What is ceiling fan potentiometer?
The ceiling fan potentiometer consists of a large conductive alloy coil, wound around the conductive cylinder, a C-crosshead or hand wheel.
In addition, on the potentiometer, there is a resistor with a knob or lever connected to the bar to create two parts with a resistance value that changes according to the position of the bar, i.e. increase or decrease. Users can adjust the wind according to their preferences, not fixed wind levels such as gear boxes.
Using potentiometer you can freely adjust the wind level as you like.
What is ceiling fan gearbox?
The gearbox is an attached device when selling fans, so buyers will not have to pay as for potentiometers. The ceiling fan gearbox is essentially a rheostat, composed of windings with different number of turns. The speed of a fan is changed by changing the number of turns of current flowing through it to change the electric current through the rotor.
In a ceiling fan gearbox with numbers or characters, users only need to use the knob to adjust the fan speed fast or slow according to the fixed levels (usually from 1 to 5).
The gearbox allows you to adjust the wind speed at certain wind levels.
Should ceiling fans use gearbox or potentiometer?
Expert opinion
For ceiling fans, to adjust a lot of speed, some families now use potentiometers instead of conventional gearboxes.
Answer consumers' questions that ceiling fans should use potentiometers or gearboxes, TS. Pham Hung Phi - Head of the Department of Electronics Equipment - Hanoi University of Technology said: "Families can use the potentiometer for ceiling fans if there is no fan noise or at withstand threshold. Fan power is usually not more than 75 W, so it does not affect too much power quality. "
Around consumers' questions about the use of potentiometers at low speeds, the fans called loudly, according to TS. Pham Hung Phi, when using a potentiometer at a low speed, the voltage is much different from the standard sine and in the fan will have the torque caused by high frequency harmonics (multiples of 50 Hz). Some ceiling fans have a non-standard design, either due to materials made from magnetic circuit, or by core pressing technology, impregnating paint, drying ... may appear very annoying cries. In this case, try using a potentiometer manufactured by another manufacturer or replacing the potentiometer with a conventional gearbox.
Advantages and disadvantages of ceiling fan gearbox
The ceiling fan gearbox has the advantage of not making a sound at the fan (there may be a sound at the gear box). Using gearbox does not distort the current waveform, does not affect the power quality of the grid in general. However, the disadvantage of the number is that the size is larger than the potentiometer, and cannot adjust the "stepless" speed.
Advantages and disadvantages of ceiling fan potentiometer
The ceiling fan potentiometer has the advantage of its compact size, smooth speed adjustment and wide range. However, the disadvantage of potentiometer is that it creates high-voltage waves, especially at low speeds. With some fans, this can cause very annoying chirping. In addition, the potentiometer makes the current no longer sinusoidal, affecting the power quality of the grid.
Through the above article, hopefully you can give yourself a choice between using a gearbox or potentiometer for ceiling fans to suit the needs of yourself and your family.