My home has a very old-fashioned brass-tube mechanical chime. What we're looking for is the recommended voltage. You will likely need to remove the chime cover to find the model number, wiring diagram, or additional information. In addition to locating your doorbell transformer, go to your chime assembly and look for a label. Even if you have one of these variable models, you may find that none of the variable options meets your needs, and you still need to upgrade. Some have three in a variable configuration that allows you to select two out of the three contacts for different voltages, such as 8V 10VA, 16V 10VA, or 24V 20A. Most doorbell transformers have two contact points. Typically the voltage and VA rating of the transformer is stamped right into the metal. The video doorbell freezes up or reboots when you press the button.Neither the video doorbell nor the chime responds when you press the button.The video doorbell responds when you press the button, but the chime doesn't.When attached to the doorbell wiring, your video doorbell cannot maintain a charge.These examples presume you've tested the wiring with a multimeter and confirmed that there isn't a dead wire or short in the system. Here are some common problems that indicate your transformer is underpowered. Doesn't matter if you're installing a Nest doorbell, a Ring doorbell, or even a more DIY-type video doorbell solution like those from Amcrest or similar companies. The older Ring models only required 16V 10VA, but the newer models require 16V 30A.ĭepending on the combination of chimes and video doorbell hardware you have (or if you want to replace both the front and rear doorbells with video doorbells) you'll likely need a bigger transformer. You might find yourself in the same situation if you upgrade from, say, the regular wired Ring doorbell or the Ring Pro to the newer Ring Pro 2. $250 at Amazon See at Bestbuy See at Crutchfield But when I replaced the Nest Hello with the more power-hungry Ubiquiti G4 Pro Doorbell, I suddenly had a problem-the doorbell rebooted every time you rang it because the voltage dropped too low when the mechanical chime activated. I swapped out the original doorbell in my home with a Nest Hello years ago and had no issues. Sometimes even upgrading from one video doorbell to another can reveal the problem. Why does it matter? When upgrading to a video doorbell, you may find that your doorbell transformer provided enough energy to supply your old-fashioned doorbell button and the chime-but doesn't provide enough energy when you introduce the additional power draw of the video doorbell. Video doorbells, however, change the equation. If not for video doorbells, most people would never even think about their doorbell transformer, let alone consider replacing it. Why Does Upgrading Your Transformer Fix Video Doorbell Problems?ĭoorbell transfers are very simple and sturdy devices, and it's not unreasonable to expect the transformer to last for decades or even, potentially, the entire lifespan of the home. Both use 16V, but each can only supply up to its VA-rating worth of power, just like a power supply unit can supply up to its rated watts. You can find, for example, a doorbell transformer that outputs 16V 10VA and another that outputs 16V 30VA. Just like you can have a 120V laptop power brick rated for a 65W output and a 120V PC power supply unit rated for 800W, different low-voltage devices can have the same voltage but different volt-amperes. If you'd like to dive deep into the differences, you can start by reading up on power factors, but you hardly need an amateur electrical engineering degree to follow along here. It's a bit of a simplification, but volt-amperes function in much the same way as watts do in AC nomenclature. That means the transformer steps down the AC power of the home's electrical system into a 16-volt AC output with a "power" of 10 volt-amperes. Doorbell transformer output varies by the home's age and where in the world you are, but typically they output anywhere from 8-24V to 10-40VA, with the most common transformer type in the U.S.
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