Power Transformer
2009
Is an electric power transformer about to blow if it makes intermittent humming noises?
Recently, I am being woken an night by a high pitched hum or buzz coming from the outside. It continues for up to an hour or so and then stops.
There are electrical power transformers on telephone poles not too far away. Could one of these be defective and about to blow? Is it dangerous? Can the electric company test it?
The noise you hear may or may not be associated with the transformer. In most countries the transformer operates on 60 Hz or 50 Hz system frequencies. Meaning it has a 60 cycle per second or 50 cycle per second applied operating voltage. This will cause a hum that you can hear. The magnitude hum (how loud it sounds) is dependent on how much power it is required to deliver. For instance, if if delivers 100% of its rated power, the 60 cycle hum will be louder than it would be if it was delivering say 10% of its rated power. At night when it is usually quite, it is easier to hear these transformers humming and you will hear a difference with changing load conditions.
Utility companies use different types of protection on these transformers. For your particular case, it depends on which utility company serves you. Most use a fuse to protect the transformer from short circuits that occur. It is not absolute guarantee the transformer will not blow and catch on fire, but the risk is small. You can call the utility company and report the problem. In the U.S. they will respond and let you know if they found anything wrong with the installation.
I noticed you state that it is a “high pitched” sound. This means it is not likely to be the transformer making the noise you hear. It is more likely an electrical discharge know as corona. This is usually a high frequency discharge that occurs around lose connections, cracked or contaminated insulators. It could also be a failing lightning arrester (another protective device used to protect the transformer from damage caused by lightning strikes) which you may hear discharging internally, although this is unlikely since they usually fail very rapidly under this condition.
Again, if you report this to your utility Company they should take care of. A question for you. Do you notice an increase in radio static when you hear the high pitched buzzing? Try turning on a radio set to an AM radio station and see fi the static on the radio increases as the “high pitched” sound you hear increases. This would confirm that the sound you hear is due to the second condition I spoke of.
Hope this helps,
Newton1Law
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