Voltage Regulator

A voltage regulator is a system designed to automatically maintain a constant output voltage, built using either a simple feed-forward design or one that relies on negative feedback, and implemented with either electromechanical or electronic components depending on the application. In an electric power distribution system, voltage regulators are installed at substations or along distribution lines so that customers receive a steady voltage regardless of how much power is being drawn elsewhere on the line, and the same underlying regulation task is performed by the voltage regulators built into automobile alternators and into the generators of central power stations, which control the plant electrical output directly.