A 37-Transformers-Tolerances on

Guaranteed Technical Parameters.

• Published on August 6, 2021

P Ramachandran

Specialist, Power Transformers

64 articles

Tolerances are necessary on certain transformer performance parameters, specified by

customer or designed by manufacturer, due to the manufacturing or material variations and
measuring uncertainty. It can also be due to the design complexity (eg. in large transformers
with relatively low rated voltages, it will be difficult to accommodate turns ratio due to less
winding turns). It may also be required due to insufficient analysis done at the time of
tendering. Normally tolerances are specified with an upper and lower limit, but in certain
cases only in one direction (eg. no-load currents, losses) .

In England, British Engineering Standards committee was established in 1901 and a British
Engineering Specification No.72 for Transformers (first British transformer standard) was
issued in1917.It is not clear any tolerances for performance parameters were included in that
standard. But none of the books on transformers published from UK or USA till 1920,
contain technical parameter tolerances. Hence it can be presumed that industry was not
following any tolerances on guaranteed technical particulars at that period. But a new BESA
(British Engineering Standards Association, later it became BS, British Standard Institution)
transformer specifications - Tentative Specifications for Transformers (BESA 171) – was
published around 1920 and issued as a standard in 1927 (BESA 171- Electrical Performance
of Transformers for Power and Lighting) along with BESA 148 -1927 for oil. These two
British standards for transformers and mineral oil, with numbers 171 &148, remained in use
for the next 80 years in Great Britain and in their colonies.

The following quote on tolerances on performance specifications is from J&P Transformer

Book, published from London (ed1.0-1925), (page 30). After referring to the above tentative
BESA transformer specifications- quote “In order to allow for variations in the qualities of
materials and in the various shop processes, guaranteed performance figures are subject to the
following:
· Plus, minus tolerances –Ratio of transformation -0.5 % or 1/10 of the percentage
impedance drop whichever is the smaller;

· Iron &Copper losses,10 % of their respective values;

· Regulation-10% of its value;

· Impedance pressure drop (in today’s parlance, voltage regulation) 10 % of its value;
Temperature rise 2 degrees centigrade “

Unquote.

BESA standard No.171 for Power Transformers was reproduced in full in 4th & 5th editions
of J & P Transformer book (published in 1928 &1929). Chapter XI of the specifications
(standard) covered performance parameter Tolerances. Even today, IEC 60076-1 and IEEE
C57.12.00 standards for Transformers follow almost the same level of tolerances.

In USA, American Institute of Electrical Engineers set up a committee in 1897 (Dr C P

Steinmetz was a member of this committee) for preparing a working standard for Electrical
equipment. They issued in 1911, Standardization Rules of AIEE .This was a combined
specification for all electrical equipment and did not contain any tolerances for performance
parameters. First Transformer standard from USA was AIEE Standard No.13-1927 to be
superseded by C57 series in 1940’s. These standards covered tolerances on guaranteed
technical particulars almost on the same lines as British Standards.

Transformer users and makers are at liberty to specify or offer more stringent tolerances than
given in standards.

A) Tolerances on Transformer Parameters as per IEC and IEEE Transformer Standards.

B) Russian Standard GOST 11677- 2.6. The limit deviations of the measured parameters of
transformers from the normalized ones should not exceed the values specified below table.
(courtesy: Mr.Vitaly Gurin)
 Notes to GOST Table:

· When determining the total losses of the three-winding auto-transformer, the no-load
loss is added to the load losses of the main pair of windings.

· By agreement between the manufacturer and the consumer, the maximum deviation of
the short-circuit voltage for non-basic pairs of windings of three-winding transformers, as
well as impedance voltage at extreme taps for transformers with OLTC, should not exceed
±15%.

· By agreement between the manufacturer and the consumer, the maximum deviation of
the transformation ratio on the main circuit for transformers with a capacity of 100 MVA and
more should not go beyond the ±10.0%.

· The maximum deviation for load losses for transformers with a capacity of less than 1
MVA can be increased to +15%.
Another issue that may come up with engineers is how much variation in guaranteed
parameters can be expected in a lot of identical transformers manufactured in one factory as
per same design. Some customers specify a dispersion range of 3 % for percentage
impedance of single- phase power transformers ordered for three phase banks.

ABB (Dr.Ramsis Girgis, St. Louis, USA) did a study on this subject in 2016 and the results
were presented at Doble conference and published in IEEE. Result summary is as shown
below.

For further study:

1) 1946, E.T. Norris, Performance Guarantees, IEE, UK, Pages 140-145

2) 2016, R.S.Girgis, M.S.Bernesjo, Magnitudes of variability of performance parameters of

Power Transformers at factory acceptance tests, 83 rd Doble International Conference of
Doble Clients , 9 pages