The Surge & Power Solutions Blog

Power surges occur when something boosts the electrical charge at some point in the power lines. This causes an increase in the electrical potential energy, which can increase the current flowing to your wall outlet. A number of different things can cause this to happen.

The most familiar source is probably lightning, though it’s actually one of the least common causes. When lightning strikes near a power line, whether it’s underground, in a building or running along poles, the electrical energy can boost electrical pressure by millions of volts. This causes an extremely large power surge that will overpower almost any surge protector. In a lightning storm, you should never rely on your surge protector to save your computer. The best protection is to unplug your computer.

A more common cause of power surges is the operation of high-power electrical devices, such as elevators, air conditioners and refrigerators. These high-powered pieces of equipment require a lot of energy to switch on and turn off components like compressors and motors. This switching creates sudden, brief demands for power, which upset the steady voltage flow in the electrical system. While these surges are nowhere near the intensity of a lightning surge, they can be severe enough to damage components, immediately or gradually, and they occur regularly in most building’s electrical systems.

Other sources of power surges include faulty wiring, problems with the utility company’s equipment, and downed power lines. The system of transformers and lines that brings electricity from a power generator to the outlets in our homes or offices is extraordinarily complex. There are dozens of possible points of failure, and many potential errors that can cause an uneven power flow. In today’s system of electricity distribution, power surges are an unavoidable occurrence. In the next section, we’ll see what this could mean to you.

Only R87 (ex vat), the Wattronics Thunderplug offers:

• Surge protection
• Lightning protection
• Spike protection
• Interference conditioning
• overload protectionBUY

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Dip (Sag): A short term decrease in line voltage.

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Surge: The temporary increase in line voltage that lasts at least one cycle (approx. 16mS)

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Spike (transient): Similar to a surge except that it lasts less than a full cycle (often only a few milliseconds).

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Electrical Noise: The high frequency interference on the power line caused mostly by non-linear loads.

THE WATTRONICS TELLY SURGE

R340 (ex vat)

This very practical unit is all you need to ensure peace of mind when it comes to protecting your home entertainment appliances, which includes your mains, TV and DSTV aerials. Simply plug into the wall socket and connect the matching sockets.

Offers mains surge protection + EMI / RFI filtration.