Power lines come into factories to make sure that the various machines and pieces of equipment can be powered up and used safely. But those power lines can carry very high voltages, into the tens or even hundreds of thousands of volts on each wire. While that may work really well for the transmission lines, they aren't so great when it comes to powering the stuff in the factory. That much voltage would immediately blow out what kind of machine or equipment that is hooked up to it. That means that there needs to be a way to get the voltage down to a usable level. That means there needs to be something like a transformer. 

What Is a Transformer?

A transformer is a device that is designed to alter the voltage level of any power source so that it can be safely used. For example, a transmission line that goes into the factory may have extremely high voltage, so it will go into a large transformer. In the transformer, there are going to be various posts with coils of wire wrapped around them. As the coils of wire around each post decreases, the voltage level of the power will also be lessened. That may start with the transmission line to the factory which then goes into large transformers, from there, it will go into other wires that will go into the factory where the equipment or machines can be plugged in or hardwired into the power grid. When the power is in the factory, it may also go through a transformer before it gets to the machine so that it will be at the right voltage. 

How Can Transformers Be Kept Safe?

One big safety issue with transformers, especially the large ones that can alter huge amounts of voltage, is that they can cause all kinds of damage to someone who touches them or messes with them. That means that there needs to be some kind of protections and warnings so that people can't get to the transformers and that people are aware that they are there. The easiest way to make sure that people can't get to them is to make sure that they are in a fenced-in area, with the fence far enough away from the transformer that it won't interfere with the transformer's function. On top of that, it's important to make sure that the transformer is properly labeled with labels on the transformer itself as well as signs on the fence. 

Transformers turn the high voltage power sources into something that's actually usable.