I’m planning to rebuild the electrical system of my home and I was wondering what should be taken into account in order to improve the audio performance of my Hi-Fi system.
The electrical system will basically consist of fotovoltaic panels, a solar inverter and a battery storage.
I would like:
To install a current stabilizer
To create a dedicated line for the hi-fi system
To install an audio grade wall outlet (eg. Futurech FT-SWS NCF)
To install (in the future) a power purifier (eg. Nordost QX2).
What would you suggest? What are your experiences/thoughts? Last but not least: what about grounding?
It’s worth stating where you are in the world as power distribution systems and local regulations vary. What may be acceptable and legal in one country may not be in others.
I wouldn’t go off-grid, even though the idea is quite interesting. So my sistem is an addition basically. However I intend to use the solar energy most of the time.
I pointed out that I will be installing such a system because, maybe, there could be specific precautions for the Hi-Fi system, even though I wouldn’t think so. What’s your idea?
I also wonder if anybody has installed a current stabilizer in the electrical system.
I do have Solar panels, but haven’t done anything different for the HiFi. I think the inverter does all the clever stuff, and will trip if it goes outside tolerances. When using fully Solar, I hear no difference in quality. Running a dedicated mains feed may be what you are looking for to get a SQ boost. You can then consider trying a Balanced Power Supply. But that assumes your mains quality already has issues like DC Offset, over voltage, etc.
I hope that helps.
In terms of a balanced view, the following thread suggest solar panel generation can cause noise. Not in my experience, but wouldn’t want to miss lead you without hearing both sides. My Inverter is just 2 years old, and they do need to be replaced after 10-15 years, so perhaps I’ve got this to come.
In the UK it’s certainly unusual to use battery storage unless you are off grid when you can link the PV system to the grid instrad. Perhaps battery technology has improved to the point where this is now a viable alternative, but it’s not something I have investigated recently.
Also how do you switch between mains and battery use?
I think most battery PV battery backup systems only work if the mains is switched on, and therefore in a power cut for example they dont work. I think Tesla now allows power-on in the event of a power cut, but you are not going to want to power off the main meter switch each time you want to hear music. Also it’s a lot of money to invest in for possibly little gain - unless someone on this community has tried it of course
Your experience is a relief, reading about noisy inverters got me shocked for a moment, I won’t deny. I hope to be as lucky as you, However a dedicated mains feed would easily be my choice with an electrical stabilizer as well (I suppose a power purifier is mandatory at this point). Do you know any interesting balanced power supply to evaluate?
I happened to have over voltage and other unwanted problems, luckily I never had any damage, these events are occasional (yet very annoying).
Do you think an electrical stabilizer and a proper earthing could mitigate the possibility of a noisy inverter? By the way I mostly listen to music at night and I would certainly get energy from the grid despite having a battery.
As far as I understood, in the event of a powercut you can use your own battery only if you have a hybrid inverter/system (but don’t ask me about all the differences, I’m no expert). The Tesla powerwall should be a sort of hybrid system if I’m right.
@ChrisSU the battery should help to be off the grid as much as possibile. It’s the inverter’s job to switch automatically according to the system circumstances and needs.
Airlink Transformers always get a good review with Naim users. Mike seems to be the person to talk to. Unfortunately I have no experience of using these, but believe you can give them back if not needed, although I’d still try it out without first, as some people say you dont want too much conditioning.
If you are getting values of over voltage at >253Volts, log a call with your supplier, as they will come out to get it below that value, as they did in my case. In fact for me they came out within 3 hours.
Good earthing seems to get mentioned a lot. Sticking with 10mm for the live/neutral and earth seems to be recommended
Good to know. “Less is more” is often true, however as you said things have to be evaluated properly and they can change a lot among different Hi-Fi systems. I would consider such transformers if there’s a drop in sound quality that I will hopefully won’t experience (fingers crossed!). I guess in the Hi-Fi world the best answer is always “it depends”.
I’ll surely call my supplier if I experience more problems, but they’ve never been that quick in my case.
Do I have to take into account other things regarding the quality of cable? Only the diameter?
Hi, quite a few questions and I suspect these could create many more!
The topics of dedicated circuits, high grade outlets and conditioners are all well documented here and really should apply equally in your scenario. The new item is of course the PV and storage battery.
One vision for renewable energy is for households to both create and store energy locally so that when combined with managed smart meters the grid may pay you for and call on the stored power to supplement main generation at peak times or when the renewable generation is low / varied. This would help smooth the flow of power round the country as needs and generation fluctuate. Your PV to battery to inverter solution would in this scenario be connected to the main supply at all times, meaning phasing and earthing would have to be maintained with the grid. Some suppliers already offer these solutions as off the shelf bolt on systems that literally plug in and go. Whether you run on battery, grid or part of each is unlikely to be your choice, your smart meter would decide for you.
In the case of a switch over system where at times you totally disconnect from the grid and run on local power (Either by choice or if the grid failed) then the provision of suitable earthing would be down to you. Power quality would be dependant on the inverter quality and earthing would need to follow the specifics laid down by the vendor. Such solutions are commonly used with backup generators though for a battery storage to provide this level of power you would need a very big battery!
If you’re thinking of designing something bespoke yourself then there’s a fair bit of research to do first, just thinking about this for 20 mins I’ve asked myself more questions than we started with! Have a look at Online Double Conversion UPS technology, a UPS of this type is designed to deal with the varied power inputs you may end up with and provide a stabilised sine wave output. Dirty AC voltage is rectified to DC then inverted back to AC cleanly. The DC bus can be fed from your battery or your rectified PV or grid or all combined.
Now, here’s a question - everyone seems to say that earthing is incredibly important, however unless I am missing something obvious, WHY! There shouldn’t be any current going down the earth wire, so what effect can it possibly have. If there were current >30mAmps , then wouldn’t the RCD trip?
Would you like to point out any particular thread about conditioners? However I feel more reassured if there’s a good evidence about these things. The only possibile doubts might be related to the fotovoltaic system management even though @GadgetMan didn’t experience any particular issue.
What kind of influence could phasing and earthing have regarding the sound quality? At the beginning I won’t have a very big battery, that’s for sure.
@GadgetMan once I happened to be completely cut off the grid because of a cable a problem. It took them 6-7 hours before coming to fix it.
I’ve only read a Nordost article (in the blog section) and they say that the purpose of a good ground is to provide a safe path for the dissipation of static charges, EMI and RFI signals and interference.
Just to make a quick recap not to forget anything…
A good electrical system for my Hi-Fi would need:
Isolated 10mm diameter cable for power
Isolated 10mm diameter cable for dedicated grounding
Audio grade wall outlet
But also:
Avoid switching
A dedicated grounding rig would be better than a shared ring/spur
If 10mm diameter cables are an issue, 6mm would be fine all the same
Did I miss anything? Thanks to anybody who is willing to clarify me these points.
I have no knowledge about electrical systems, but I wonder how a 10mm diameter cable could work with a wall outlet designed for a 2.8mm or or 5.5 Sq.mm/10AWG max.
What is your location? Most people here will be discussing what works, and what is safe and legal, in the UK. It may be very different if you’re in another country.
