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Glossary of Power Transformer Terms

Edvard

G lo s s ary o f Po we r Trans fo rme r Te rms (p ho to b y rad ar.g uy via Flic kr)

T here are many terms associated with power and distributive transf ormers used in electrical networks.
T hese are just some of the most important.
Feel f ree to add any of missing terms in the comment below

Glossary
ABCDEFG HIKLMNO PRST UVW
Top

A
AA
An Ansi (American National Standard Institute) cooling class designation indicating open, natural-draf t
ventilated transf ormer construction, usually f or dry-type transf ormers.

Ambient Temperat ure

T he temperature of the surrounding atmosphere into which the heat of the transf ormer is dissipated.

Ampere
unit of current f low.

ANSI (American Nat ional St andards Inst it ut e)

An organization that provides written standards on transf ormer [6OOv and below (ANSI C89.1), 601~ and
above (ANSI C57.12)].

Aut ot ransf ormer

A transf ormer in which part of the winding is common to both the primary and the secondary circuits.
Back to Index | A

B
BIL
Basic Impulse Level, the crest (peak) value that the insulation is required to withstand without f ailure.

Bushing
An electrical insulator (porcelain, epoxy, etc.) that is used to control the high voltage stresses that occur
when an energized cable must pass through a grounded barrier.

Buck t ransf ormer

Step down the Voltage f rom Primary Winding to Secondary Winding i.e. 460V to 230V.

Boost t ransf ormer

Step up the Voltage f rom Primary Winding to Secondary Winding i.e. 230V to 460V.
Back to Index | B

C
Cast -coil Transf ormer
A transf ormer with high-voltage coils cast in an epoxy resin. Usually used with 5 to 15 kV transformers.

Cont inuous Rat ing

Gaines the constant load that a transf ormer can carry at rated primary voltage and f requency without
exceeding the specif ied temperature rise.

Copper Losses
See Load Losses.

Core-Form Const ruct ion

A type of core construction where the winding materials completely enclose the core.

Current Transf ormer

A transf ormer generally used in instrumentation circuits that measure or control current.
Back to Index | C

D
Delt a
A standard three-phase connection with the ends of each phase winding connected in series to f orm a
closed loop with each phase 120 degrees f rom the other. Sometimes ref erred to as 3-wire.

Delt a Wye
A term or symbol indicating the primary connected in delta and the secondary in wye when pertaining to
a three-phase transf ormer or transf ormer bank.

Dist ribut ion Transf ormers

T hose rated 5 to 120 kV on the high-voltage side and normally used in secondary distribution systems. An
aplicable standard is ANSI C-57.12.

Dripproof
Constructed or protected so that successf ul operation is not interf ered with by f alling moisture or dirt. A
transf ormer in which the transf ormer core and coils are not immersed in liquid.
Back to Index | D

E
Excit ing Current (No-load Current )
Current that f lows in any winding used to excite the transf ormer when all other windings are open circuited.
It is usually expressed in percent of the rated current of a winding in which it is measured.
Back to Index | E

F
FA
An ANSI cooling class designation indicating a f orced air ventilated transf ormer, usually f or dry type
transf ormers and typically to increae the transf ormers and typically to increase the transf ormers KVA
rating above the natural ventilation or AA rating.

Fan Cooled

Cooled mechanically to stay within rated temperature rise by addition of f ans internally and/or externally.
Normally used on large transformers only.

FOA
An ANSI cooling class designation indicating forced oil cooling using pumps to circulate the oil f or
increased cooling capacity.

FOW
An ANSI cooling class designation indicating f orced oil water cooling using a separate water loop in the oil
to take the heat to a remote heat exchanger. Typically used where air cooling is difficult such as
underground.

Frequency
On AC circuits, designate number of times that polarity alternates f rom positive to negative and back again,
such as 60 hertz (cycles per second).
Back to Index | F

G
Grounds or Grounding
Connecting one side of a circuit to the earth through low-resistance or low-impedance paths. T his help
prevent transmitting electrical shock to personnel. Also aids in the dissipation or mitigation of Noise (High
f requency or other).

Ground St rap
A Flat Strap of varying density, width and length to aid in the dissipation of High f requency noise, commonly
generated by Switching Power Supplies, Lighting Ballasts, Inverters or Variable Frequency Drives.
Back to Index | G

H
High-volt age and Low-volt age Windings
Terms used to distinguish the wind that has the greater voltage rating f rom that having the lesser in twowinding transf ormers. T he terminations on the high-voltage windings are identif ied by H1, H2, etc., and on
the low-voltage by X1, X2, etc.
Back to Index | H

I
Impedance

Retarding f orces of current f low in AC circuits.

Indoor t ransf ormer

A transf ormer that, because of its construction, is not suitable f or outdoor service.

Insulat ing Mat erials

T hose materials used to electrically insulate the transformer windings from each other and to ground.
Usually classif ied by degree of strength or voltage rating (0, A, B, C, and H).

Isolat ion t ransf ormer

For the purpose of isolating the Source Supply f rom the Consumer(s), aids in prevention of noise
transmission, adds impedance, can also provide an isolated Ground on the secondary.
Back to Index | I

K
kVA or Volt -ampere Out put Rat ing
T he kVA or volt-ampere output rating designates the output that a transf ormer can deliver f or a specif ied
time at rated secondary voltage and rated f requency without exceeding the specif ied temperature rise (1
kVA = 1000 VA).
Back to Index | K

L
Liquid-immersed Transf ormer
A transf ormer with the core and coils immersed in liquid (as opposed to a dry-type transformer).

Load
T he amount of electricity, in kVA or volt-amperes, supplied by the transf ormer. Loads are expressed as a
f unction of the current f lowing in the transf ormer, and not according to the watts consumed by the
equipment the transf ormer f eeds.

Load Losses
T hose losses in a transf ormer that are incident to load carrying. Load losses include the I2R loss in the
winding, core clamps, etc., and the circulating currents (if any) in parallel windings.
Back to Index | L

M
Mid-t ap

A reduced-capacity tap midday in a winding usually the secondary.

Moist ure-resist ant

Constructed or treated so as to reduce harm by exposure to a moist atmosphere.

Nat ural-draf t or Nat ural-draf t Vent ilat ed

An open transf ormer cooled by the draf t created by the chimney ef f ect of the heated air in its enclosure.
Back to Index | M

N
No-load Losses (Excit at ion Losses)
Loss in a transf ormer that ls excited at its rated voltage and f requency, but which is not supplying load. Noload losses include core loss, dielectric loss, and copper loss in the winding due to exciting current.
Back to Index | N

O
OA
An ANSI cooling class designation indicating an oil filled transformer.
Back to Index | O

P
Parallel Operat ion
Single and three-phase transf ormers having appropriate terminals may be operated in parallel by
connecting similarly-marked terminals, provided their ratios, voltages, resistances, reactances, and ground
connections are designed to permit paralleled operation and provided their angular displacements are the
same in the case of three-phase transf ormers.

Polarit y Test
A standard test perf ormed on transf ormers to determine instantaneous direction of the voltages in the
primary compared to the secondary (see Transformer Tests).

Poly-phase
More than one phase.

Pot ent ial (Volt age) Transf ormer

A transf ormer used in instrumentation circuits that measure or control voltage.

Power Fact or
T he ratio of watts to volt-amps in a circuit.

Primary Taps
Taps added in the primary winding (see Tap).

Primary Volt age Rat ing

Designates the input circuit voltage f or which the primary tiding is designed.

Primary Winding
T he primary winding on the energy input (supply) side.
Back to Index | P

R
Rat ing
T he output or input and any other characteristic, such as primary and secondary voltage, current,
frequency, power factor and temperature rise assigned to the transf ormer by the manuf acturer.

Rat io Test
A standard test of transf ormers used to determine the ratio of the primary to the secondary voltage.

React ance
T he ef f ect of inductive and capacitive components of the circuit producing other than unity power f actor.

React or
A device f or introducing inductive reactance into a circuit f or: motor starting, operating transformers in
parallel, and controlling current.
Back to Index | R

S
Scot t Connect ion
Connection f or polyphase transf ormers. Usually used to change f rom two-phase to three-phase to threephase to two-phase.

Sealed Transf ormer

A transf ormer completely sealed f rom outside atmosphere and usually contains an inert gas that is slightly
pressurized.

Secondary Taps
Taps located in the secondary winding (see Tap).

Secondary Volt age Rat ing

Designates the load-circuit voltage f or which the secondary winding (winding on the output side) is
designed.

Series/Mult iple
A winding of two similar coils that can be connected f or series operation or multiple (parellel) operation.

Shell-t ype Const ruct ion

A type of transf ormer construction where the core completely surrounds the coil.

St ar Connect ion
Same as wye connections.

St ep-down Transf ormer

A transf ormer in which the energy transf er is f rom the high-voltage winding to the low-voltage winding or
windings.

St ep-up t ransf ormer

A transf ormer in which the energy transf er is f rom the low-voltage winding to a high-voltage winding or
windings.
Back to Index | S

T
T-Connect ion
Use of Scott Connection f or three-phase operation. A connection brought out of a winding at some point
between its extremities, usually to permit changing the voltage or current ratio.

Temperat ure Rise

T he increase over ambient temperature of the winding due to energizing and loading the transformer.

Tot al Losses
T he losses represented by the sum of the no-load and the load losses.

Transf ormer

An electrical device, without continuously moving parts, which, by electro-magnetic induction, transf orms
energy f rom one or more circuits to other circuits at the same f requency, usually with changed values of
voltage and current.

Turns Rat io (of a t ransf ormer)

T he ratio of turns in the primary winding to the number of turns in the secondary winding.
Back to Index | T

V
Volt -amperes
Circuit volts multiplied by circuit amperes.

Volt age Rat io (of a t ransf ormer)

T he ratio of the RMS primary terminal voltage to the RMS secondary terminal voltage under specif ied
conditions of load.

Volt age Regulat ion (of a t ransf ormer)

T he change in secondary voltage that occurs when the load is reduced f rom rated value to zero, with the
values of all other quantities remaining unchanged. T he regulation may be expressed in percent (or per unit)
on the basis of the rated secondary voltage at f ull load.
Back to Index | V

W
Winding Losses
See Load Losses.

Winding Volt age Rat ing

Designates the voltage f or which the winding is designed

Wye Connect ion (Y)

A standard three-phase connection with similar ends of the single-phase coils connected to a common
point. T his common point f orms the electrical neutral point and may be grounded.
Back to Index | W
Reference: Power transformer maintenance and accepting testing Department of the Army TM 5686