Are You Aware That Electrical Surges Are Killing Your Systems and Equipment?
By al brouillard
 Electrical surges are spikes in the supply voltage that travels into your building, through your supply wiring, and into all your equipment connected to those wires. There are four main types of surges: voltage dips- brownouts; electro-magnetic interference- caused by large motors starting or other magnetic fields in the radio frequency range; radio frequency interference- caused by computers, dimmers, garage door openers, and the like; and power surges- (transient surges) caused by lighting strikes and switching at the grid level.
If your office and plant equipment contains electronics, such as computers and VSD's/VFD's, surges can damage or destroy it. Extremely heavy surges will also threaten your wiring and can even cause fires.
On one side of the extreme, surges can be generated by a lighting strike nearby. At the other side, surges can come from your equipments' motors that turn on and off during everyday operations. And somewhere in between, surges can be produced by the daily switching at the grid level done by your electrical company while meeting changing energy needs.
While lightning strikes can cause severe and immediate damage, even low level surges, over time, will degrade your electronic components and shorten the life of your equipment. And, yes, this also means your computers and phone systems.
A spike in voltage can be harmful to equipment and electrical devices. An increase in voltage above the equipment's normal operating voltage can cause an arc of electrical current within the equipment. The heat generated in this arc causes damage to the electronic circuit boards and other electrical components.
You can protect your business, though you need to understand the levels of protection available.
The American National Standards Institute and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers have defined three levels of protection:
• Category A devices offer protection between your electrical branch circuit supply and your electrical equipment
• Category B devices protect against surges from your main disconnect (usually your load center) through your branch circuit breakers and your wiring. These surges may come from outside - from lightning or utility company switching - or inside from your own motors as they turn on and off.
• Category C protection covers your system from your utility pole to your main disconnect, including your wiring from the transformer to your meter. Category C protection is generally supplied by your utility company.
For Categories A&B, there are simple and cost effective solutions. From individual surge suppressors, to line conditioners, to facility wide TVSS systems.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6674157
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