Free Engineering Simulation

Explore the Transformer Simulator: Turns Ratio, Losses &

Build a step-up or step-down transformer, add winding resistance and core loss, and watch efficiency change as you load it. Works on phones and computers.

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Free to use
No signup
Nothing to install
Runs in your browser

Free to use

No signup

Transformer Simulator: Turns Ratio, Losses &

Setting

Open the Transformer Simulator: Turns Ratio, Losses &

Illustration. Open the tool for the real thing.

See it in action

The Transformer Simulator: Turns Ratio, Losses & with sample data entered and the result showing.

Screenshot of the Transformer Simulator: Turns Ratio, Losses & with sample data entered: The Transformer Simulator: Turns Ratio, Losses & with sample data entered and the result showing. — Sample data entered into the Transformer Simulator: Turns Ratio, Losses &. Open the tool to try your own.

Explained

What is the Transformer Simulator: Turns Ratio, Losses &?

Build a step-up or step-down transformer, add winding resistance and core loss, and watch efficiency change as you load it. It runs in your browser, so a change to a setting or a drag on an object shows up at once.

Transformers step voltage up for long-distance power transmission and down again for homes and factories, and smaller versions live inside phone chargers, doorbell transformers, welders, and the isolation transformers used in hospitals and labs.

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Key idea 1Key idea 2Key idea 3

3 steps to your result

Open the tool and follow along. Nothing to install.

In the Transformer Simulator: Turns Ratio, Losses & Efficiency, use the controls to change Primary turns Np, Secondary turns Ns, Primary voltage Vp (RMS), Load resistance, Winding resistance (each side), and more. The simulation reacts instantly.

Start with this experiment: Set Ns greater than Np and confirm the readout switches to step-up with a raised secondary voltage. Drag any glowing handle, object or slider with your mouse or finger and the Transformer Simulator: Turns Ratio, Losses & Efficiency responds in real time.

Change one setting at a time and watch which readout moves, then compare it with this idea: An ideal transformer's secondary voltage is set only by the turns ratio: Vs = Vp×(Ns/Np).

What you get

Key idea 1

An ideal transformer's secondary voltage is set only by the turns ratio: Vs = Vp×(Ns/Np).

Key idea 2

A transformer with more secondary turns than primary turns (Ns > Np) is a step-up transformer; fewer secondary turns (Ns < Np) makes it step-down.

Key idea 3

Real windings have resistance, so some voltage is lost to I²R heating in the copper, and the secondary terminal voltage sags a little below the ideal value under load.

Experiment 1

Set Ns greater than Np and confirm the readout switches to step-up with a raised secondary voltage.

Experiment 2

Push the winding-resistance slider up and watch the secondary voltage sag below the ideal Vp×(Ns/Np) value.

Experiment 3

Raise the core-loss slider with a light load and see efficiency fall even though the copper loss barely changes.

Used for

Pick one to see how it fits.

Use case

Engineering learners

Engineering and technology students, makers, robotics clubs and teachers of design and technology.

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How it compares

A plain look at this tool next to the usual alternative.

	This simulation	Textbook diagram
Interactive	Drag, tap and change settings	Fixed picture
Install	Nothing to install	Not needed
Cost	Free to use	Depends on the book

Questions people ask

Why do power grids transmit electricity at high voltage?

Transmitting the same power at a higher voltage means a lower current, and since resistive loss grows with the square of current (I²R), high-voltage transmission loses much less energy to heat in the lines. A step-up transformer raises the voltage for the transmission line and a step-down transformer lowers it again near homes.

Why isn't a real transformer 100% efficient?

Two things eat into the power: copper loss (I²R heating in the primary and secondary windings, which grows with load) and core loss (energy spent magnetizing and demagnetizing the iron core every cycle, which is present even at no load).

How do you tell if a transformer is step-up or step-down?

Compare the turns: if the secondary has more turns than the primary (Ns > Np) it is step-up (raises voltage, lowers current); if the secondary has fewer turns (Ns < Np) it is step-down (lowers voltage, raises current).

Is the Transformer Simulator: Turns Ratio, Losses & Efficiency free to use?

Yes. The Transformer Simulator: Turns Ratio, Losses & Efficiency is free, needs no signup or download and runs in your web browser. It is part of the Engineering group of AZRS simulations.

Does the Transformer Simulator: Turns Ratio, Losses & Efficiency work on a phone or tablet?

Yes. The Transformer Simulator: Turns Ratio, Losses & Efficiency takes touch input as well as mouse input, so you can use its 6 adjustable settings with a finger. A larger screen makes the controls and graphs easier to read.