Transformers & Regulators

Test bench power conditioning covers three distinct needs that often get conflated but require different equipment: isolating a device under test from the mains ground reference for safety during certain measurements, matching equipment designed for one mains voltage to a different supply voltage, and stabilising a fluctuating or noisy mains supply so it doesn't introduce measurement error. LISUN's Transformers & Regulators range covers all three with dedicated equipment for each function.

Isolation transformers provide galvanic isolation between the mains supply and the device under test, a requirement for many EMC and electrical safety test setups where the DUT needs to be electrically floating relative to the building's ground reference — without this isolation, certain measurements (particularly leakage current and some EMC tests) would be compromised or unsafe to perform. The 4kVA isolation transformer in this range is sized for typical EMC test bench loads where isolation, not voltage conversion, is the primary requirement.

Voltage transformers serve a different purpose: matching equipment built for one mains voltage standard to a different supply voltage, relevant when testing or operating equipment designed for an export market's voltage standard on a bench powered by a different local supply. The 10kVA voltage transformer handles step-up or step-down conversion at a capacity suited to bench-level equipment loads. Voltage regulators address a third distinct problem — a fluctuating or unstable mains supply that would otherwise introduce noise or drift into a sensitive test measurement — stabilising the output voltage regardless of input fluctuation, available in multiple capacity tiers to match different bench power requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does a device under test sometimes need galvanic isolation from the mains ground reference?

Certain measurements — particularly leakage current testing and some EMC test configurations — require the device under test to be electrically isolated from the building's ground reference so that ground-path currents don't interfere with or invalidate the measurement, and in some cases so that a fault condition on the DUT doesn't create an unsafe ground-referenced shock hazard during testing. An isolation transformer provides this by galvanically decoupling the DUT's supply from the building mains ground.

When is a voltage transformer needed rather than just plugging equipment directly into the local mains supply?

Equipment designed for one country's mains voltage standard (for example, 100V or 200V equipment intended for a different export market) won't operate correctly, or may be damaged, if connected directly to a different local voltage standard. A voltage transformer converts the local supply to the voltage the equipment actually requires, letting it be tested or operated safely on a bench powered by a different mains standard.

What does a voltage regulator protect against that an isolation or voltage transformer doesn't?

An isolation transformer addresses ground referencing and a voltage transformer addresses a fixed voltage mismatch, but neither corrects for ongoing fluctuation or instability in the incoming supply voltage. A voltage regulator actively stabilises its output against input fluctuation, protecting sensitive test equipment or measurements from supply-side noise, sag, or drift that a simple transformer would pass straight through.