MANAGE YOUR ENERGY
A disturbance may be caused by a problem that occurs on SMECO’s transmission or distribution lines, such as a lightning strike. A disturbance may also be caused by circumstances within your home or office building. For example, starting a motor will cause the voltage to drop briefly (a sag) because the motor pulls a large amount of energy. Turning the motor off may cause a brief, sudden rise in voltage (a surge) because the energy needed to run the motor is no longer required.
Disturbances like these, along with noise, spikes, and momentary interruptions of power, may affect your computer equipment without your realizing it. An electrical disturbance is described by the way it changes the shape of the voltage waveform. The five basic disturbances that can occur on an electrical system are illustrated and explained below. A normal waveform of the 60 hertz (Hz) alternating current provided by the utility is also illustrated.
Normal 60 Hz waveform |
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Voltage Sag |
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Description: Drop in voltage greater than 13 percent within 2½ seconds |
Voltage Surge |
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Description: Increase in voltage greater than 6 percent within 2½ seconds |
Noise |
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Description: Continuous distortion of line voltage |
Spike |
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Description: Sharp increase in voltage which may exceed normal by 5 to 10 times |
Momentary Interruption |
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Description: Breaks in applied voltage lasting half a second to several seconds |
SMECO supplies your home or office building with alternating current (AC) at 60 Hz and at certain voltages, such as 120 or 240 volts (V). This AC power is what your computer receives when it is plugged into an outlet. However, there is a power supply unit built into your computer equipment which receives the AC power and converts it to direct current (DC) power at a lower voltage.
Electrical disturbances can occur anywhere on the AC electrical system and can be transmitted into the microprocessor's power supply unit. The power supply unit is affected by electrical disturbances because it is not designed to withstand significant changes in AC power, such as spikes, surges, or sags. Electrical disturbances can damage your computer equipment's power supply unit, circuit boards, microchips, and even individual logic gates.
A device which will protect your computer from electrical disturbances is available to you through SMECO. It is called an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system. Basically, a UPS unit contains electronic hardware and maintenance-free, sealed batteries to protect your computer and processed data.
During normal operation, the UPS unit acts as a filter: it removes noise and arrests any spikes which may occur on the electrical system. At the same time, the battery is being maintained by an electrical charge which keeps it at full capacity. When the UPS unit monitors a surge, a sag, or a momentary interruption of power, the battery comes online to provide the correct voltage to keep your computer operating.
During an extended power outage, the UPS unit will supply power to your computer and provide sufficient time for you to properly store your data and turn the computer equipment off. Usually, power back-up time is approximately ten minutes. Critical equipment, such as electronic phone systems or security systems, will stay on line longer when UPS systems with greater battery capacity are used.
You can purchase surge protectors and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems from SMECO to safeguard your electronics from surges and power disturbances. Contact us by , or call toll-free 1-888-440-3311.