Why voltage surges occur and how to protect yourself from them

Power surges are one of the most common problems faced by residents of apartments or private houses during the operation of electrical appliances. By the concept of voltage surges we mean, as a rule, short-term or impulse changes in the voltage value, both in the direction of increase and decrease. Depending on the cause, the voltage drops can have a different frequency, amplitude and total duration.

In any case, this phenomenon is abnormal and the question arises as to how dangerous it is for household electrical appliances and home wiring and how to eliminate the possible consequences of this phenomenon. In this article, we will consider in detail the question of why voltage surges occur and how to protect oneself from them.

First of all, it should be noted that each household electrical appliance is designed for normal operation provided that it is supplied from the mains at a voltage not higher than or lower than the limits set by the manufacturer. In the event of voltage surges in the electrical network, visible signs of malfunctioning of electrical appliances may appear, their service life is significantly reduced, and if voltage surges are strong, they can immediately damage electrical appliances, especially the most vulnerable to voltage surges.

Causes of voltage surges and appropriate solutions to these problems

If in everyday life there was a problem of voltage drops, then first of all it is necessary to determine the cause of this phenomenon and, if possible, eliminate it.

To begin, consider the most common cause of voltage surges - poor power supply. A lot of electrical networks in our time is in unsatisfactory technical condition, and require modernization or complete replacement.

The deterioration of electrical equipment, the deterioration of the operational characteristics of various electrical materials, as a rule, lead to unstable operation of the electrical network, in particular the occurrence of power surges.

Situations are not excluded when the equipment is in normal technical condition, but it is operated in an abnormal mode or mistakes are made in the course of installation or maintenance of a particular element of the equipment of the electric network. All this can also cause voltage drops.

If power surges occur constantly, then in order to solve this problem it is necessary to apply to the organization with which the power supply contract is concluded, since poor-quality power supply is one of the violations of the terms of the contract by the electricity supplier.

If the problem is in the electric networks, then the problem of voltage drops affects all residents who are powered by this section of the electric network. In this case, a collective statement contributes to a faster resolution of the problem than a single statement.

Separately, mention should be made of power surges due to a violation of the integrity of the neutral wire on the power line. If the neutral conductor at some section of the power line has a weak intermittent contact, then the consumers will experience voltage drops, the magnitude of which depends on the difference in phase load.

In this case, you must contact the organization that operates these electrical networks to find and fix the malfunction.In the absence of proper wiring protection, it is better to disconnect electrical appliances from the network, since at any moment a zero wire break can occur and the network will either have an excessively high or too low voltage, depending on the load of a particular phase.

For residents of the private sector and houses located near garage cooperatives, the problem of voltage surges is urgent due to the operation of other consumers of electrical appliances that have a significant impact on the electrical network. As a rule, these are powerful welding machines, various electric motors, characterized by high starting currents. During the operation of these electrical appliances in the network, large voltage surges can be observed. To solve this problem, you must also contact the supplying organization.

In addition to external factors, the cause of the appearance of voltage drops can be the unsatisfactory state of the home wiring. Power surges in this case can occur for various reasons.

The most common malfunction in home wiring is loosening the conductors in the junction box, junction box, or directly at the point of connection to a wall outlet, switch, or lighting device. Also, the cause may be an internal malfunction of the protective devices installed in the home switchboard.

In the event that the cause of power surges is a malfunction of the home wiring, it is necessary to audit all electrical wiring - checking contact connections throughout the wiring, the condition of protective devices and other elements.

If it is not possible to find visible defects, then it is possible that the cause of voltage drops can be a core break. This problem is relevant, as a rule, for wiring laid by a wire (cable) with aluminum conductors. Very often there is a fracture of the wires after replacing various elements of the wiring, that is, directly in the places of connection of various elements. A wire break can be anywhere in the wiring section, therefore it is more convenient and faster to find a break using special devices to search for hidden wiring, having the corresponding function, for example, a woodpecker.

If there is a suspicion that there is a malfunction in the metering panel, then in this case it is necessary to contact the energy sales organization, since unauthorized opening of the metering panel entails a large fine. In this case, it is necessary to officially remove the seal and, after eliminating the malfunction, re-seal the metering device.

In the event that voltage drops are not recorded throughout the house, but only by the characteristic signs of abnormal operation of one of the household electrical appliances or a lighting device, this indicates a malfunction of these elements.

In this case, you need to make sure that the cause of the unstable operation of the appliance or lamp is really not related to a fault in the wiring or poor-quality power supply and disconnect the faulty appliance from the network.

Surge Protection

Voltage drops in everyday life can be insignificant and short-term, it is also possible that at the moment one of the causes of voltage surges discussed above has been successfully eliminated, but this does not guarantee that the drops will not appear again.

Power surges can occur at any moment - this is not a predictable phenomenon, and one time they can be insignificant, and another time they can disable home electrical appliances. In order to avoid negative consequences, it is necessary to provide for the protection of electrical wiring from power surges.

To protect the home wiring from voltage surges, special voltage relays of a modular type are used, that is, which are installed in the home switchboard with other protective devices. On the voltage relay, the boundaries of the minimum and maximum voltages are set, as well as the response time of the relay.

This protective device is installed at the input of the switchboard, and in the event of undesirable power surges, the relay completely de-energizes the wiring, thereby protecting electrical appliances from damage.

If voltage surges in the network occur quite often, then the constant operation of the voltage relay and, accordingly, the complete de-energization of the home wiring causes significant inconvenience. If this problem could not be solved by contacting the supplying organization, then the solution to this problem will be installation of a voltage stabilizer.

The voltage stabilizer filters the input voltage and outputs a stable voltage of a given value at the output to power household appliances. But do not assume that the stabilizer is able to cope with any voltage drops. The voltage stabilizer, like any electrical device, can work normally only within the specified voltage limits. Therefore, in addition to this device, it is necessary to additionally install a voltage relay or choose a type of stabilizer in which this function is provided.

The voltage stabilizer can be installed both for the entire load at the input of the wiring, in particular for each electrical appliance or group of electrical appliances. For example, to protect computer equipment, you can use a small voltage regulator of the appropriate power or uninterruptible power supply with voltage stabilization function.

Thunderstorm surge protection and protection against them

Separately, such a phenomenon as lightning overvoltage should be highlighted. If, to protect against internal overvoltages that occur in electric networks, it is enough to install a voltage relay, then in the case of external, lightning overvoltages, this protective device will not protect the home wiring. In the event of lightning striking the power line wire, not only the voltage relay itself will be damaged, but also the home wiring, as well as the household electrical appliances in use at that time.

To protect against lightning surges, overhead power lines must be equipped with arresters or non-linear surge arresters. But in fact, on most power lines these protective devices are either absent or there are not enough installed, which indicates that there is no protection against lightning surges. Therefore, you must take care of protecting your home wiring from this negative phenomenon.

To do this, a modular surge suppressor must be installed in the main distribution panel to enter the home wiring. This protective device has the same principle of operation as a full-size ONP installed on overhead power lines, only it has compact dimensions that allow it to be installed on a DIN rail together with other modular protective devices.

When installing a modular surge suppressor, please note that it will only work if in home wiring there is a working ground.