Variable incoming household voltage

Bonjour, Allo, and Hi Y'all! :-D I'm PCinept. Not really but a little. My real name is Sonny. Been out of the "game", messing around with computers, so to speak for over 10 years and YIKES! Recently I've been Googling for some kind of a program I can download to track the voltage coming into my computer. :confused For the last 3-4 months power has been up and down to the point that my lights get Really dim, fan almost stops turning and the microwave shuts off and a couple of times my PC shutdown and restarted along with the checkdisk pre-scan. Then hours later, everything gets almost Daylight bright and the fan wants to fly out the window; and it's on Low, and the volume on the TV becomes distorted. I know this isn't good for and electronic device; especially flat screen's, PC's and laptops. That's what brought me here. Does anyone know of a program that can do that from my desktop? :banghead

 

Welcome to MGs PCinept
I know you are requesting voltage monitoring software but the incoming voltage is under the control of the electricity supply company and if you are getting large voltage fluctuations then so will other people in the area. It is up to the supply company to fix this problem and besides voltage monitoring software may not warn you in time to prevent damage to your electronic devices.

To protect your electronic devices why not get yourself a UPS (uninterruptible power supply). If you can't afford a new one a good source is an old commercial unit that needs a new set of batteries. These can usually be picked for a song. As an example my 3kw APC Smart line active UPS was only three years old when I bought it and at the time valued new at about A$4000 yet I only paid A$75 on ebay for the UPS and then replaced the batteries with cheap Chinese ones for A$90 so all up it cost A$165 for a 3kw UPS.

Voltage monitoring software for the incoming supply would need a connection to the mains voltage. The easiest way around this is with a cheap multimeter that can connect to a pc via USB, wireless or if old RS232. The software that comes with the meter can usually monitor and and display a chart or graph of the readings plus output a CSV (comma separated variable) txt file that can be imported into a spreadsheet.
Here is a cheap example that is wireless USB http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=QM1571
Hope this helps

 

I would also do the following:

* Call your power company, report the problem and have them check it out.

* Have a qualified electrician do a "once over" on your breaker box and wiring. Wiring that's going bad (and potentially a fire hazard) could be causing part of all of your problem.

 

Thanks for getting back so soon on this. I didn't expect that. I called ComEd multiple times. They said they checked the transformer but I was home both days. No one showed. Had a friend who is IBEW cert for 26 years check and he said it was coming from the main feed split. He said; in otherwords it was ComEds feed. That's why I was looking for a program to download. I could use the history to show them when and how bad it was fluctuating. Also, if it caused and of my electronics to fail, I could use that to get them to replace them if it went to court. If you find anything please let me know. If I find out the cause or a program, I'll post an update to this.

 

Since you've had a certified electrician verify the problem is ConEd's fault, it might be worth calling or e-mailing the local TV station's consumer watchdog reporter and reporting the both the problem and ConEd's indifference to solving it. I've seen two such stories on the local news in Houston - once the reporter airs the story, it's amazing how fast the local utility solves the problem. :-D

Even if you have UPS or surge protectors on your 120-volt stuff (TV, PC, etc.), major voltage fluctuations can also damage 220-volt items like central AC, electric ranges/dryers, etc.