What No Manufacturer Wants You
To Know About Equi=Tech Products

The use of a bifilar wound center-tapped output coil design is a new winding method for single-phase AC power distribution. At this time, Equi=Tech is the only manufacturer of balanced power equipment utilizing the bifilar wound center tapped output transformer design. (US Pat. No. 5,640,315)

When a transformer's output (secondary coil) is bifilar wound, a pair of wires are applied during the winding process that are in very close proximity and parallel to each other over the entire length of the secondary (output) coil. Though physically parallel, the wires are connected together in series. One wire at one end of the coil is connected to the other wire at the other end of the coil. This termination point is the output center tap. The remaining wires at both ends of the coil are terminated separately. Across these two terminals is the line-to-line output voltage potential of the transformer. The voltage applied to a load originates exclusively from these two terminals.

The bifilar winding technique is preferred because it is the most effective and precise means of providing the most accurately balanced output from a transformer. Not only is the voltage potential on the output perfectly balanced, but the inductance, resistance and capacitance of the output are also precisely balanced. Equi=Tech's bifilar wound transformers are the ONLY transformers that provide near perfect mirror image symmetry and because of this feature, Equi=Tech's balanced power systems provide the widest possible bandwidth of noise attenuation.

Solid state output devices used in electronic inverters and generators can approach similar symmetry but their impedance between line and ground is significantly greater than a transformer's output coil. When put under load, this limitation restricts high frequency noise attenuation on the line which renders solid state output devices no better nor any more effective than the typical non-bifilar wound transformer in this regard.

In the case of transformer based electrical systems, critically balanced circuit elements are not considered crucial in conventional single-phase AC system designs. Transformers used in typical electrical power systems as well as those used in every other transformer based balanced power product on the market lacks the precision degree of winding symmetry required to approach a perfectly balanced mirror image AC output.  Under load, the more perfectly balanced the AC source is, the wider the bandwidth of noise attenuation there will be and the less resulting noise will appear in sensitive electronics.  The bifilar winding technique is particularly important where attenuation of high frequency noise is critical, especially with regards to the digital signal processing platform and in high resolution audio and video equipment.

The emphasis should be on the term "under load."  We are dealing with the real world where components are typically turned on and put into operation.  Even the cleanest power furnished to electronic components becomes degraded the instant component power switches are turned on.  Specifically, what is added to the power line is referred to as kVAR (kilovolt-amperes reactive) which simply stated, represents all the harmonic and reactive currents present in common "dirty power."  Typical electronic loads create kVAR.  This unavoidable truth is simply the nature of using what are referred to by engineers as reactive or non-linear loads (including everything that is considered sensitive electronics, especially digital switching power supplied electronics.)  Typically, LOAD NOISE THAT IS LOCALLY GENERATED AT THE POINT OF USE IS THE VERY NOISE THAT MOST NEGATIVELY AFFECTS SENSITIVE ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT PERFORMANCE. 

Equi=Tech's presentation of this discovery was made back in the early 90's to Technical Committee No. 15 of the National Electrical Code and since then it has has taken root and has been revolutionizing the entire power quality industry.  This truth is most easily observed when balanced power is used with a system of sensitive components, for example a high resolution audio system where the difference in the quality of the audio is often startling.  Furthermore, numerous lab tests and field tests by 3rd party reviewers and independent testing laboratories have confirmed through independent tests that this is true.  Several of these field test reports can be found in the technical papers section of Equi=Tech's web site.  To assume that the problem is primarily bad or unclean AC power or noise that is coming in off the street is to make the same assumption engineers have made for decades and decades which has admittedly gotten them nowhere. 

Do not make the common mistake of thinking that the cause of the problem is rooted in poor utility power.  The problems that utility power create pale in comparison to the problems created by noise that is generated locally by your own equipment.  Most manufacturers of power conditioning equipment don't want you to understand this and many of them don't even understand it themselves!  The misconception that poor quality utility power is the reason behind poor equipment performance continues to be broadly thought of as the weak link by the unschooled average layman.  This common lack of understanding has provided a field day in profits for many manufacturers who's power products have provided limited benefits if any benefits at all.

Balanced power, especially balanced power from a center tapped bifilar wound output coil is the only way this added load noise can be accurately and effectively eliminated in real time the instant it appears.  This is the one aspect unique about balanced power that all other types of power cleaning technologies fail to adequately address.

It is also important to understand that while the basic balanced power design may be applied in its broadest aspects without the utilization of bifilar windings, such practice however results in a decrease in the effectiveness of balanced power in reducing high frequency AC harmonics and reactive load currents which, in critical applications, may result in severely diminished or unsatisfactory performance.  By virtue of the inherent inaccuracy and imbalance of the non-bifilar winding method, it is technically impossible for a non-bifilar wound transformer's output to provide maximum noise attenuation and the clearest and cleanest performance possible from any type of AC powered (analog or digital) signal processing device.

Be careful not to be fooled by the pretenders.  The performance of their products is inferior.  One company in Canada has sales representatives that have gone as far as to claim that their systems are balanced when in fact they are not.  Their systems require a 240V single phase input, anticipating that the originating power source will be balanced.  In North America, 120/240 volt single phase systems typical in most residences are inherently balanced by design (at 240 volts only.)  However, other connected loads on the same system typically use 120 volts which creates an imbalance.  To the degree that their originating power source (at a given moment) is balanced (at 240 Volts only, never 208 volts,) their systems, as their marketers deceptively claim, "run balanced" as if to mislead, but only insofar as their own systems themselves are loaded on the 240V source.  This should not be taken to mean that equipment connected to their output receives balanced power.  This is what their deception is meant to lead you to believe, however nothing connected to their outputs runs balanced and this is the critical place where balanced AC is most crucial, at the point of use.  In the case of this company's power products, everything connected to their output receives 120V unbalanced power.  They provide no benefit that is similar to balanced power.  They are no different from any other typical AC isolation transformer in this regard.  This step down transformer technology has been around for many decades and has never proven to be adequate where elimination of reactive load currents and the elimination of problematical AC noise is the desired goal.  To mistake this old technology for some sort of new type of power device that works some sort of wonder is a terribly inaccurate assumption to make because one is falling for the deception.  Had step down transformers worked as they claim they do for the past 60 or 70 years, wouldn't the IEEE or the US government FIPS publication service already recognize them as a viable way to (e.g.) handle grounding noise as these authoritative organizations have recognized balanced AC?  It is a mistake to equate this step down transformer technology to balanced AC!  If the system does not provide a 60V-0-60V output (120 volts balanced), they are not balanced power systems.  Beware of clever marketing deception!

AC systems that provide true balanced power directly to components are unique among all the rest where peak performance is sought after in any type of sensitive electronic apparatus.  This is why Oak Ridge National Laboratory, NASA/JPL, Cal. Tech., MIT, numerous other scientific and R&D facilities and most every professional audio/video production company has chosen balanced power technology from Equi=Tech Corporation.

Thank you for your time.  I hope that this writing has provided you with a greater understanding of power technology and has been a valuable educational experience.

Best wishes to you,
Martin Glasband, President
Equi=Tech Corporation