Power surges can happen anywhere. But 60 to 80% of them originate from equipment inside our buildings and facilities.
These damaging surges are typically caused by large electrical loads switching off and on like HVAC systems and elevators.
Power surges can be caused by switching electrical loads from contactors, relays, and breakers, as well as the switching of capacitor banks like power factor correction. Discharge of inductive devices such as motors and transformers can also cause surges as well as faults or arc initiations.
Ground arcing faults, fault clearing or interruption, power system recovery from an outage, and even DC battery storage systems can all be culprits of power surges. It’s important to be mindful of these internal causes of power surges and take steps to protect your electrical devices and equipment from potential damage or misoperation. Invest in surge protective devices (SPD) to protect your equipment.
Be smart and stay safe.
