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Circumstances :

The power supply to our home is faulty and runs very low. Sometimes as low as 138V, most of the time 170V, but never 220V as it should. (We are in South Africa)

Sometimes the UPS from my computer alarms like when there is a power failure, but actually it is still on.

My question is how low is the power when this happens?

Dewie En Rina Heydenreich
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  • We are struggling with our local municipality for over a year now, it is the entire neighbourhood that have this problem. Our "highly qualified electricians" cant find the problem. – Dewie En Rina Heydenreich Dec 28 '17 at 06:34
  • You're most likely overloading your (neighborhood) part of the net. You look like a perfect candidate for those power walls. – Jeroen3 Dec 28 '17 at 06:40
  • The level at which your UPS signals an alarm depends entirely on your UPS. Sometimes it's adjustable, sometimes not. – Finbarr Dec 28 '17 at 09:53

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A general answer can't be given that applies to all devices.

Some devices use a universal input power supply that is designed to support all typical voltages around the world: 100V, 115V, 230V etc. A typical input range is 85V to 264V. Devices powered through one of these will still draw their rated power in your circumstances.

Other devices can be expected to malfunction badly and even be damaged in your circumstances. Anything with an AC motor deserves suspicion. Some devices may compensate for the lower voltage by drawing more current, which is a danger to wiring and therefore a fire hazard.

The easiest way to answer the power question is to plug in a cheap power meter between the wall socket and the device.

In any case, you're on the order of 50% below nominal, whereas even 5% below nominal is on the threshold of typical national standards. Good luck with the municipality, someone in authority needs to be convinced of the fire hazard and risk to life and property.