Dictionary of Electrical Engineering

Commonly used terms in the Electrical industry.

automatic voltage regulator (AVR)
an automatic feedback control system that is responsible for maintaining a scheduled voltage either at the terminals of a synchronous generator or at the high-side bus of the generator step-up transformer. The control is brought about by changing the level of excitation.
voltage regulator
similar to a voltage reference, but provides more output current at a less precisely controlled voltage. Primarily used to "clean up" (regulate) a varying input voltage to provide circuitry with a constant power supply voltage.