What are they?
Power Surge Definition: What is a Power Surge?
Power and voltage surges only last for a millisecond, but they are very damaging to electronic equipment. These affect the electronic circuit by raising the voltage a few hundred or even a few thousand volts. Understanding the causes of power surges and how to reduce the risk helps save businesses from downtime and unexpected costs.
The following are two common causes of power surges within an industrial facility:
Internal Surges
Internal surges occur from the day-to-day operation of many devices within the facility.
Those devices include:
- Variable speed drives
- Generators
- Air conditioners
- Electric motors
- Elevators
- Other electrical equipment.
- Power surges also result from internal circuit breakers and fuses from within the equipment or at the electrical panel
External Surges
Weather events cause external power surges, such as lightning. That is by no means the only reason why they take place.
Other possibilities include:
- Electrostatic discharge
- Switching on or off capacitor banks
- Power line disconnection and reconnection
- Utility load switching
- Turning transformers on and off
- Poor quality within the distribution grid
A power surge is caused by an event or issue within the facility or from outside of the facility.
A higher percentage of power surges tend to occur as a result of problems within the facility, including within the electronic equipment itself. Both external and internal events leading to power surges cause significant problems. A power surge occurs when there is a sudden change in the electrical conditions within the circuit. This change leads to larger amounts of energy released to the electrical system.
Have an ICP site survey done to survey your facility and install a power metering device.
When you install equipment that will correct power and hold voltage within your facility, you will be providing your facility with protection against all outside influences of power. Halting wear and tear on other equipment in the facility by having stable voltage and power factor is the goal. The long term positives are lowered operations and maintenance costs by limiting voltage and amperage anomalies inside the facility. It is common to vet these issues by installing a monitoring device at the service entrance of the facility utility power. This is a low-cost method to really understand these issues and to make a proper diagnosis.
We are available to review electrical one-lines, Power Reports, Demand Usage, and any other data on your facility power.
Call your ICP Technical Representative today to discuss options to increase efficiency in your facility and correct our facility power issues!