Most power surges occurring in a household are internal. Power surges may occur multiple times in a day, specifically when the device starts or is switched off and the electricity gets diverted to or from the other electrical appliances. Some surges may be brief disturbances or voltage spikes. However, if this power surge occurs on a power waveform, it can degrade, damage, or destroy your electronic equipment.
Power surges can also be generated due to environmental conditions like lightning. Other ways power surges can enter your home is via the telephone utility, cable, and electric lines. There are other power lines like irrigation systems, electronic dog fences, yard light circuits, low voltage lighting systems which can also work as entry points for power surges.
Every electrical equipment present in your house has been designed to work at a specific voltage like 140 V, 120V or 480V et cetera. Most of these electrical appliances can handle minor variations in voltage. However, if there is a power surge, it can be very damaging to the equipment.
Internal sources of power surges
Electrical load switching
There are many sources of internal power surges. They can happen either due to intentional or unintentional use. Sometimes we tend to switch surges without realizing it. There is a sudden huge input of voltage or sudden loss of a huge amount of voltage. Switching surges over time can be very damaging and disruptive to the equipment.
Inductive as well as magnetic coupling
The flow of current creates a magnetic field. When this magnetic field extends onto another wire, it induces a voltage generation in that wire. So basically, a magnetic field generation in the primary wire generates a voltage in the secondary wire as well. This generation of voltage in the second wire may be undesirable and cause a power surge.
Static electricity
The generation of electrostatic discharge can cause a transfer of charge between two bodies that have different electrostatic potentials. This discharge of electrostatic energy can lead to physical damage of the equipment as well as equipment malfunction. Equipment malfunction will include equipment lock up and corruption of the data. Physical damage to the equipment will include damage to the equipment as well as loss of life.
Therefore, to attain protection from unwanted electrostatic discharge, the design of the entire system must be taken into consideration both for the field as well as for direct discharges. You should also have a surge protection device to minimize such a situation from occurring in your household.
Surge protection device
A surge protector is a device or an appliance that works to protect your electronic devices from any kind of voltage spikes or surges. The surge protector works to limit the supply of voltage to the electronic device in one of two ways. It will either block the current or it will short the current to reduce it below the safety threshold. The blocking of the incoming voltage is done by the use of conductors. Shorting of the current is done via the use of discharge tube, Zener type semiconductors or spark gaps.
Transient voltage source suppressors and surge protection devices are either installed in process control systems, power distribution panels, communication systems or other industrial systems to protect them against electrical spikes and surges. The scaled-down version of these are used in the case of residential electrical panels to protect the household equipment from power surge problems.
Surge protectors that are meant to be installed in homes come as power strips that are either used inside the devices or as specific devices which are placed outside in the power panels. The sockets present in the 21st-century house usually have three different wires: the line wire, the neutral wire and the ground wire. Many of these surge protectors will connect to all three wires in pairs like line-ground, neutral-ground and line-neutral. Due to conditions like lightning, there is a chance that the neutral and line wires may have high voltage spikes. These spikes must be shorted to the ground as soon as possible.
Don’t neglect them since they may cause real troubles and make sure to connect to a reliable provider like Frontier energy who will help you out in your energy consumption.
If you are looking for surge protectors, first energy surge protection plan is one of the most affordable ones available in the market. They not only protect you from the unwonted damage costs caused due to the power surges, but they also provide their clients with reimbursement options in case any electronic appliance priced at $100 or more need to be replaced or repaired due to the electrical surge.
Another amazing feature of this surge protection is that you do not have to get any equipment installed. They also cover up to $125 in diagnostic fees. In case you have any queries, you can always call their customer care department. Get your home surge-protected today. Do not wait for a mishap to occur.