Could you imagine going an hour without electricity? Electricity plays a crucial role in our daily lives, making a reliable and steady energy supply essential. However, just one power surge could disrupt your daily routine or even damage your TV, fridge, or laptop. Today, we’ll dive deep into what a surge in electrical systems is and how you can protect your appliances from them.
A surge in electrical systems, also known as a transient, is a brief overvoltage spike or disturbance in a power waveform that can damage, degrade, or destroy electronic or electrical equipment. These sudden high voltages exceed the voltage limit that circuits are designed to handle. Surges typically last only for several microseconds to a few milliseconds, making them a quick but potentially harmful electrical phenomenon.
Your home typically receives power at 230-240 volts through a standard wall outlet. While this voltage can normally vary within a certain range, when it suddenly exceeds 169 volts, that’s when a power surge occurs. Understanding what a surge in electrical systems is helps us recognize the importance of protecting our devices.
Power surges can be broadly classified into two categories based on their origin: Internal surges and External surges.
Internal surges originate within a facility, building, or electrical system. Surprisingly, 60-80% of power surges come from internal sources. These surges can be powerful enough to damage electrical and electronic equipment in the system. Common causes of internal surges include:
External surges usually carry higher voltages compared to internal surges. They come from outside your home, carrying higher voltages than internal surges
Lightning surges deserve special attention when discussing what a surge in electrical systems can entail. Even without a direct hit, lightning can still damage your appliances by causing a power surge. This usually happens when lightning strikes a power line, leading to a big jump in voltage. There are four ways that lightning surges can occur:
While direct lightning strikes on facilities are rare, they cause extremely severe damage.
Lightning Surges are uncontrollable and can travel long distances through power or communication networks. Even though a lightning protection system is provided for a structure, the surges due to the above conditions can affect the equipment inside it. As per the standards, a lightning surge is usually10/350µs waveform.
Switching surges are the surges developed in a network when heavy loads are switched on and off. These types of surges develop within a building, which has heavy load equipment or due to heavy load anywhere in the network (mostly from the utility ends). As per the Standards, the switching surges are 8/20 µs waveform.
The graphical representation of these surges is shown as waveforms above. The lightning impulse waveform 10/350µs means, that when this surge happens, it will reach a maximum value of 10µs and will deplete to 50 per cent of its highest value in 350µs. Similarly, for switching surges waveform 8/20µs means that it will reach its highest value in 8µs and will deplete to its 50 per cent in 20 µs.
Understanding what a surge in electrical systems can do to your devices is crucial. Low-level surges might not cause immediate damage, but continuous exposure can lead to malfunctioning and gradual degradation of electronic components, potentially resulting in complete equipment failure over time. Large power surges, on the other hand, can cause instantaneous damage, even blowing up devices.
Now that we understand what a surge in electrical systems is, let’s explore how to protect your appliances. The most effective way to safeguard your electrical network and devices is by installing Surge Protection Devices (SPDs).
This tiny gadget called the Surge Protection Device will protect your appliance; these devices safeguard your equipment by limiting electrical surges, making them the most common choice for surge protection. Let’s understand how they work.
As we discussed earlier, electrical devices can malfunction or get damaged if a surge voltage goes beyond their impulse voltage ratings. Surge voltages, often reaching high kilovolts, are transient. This means they occur in a very short time but with high energy.
Since, these surges last from a few microseconds to several hundred microseconds, their short duration and high amplitude can cause sudden voltage spikes. SPDs are designed to protect against these spikes.
These devices are connected in parallel to the equipment and work on the principle of Equi-potentialisation. The key to understanding this is knowing that potential differences are the factors that damage equipment. When a surge enters the system through any line – be it phase, neutral, or earth – it increases the potential difference between these lines. What SPDs do at this moment is they balance the surge voltage across all lines. They bring the potential difference back to a normal value, keeping your equipment safe.
To read more about the working and types of SPDs read our blog – Surge Protection Devices – Complete Overview
Understanding what a surge in electrical systems is and how it can affect your devices is the first step in protecting your valuable electronics. The increased number of equipment and devices in our homes, commercial spaces, and other facilities increases the load on power networks, thereby increasing the chances of power surges. To avoid power disturbances, interruptions, and equipment failures due to both internal and external surges, installing Surge Protection Devices is crucial. By taking these precautions, you can maintain a safer electrical environment and ensure the longevity of your electronic devices.
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