.

Variable resistor - type SP, SPO, PPB with a power of at least 2 W, constant - VS, MJIT, OMLT, S2-23. Oxide capacitor - K50-6, K50-16. Network transformer - TVZ-1-6 from tube TVs, TS-25, TS-27 - from the Yunost TV or any other low-power one with a secondary winding voltage of 5 ... 8 V.

The fuse is designed for a maximum current of 1 A. Toggle switch - TZ-S or any other network. XP1 is a standard power plug, XS1 is a socket.

All elements of the regulator are placed in a plastic case with dimensions of 150x100x80 mm. A toggle switch and a variable resistor equipped with a decorative handle are installed on the top panel of the case. The socket for connecting the load and the fuse socket are mounted on one of the side walls of the housing.

On the same side there is a hole for the power cord. A transistor, a transformer and a circuit board are installed at the bottom of the case. The transistor must be equipped with a radiator with a dissipation area of ​​at least 200 cm2 and a thickness of 3...5 mm.

Rice. Printed circuit board for a powerful 220V mains voltage regulator.

The regulator does not need adjustment. With proper installation and serviceable parts, it starts working immediately after being connected to the network.

Now a few recommendations for those who want to improve the device. The changes mainly concern the increase in the output power of the regulator. So, for example, when using a KT856 transistor, the power consumed by the load from the network can be 150 W, for KT834 - 200 W, and for KT847 - 250 W.

If it is necessary to increase the output power of the device even more, several transistors connected in parallel can be used as a regulating element by connecting their respective terminals.

Probably, in this case, the regulator will have to be equipped with a small fan for more intensive air cooling of semiconductor devices. In addition, the diode bridge VD1 ... VD4 will need to be replaced with four more powerful diodes, designed for an operating voltage of at least 600 V and a current value in accordance with the load consumed.

For this purpose, devices of the D231 ... D234, D242, D243, D245 ..D248 series are suitable. It will also be necessary to replace VD5 with a more powerful diode, rated for current up to I A. Also, the fuse must withstand a larger current.

The thyristor is one of the most powerful semiconductor devices, which is why it is often used in powerful energy converters. But it has its own control specifics: it can be opened with a current pulse, but it will close only when the current drops to almost zero (to be more precise, below the holding current). Of this, the thyristor is mainly applied to AC switching.

Phase voltage regulation

There are several ways to regulate the AC voltage with thyristors: you can skip or disable entire half-cycles (or periods) of the AC voltage at the regulator output. And you can turn it on not at the beginning of the half-cycle of the mains voltage, but with some delay - 'a'. During this time, the voltage at the output of the regulator will be zero, and no power will be transferred to the output. The second part of the half-cycle of the thyristor will conduct current and an input voltage will appear at the output of the regulator.

The delay time is often called the opening angle of the thyristor, and so at zero angle, almost all the voltage from the input will go to the output, only the drop on the open thyristor will be lost. As the angle increases, the thyristor voltage regulator will reduce the output voltage.

The adjustment characteristic of the thyristor converter when operating on an active load is shown in the following figure. At an angle of 90 electrical degrees, the output will be half the input voltage, and at an angle of 180 electrical degrees. the output will be zero degrees.


Based on the principles of phase voltage regulation, it is possible to build regulation, stabilization, and soft start circuits. For a soft start, the voltage must be increased gradually from zero to the maximum value. Thus, the opening angle of the thyristor must change from the maximum value to zero.

Thyristor voltage regulator circuit


Element rating table

  • C1 - 0.33uF voltage not lower than 16V;
  • R1, R2 - 10 kOhm 2W;
  • R3 - 100 Ohm;
  • R4 - variable resistor 33 kOhm;
  • R5 - 3.3 kOhm;
  • R6 - 4.3 kOhm;
  • R7 - 4.7 kOhm;
  • VD1 .. VD4 - D246A;
  • VD5 - D814D;
  • VS1 - KU202N;
  • VT1 - KT361B;
  • VT2 - KT315B.

The circuit is built on the domestic element base, it can be assembled from those parts that have been lying around with radio amateurs for 20-30 years. If the thyristor VS1 and the diodes VD1-VD4 are installed on the appropriate coolers, then the thyristor voltage regulator will be able to deliver 10A to the load, that is, at a voltage of 220 V, we can regulate the voltage at a load of 2.2 kW.

The device has only two power components diode bridge and thyristor. They are designed for a voltage of 400V and a current of 10A. The diode bridge turns the alternating voltage into a unipolar pulsating one, and the phase regulation of the half-cycles is carried out by the thyristor.

A parametric stabilizer of resistors R1, R2 and a zener diode VD5 limits the voltage supplied to the control system at a level of 15 V. The series connection of resistors is necessary to increase the breakdown voltage and increase the power dissipation.

At the very beginning of the half-cycle of the alternating voltage, C1 is discharged and there is also zero voltage at the junction of R6 and R7. Gradually, the voltages at these two points begin to grow and the lower the resistance of the resistor R4, the faster the voltage at the emitter VT1 will overtake the voltage at its base and open the transistor.
Transistors VT1, VT2 make up a low-power thyristor. When the voltage at the base-emitter junction VT1 is greater than the threshold, the transistor opens and opens VT2. And VT2 unlocks the thyristor.

The presented scheme is quite simple, it can be translated into a modern element base. It is also possible, with minimal alterations, to reduce the power or voltage of operation.

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I use this design for a homemade electric stove on which we cook porridge for dogs, and recently applied it to a soldering iron.

To make this regulator, we need:

A pair of 1 kΩ resistors can even be 0.25w, one 1 mΩ variable resistor, two 0.01 uF capacitors and
47 nF, one dinistor that I took from an economy light bulb, the dinistor does not have polarity so you can solder it as you like, we also need a triac with a small radiator, I used the triac of the TS series in a 10 amp metal case, but you can use KU208G, we also need screw terminals.

Yes, by the way, a little about the variable resistor, if set to 500 kOhm, it will regulate quite smoothly, but only from 220 to 120 volts, and if it is set to 1 mOhm, then it will be tightly regulated with an interval of 5-10 volts, but the range will increase from 220 to 60 volt.
So let's start assembling our power regulator, for this we need to first make a printed circuit board.

After the printed circuit board is ready, we begin the set of radio components on the printed circuit board. First of all, solder the screw terminals.

And last but not least, install the radiator and triac.

That's all our voltage regulator is ready, wash the board with alcohol and check.

A more detailed overview of the triac controller in the video clip. Happy assembly.

Powerful mains voltage regulator 220V

Recently, in our everyday life, electronic devices are increasingly used to smoothly adjust the mains voltage. With the help of such devices, the brightness of the glow of the lamps, the temperature of the electric heaters, and the speed of the electric motors are controlled.

The vast majority of voltage regulators assembled on thyristors have significant drawbacks that limit their capabilities. Firstly, they introduce quite noticeable interference into the electrical network, which often adversely affects the operation of televisions, radios, and tape recorders. Secondly, they can only be used to control a load with active resistance - an electric lamp or a heating element, and cannot be used in conjunction with an inductive load - an electric motor, a transformer.

Meanwhile, all these problems can be easily solved by assembling an electronic device in which the role of a regulating element would be performed not by a thyristor, but by a powerful transistor.

circuit diagram

The transistor voltage regulator (Fig. 9.6) contains a minimum of radio elements, does not interfere with the electrical network and works on a load with both active and inductive resistance. It can be used to adjust the brightness of a chandelier or table lamp, the heating temperature of a soldering iron or electric stove, the speed of rotation of a fan or drill motor, and the voltage on the transformer winding. The device has the following parameters: voltage adjustment range - from 0 to 218 V; the maximum load power when using one transistor in the control circuit is no more than 100 watts.

The regulating element of the device is the transistor VT1. Diode bridge VD1. VD4 rectifies the mains voltage so that a positive voltage is always applied to the collector VT1. Transformer T1 lowers the voltage of 220 V to 5.8 V, which is rectified by the VD6 diode block and smoothed by capacitor C1.

Rice. Schematic diagram of a powerful 220V mains voltage regulator.

The variable resistor R1 serves to adjust the magnitude of the control voltage, and the resistor R2 limits the base current of the transistor. Diode VD5 protects VT1 from getting negative polarity voltage to its base. The device is connected to the mains with an XP1 plug. Socket XS1 is used to connect the load.

The regulator operates as follows. After turning on the power with the toggle switch S1, the mains voltage is supplied simultaneously to the diodes VD1, VD2 and the primary winding of the transformer T1.

In this case, the rectifier, consisting of a diode bridge VD6, a capacitor C1 and a variable resistor R1, generates a control voltage that is supplied to the base of the transistor and opens it. If at the moment the regulator is turned on, the network has a negative polarity voltage, the load current flows through the circuit VD2 - emitter-collector VT1, VD3. If the polarity of the mains voltage is positive, the current flows through the circuit VD1 - collector-emitter VT1, VD4.

The value of the load current depends on the magnitude of the control voltage based on VT1. By rotating the engine R1 and changing the value of the control voltage, they control the collector current VT1. This current, and hence the current flowing in the load, will be the greater, the higher the level of the control voltage, and vice versa.

With the extreme right position of the variable resistor engine according to the diagram, the transistor will be completely open and the “dose9raquo; the electricity consumed by the load will correspond to the nominal value. If the R1 slider is moved to the leftmost position, VT1 will be locked and no current will flow through the load.

By controlling the transistor, we actually regulate the amplitude of the alternating voltage and current acting in the load. At the same time, the transistor operates in a continuous mode, due to which such a regulator is free from the disadvantages inherent in thyristor devices.

Construction and details

Now let's move on to the design of the device. Diode bridges, a capacitor, a resistor R2 and a diode VD6 are mounted on a circuit board 55 × 35 mm in size, made of foil-coated getinax or textolite 1.2 mm thick (Fig. 9.7).

The following parts can be used in the device. Transistor - KT812A (B), KT824A (B), KT828A (B), KT834A (B, V), KT840A (B), KT847A or KT856A. Diode bridges: VD1. VD4 - KTs410V or KTs412V, VD6 - KTs405 or KTs407 with any letter index; diode VD5 - series D7, D226 or D237.

Variable resistor - type SP, SPO, PPB with a power of at least 2 W, constant - VS, MJIT, OMLT, S2-23. Oxide capacitor - K50-6, K50-16. Network transformer - TVZ-1-6 from tube TVs, TS-25, TS-27 - from the Yunost9raquo TV; or any other low power with a secondary voltage of 5.8 V.

The fuse is designed for a maximum current of 1 A. Toggle switch - TZ-S or any other network. XP1 is a standard power plug, XS1 is a socket.

All elements of the regulator are placed in a plastic case with dimensions of 150x100x80 mm. A toggle switch and a variable resistor equipped with a decorative handle are installed on the top panel of the case. The socket for connecting the load and the fuse socket are mounted on one of the side walls of the housing.

On the same side there is a hole for the power cord. A transistor, a transformer and a circuit board are installed at the bottom of the case. The transistor must be equipped with a radiator with a dissipation area of ​​at least 200 cm2 and a thickness of 3.5 mm.

Rice. Printed circuit board for a powerful 220V mains voltage regulator.

The regulator does not need adjustment. With proper installation and serviceable parts, it starts working immediately after being connected to the network.

Now a few recommendations for those who want to improve the device. The changes mainly concern the increase in the output power of the regulator. So, for example, when using a KT856 transistor, the power consumed by the load from the network can be 150 W, for KT834 - 200 W, and for KT847 - 250 W.

If it is necessary to increase the output power of the device even more, several transistors connected in parallel can be used as a regulating element by connecting their respective terminals.

Probably, in this case, the regulator will have to be equipped with a small fan for more intensive air cooling of semiconductor devices. In addition, the diode bridge VD1. VD4 will need to be replaced with four more powerful diodes, designed for an operating voltage of at least 600 V and a current value in accordance with the load consumed.

For this purpose, devices of the D231 series are suitable. D234, D242, D243, D245. D248. It will also be necessary to replace VD5 with a more powerful diode, rated for current up to I A. Also, the fuse must withstand a larger current.

DIY power regulator

The modern power supply network is designed in such a way that power surges often occur in it. Current changes are acceptable, but it should not exceed 10% of the accepted 220 volts. Jumps have a bad effect on the performance of various electrical appliances, and very often they begin to fail. To prevent this from happening, we began to use stable power regulators to equalize the incoming current. With a certain imagination and skills, various types of stabilization devices can be made, and the triac stabilizer remains the most effective.

On the market, such devices are either expensive or often of poor quality. It is clear that few people want to overpay and get an inefficient device. In this case, you can assemble it from scratch with your own hands. This is how the idea of ​​creating a power regulator based on a dimmer arose. I had a dimmer, thank God, but it was a little inoperable.

Repairing the triac regulator - Dimmer

This image shows the factory wiring diagram of a dimmer from Leviton, which operates on a 120 volt network. If an inspection of non-working dimmers showed that only the triac burned out, then you can start the procedure for replacing it. But here you may be in for surprises. The fact is that there are such dimmers in which some strange triacs with different numbers are installed. It is possible that you will not be able to find information on them even on the datasheet. In addition, for such triacs, the contact pad is isolated from the electrodes of the triac (triac). Although, as you can see, the contact pad is made of copper and is not even covered with plastic, like the cases of transistors. Such triacs are very easy to repair.

Also pay attention to the way the triacs are soldered to the radiator, it is made with the help of rivets, they are hollow. When using insulating gaskets, it is not recommended to use this method of fastening. Yes, such a mount is not very reliable. In general, the repair of such a triac will take a lot of time and you will spend your nerves precisely because of the installation of this type of triac, the dimmer is simply not designed for such triac sizes (Triac-a).

Hollow rivets should be removed with a drill, which is sharpened at a certain angle. more specifically at a 90° angle, side cutters can also be used for this job.

In case of inaccurate work, there is a possibility of damage to the radiator. to avoid this, it is more correct to do it only from that side. where is the triac located.

Radiators made of very soft aluminum can be slightly deformed when riveted. Therefore, it is necessary to sand the contact surfaces with sandpaper.

If you are using a triac that does not have a galvanic isolation that separates the electrodes from the pad, then an effective isolation method must be applied.

The image shows. how it's done. In order not to accidentally push through the walls of the radiator, in that place. where the triac is fastened, it is necessary to grind off most of the cap at the screw, in order to avoid its hooking on the handrail of the potentiometer or power stabilizer, and then put a washer under the screw head.

This is how the triac should look like after isolation from the radiator. For the best heat dissipation, it is necessary to purchase a special thermally conductive paste KPT-8.

The figure shows what is under the radiator shroud

Everything should work now

Scheme of the factory power regulator

Based on the factory power regulator circuit, you can assemble a regulator layout for your network voltage.

Here is a diagram of the regulator, which is adapted to work in a network with a static voltage of 220 volts. This circuit differs from the original one in only a few details, namely, during the repair, the power of the resistor R1 was increased several times, the values ​​​​of R4 and R5 were reduced by 2, and the dinistor was 60. in volts was replaced by two. which are connected in series with 30-volt dinistors VD1, VD2. As you can see, with your own hands you can not only repair faulty dimmers, but also easily adjust to your needs.

This is a working layout of the power regulator. Now you know exactly what scheme you will get with the right repair. This scheme does not require the selection of additional parts and is immediately ready for use. It may be necessary to adjust the position of the trimmer resistor R4. For these purposes, the sliders of the potentiometers R4 and R5 are set to the highest position, and then the position of the slider R4 is changed, after which the lamp lights up with the lowest brightness, and then the slider should be slightly moved in the opposite direction. This completes the setup process! But it is worth noting that this power regulator only works with heating appliances and incandescent lamps, and with engines or powerful devices, the results may not be unpredictable. For novice amateur craftsmen with little experience, such work is just right.

AC VOLTAGE REGULATOR

Hi all! In the last article, I talked about how to make a voltage regulator for direct current. Today we will make a voltage regulator for AC 220v. The design is quite simple to repeat even for beginners. But at the same time, the regulator can take on a load of even 1 kilowatt! For the manufacture of this regulator, we need several components:

1. Resistor 4.7 kOhm mlt-0.5 (even 0.25 watts will do).
2. Variable resistor 500kΩ-1mΩ, with 500kΩ will regulate quite smoothly, but only in the range of 220v-120v. With 1 mOhm - it will regulate more tightly, that is, it will regulate with an interval of 5-10 volts, but the range will increase, it is possible to regulate from 220 to 60 volts! It is desirable to install the resistor with a built-in switch (although you can do without it by simply placing a jumper).
3. Dinistor DB3. You can take this from LSD economical lamps. (Can be replaced with domestic KH102).
4. Diode FR104 or 1N4007, such diodes are found in almost any imported radio equipment.
5. Current-saving LEDs.
6. Triac BT136-600B or BT138-600.
7. Screw terminals. (You can do without them, just solder the wires to the board).
8. A small radiator (up to 0.5 kW it is not needed).
9. 400 volt film capacitor, from 0.1 microfarad to 0.47 microfarad.

AC voltage regulator circuit:

Let's start assembling the device. To begin with, we will etch and proludim the board. Printed circuit board - its drawing in LAY, is in the archive. A more compact version presented by a friend sergei- here.

Then solder the capacitor. The photo shows the capacitor from the tinning side, because my copy of the capacitor had too short legs.

We solder the dinistor. The dinistor has no polarity, so we insert it as you like. We solder the diode, resistor, LED, jumper and screw terminal. It looks something like this:

And in the end, the last stage is to put a radiator on the triac.

And here is a photo of the finished device already in the case.

The regulator does not require any additional settings. Video of the operation of this device:

I want to note that you can put it not only in the 220V network on conventional appliances and power tools. but also to any other source of alternating current with a voltage of 20 to 500V (limited by the limiting parameters of the radio elements of the circuit). was with you Boil-:D

The principle of operation of triac power controllers

A semiconductor device that has 5 p-n junctions and is capable of passing current in the forward and reverse directions is called a triac. Due to the inability to operate at high AC frequencies, high sensitivity to electromagnetic interference and significant heat generation when switching large loads, they are currently not widely used in high-power industrial installations.

There they are successfully replaced by circuits based on thyristors and IGBT transistors. But the compact dimensions of the device and its durability, combined with the low cost and simplicity of the control circuit, allowed them to be used in areas where the above disadvantages are not significant.

Today, triac circuits can be found in many household appliances from a hair dryer to a vacuum cleaner, hand-held power tools and electric heaters - where smooth power control is required.

Principle of operation

The power regulator on the triac works like an electronic key, periodically opening and closing, with a frequency set by the control circuit. When unlocking, the triac passes part of the half-wave of the mains voltage, which means that the consumer receives only part of the rated power.

Do it yourself

To date, the range of triac regulators on sale is not too large. And, although the prices for such devices are low, they often do not meet the requirements of the consumer. For this reason, we will consider several basic regulator circuits, their purpose and the element base used.

Device diagram

The simplest version of the circuit, designed to work on any load. Traditional electronic components are used, the control principle is phase-pulse.

  • triac VD4, 10 A, 400 V;
  • dinistor VD3, opening threshold 32 V;
  • potentiometer R2.

The current flowing through the potentiometer R2 and the resistance R3 charges the capacitor C1 with each half-wave. When the voltage on the capacitor plates reaches 32 V, the VD3 dinistor will open and C1 will begin to discharge through R4 and VD3 to the control output of the triac VD4, which will open to pass current to the load.

The duration of the opening is regulated by the selection of the threshold voltage VD3 (constant value) and the resistance R2. The power in the load is directly proportional to the resistance value of the potentiometer R2.

An additional circuit of diodes VD1 and VD2 and resistance R1 is optional and serves to ensure smooth and accurate adjustment of the output power. The limitation of the current flowing through VD3 is performed by the resistor R4. This achieves the required pulse duration to open VD4. Fuse Pr.1 protects the circuit from short circuit currents.

A distinctive feature of the circuit is that the dinistor opens at the same angle in each half-wave of the mains voltage. As a result, there is no rectification of the current, and it becomes possible to connect an inductive load, such as a transformer.

Triacs should be selected according to the magnitude of the load, based on the calculation of 1 A \u003d 200 W.

  • Dinistor DB3;
  • Triac TS106-10-4, VT136-600 or others, the required current rating is 4-12A.
  • Diodes VD1, VD2 type 1N4007;
  • Resistances R1100 kOhm, R3 1 kOhm, R4 270 Ohm, R5 1.6 kOhm, potentiometer R2 100 kOhm;
  • Capacitor C1 0.47 uF (operating voltage from 250 V).

Note that the scheme is the most common, with minor variations. For example, the dinistor can be replaced with a diode bridge, or an RC noise suppression circuit can be installed in parallel with the triac.

More modern is a circuit with triac control from a microcontroller - PIC, AVR or others. Such a scheme provides more precise regulation of voltage and current in the load circuit, but is also more difficult to implement.

Triac power controller circuit

The assembly of the power regulator must be carried out in the following sequence:

  1. Determine the parameters of the device for which the developed device will work. Parameters include: the number of phases (1 or 3), the need for fine adjustment of the output power, the input voltage in volts and the rated current in amperes.
  2. Select the type of device (analogue or digital), select the elements according to the load power. You can check your solution in one of the electrical circuit simulation programs - Electronics Workbench, CircuitMaker or their online counterparts EasyEDA, CircuitSims or any other of your choice.
  3. Calculate the heat dissipation using the following formula: triac voltage drop (about 2 V) times the rated current in amps. The exact values ​​​​of the voltage drop in the open state and the rated current throughput are indicated in the characteristics of the triac. We get the dissipated power in watts. Choose a radiator according to the calculated power.
  4. Purchase the necessary electronic components. heatsink and circuit board.
  5. Make the wiring of the contact tracks on the board and prepare the sites for installing the elements. Provide mounting on the board for the triac and radiator.
  6. Install the elements on the board by soldering. If it is not possible to prepare a printed circuit board, then surface mounting can be used to connect the components using short wires. When assembling, pay special attention to the polarity of connecting diodes and triac. If they do not have pin markings, then ring them with a digital multimeter or "arch".
  7. Check the assembled circuit with a multimeter in resistance mode. The received product must correspond to the original project.
  8. Securely fasten the triac to the radiator. Between the triac and the radiator, do not forget to lay an insulating heat transfer gasket. The fastening screw is securely insulated.
  9. Place assembled schema in a plastic case.
  10. Recall that on the terminals of the elements dangerous voltage is present.
  11. Turn the potentiometer down to the minimum and perform a test run. Measure the voltage with a multimeter at the output of the regulator. Slowly turn the potentiometer knob to monitor the change in output voltage.
  12. If the result suits, then you can connect the load to the output of the regulator. Otherwise, power adjustments must be made.

Triac Power Radiator

Power regulation

The potentiometer is responsible for adjusting the power, through which the capacitor and the discharge circuit of the capacitor are charged. If the output power parameters are unsatisfactory, the value of the resistance in the discharge circuit should be selected and, with a small range of power adjustment, the value of the potentiometer.

  • prolong lamp life, adjust lighting or soldering iron temperature a simple and inexpensive regulator on triacs will help.
  • select circuit type and component parameters according to the planned load.
  • work it out carefully schematic solutions.
  • be careful when assembling the circuit. observe the polarity of semiconductor components.
  • do not forget that there is an electric current in all elements of the circuit and is deadly to humans.

Checking the capacitor with a multimeter

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