Operating Voltage

Electrical current in Automation Technology

Each electric device and component used in automation technology requires electricity. Electric current as a physical value is very important. In technical specifications and data sheets of automation components you can find several designations of this. One designation is operating current.

Designations such as operating voltage, nominal voltage and voltage are defined in standards (e.g.: VDE 0100-200, DIN VDE 0298-3).

What is operating voltage?

Each electric device contains current-carrying conductors. The operating voltage is the voltage between these conductors during operation without interference. It describes the voltage which is used to operate devices. It may exceed the nominal voltage set for the device by a certain percentage. Exact information regarding the operating voltage can be found in standards defined for certain use cases and operation sites.

Why is the operating voltage so important?

The nominal mains voltage may increase due to changes in the electricity grid and transnational standardization. Only devices operating with the new voltage that permit the higher voltage can be operated under these conditions.

A device being operated with a higher voltage may affect the lifespan of a device. The energy efficiency may decrease when using a lower operating voltage for bandwidth hungry devices.