Issues with power supply often lead to losses amounting to billions of dollars every year. The following are the seven main power problems identified by an international standards organization, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Transients
Transients are the most damaging types of power problems. These are sudden changes in power and are referred to as power surges or power spikes. In this situation, power goes up beyond its normal range and causes an overload, which in turn causes damage to equipment connected to it.
An interruption is a total loss of power resulting from damage to the power supply grid. The damage may be caused by equipment failure or lightning strikes, among others. These interruptions may last from a few seconds to a couple of hours.
Sag or Undervoltage
A sag or undervoltage is basically a temporary drop in the power whenever heavy machinery is used. Power supply drops since these machines require a huge amount of power. The situation was once called a brownout before the term undervoltage was used.
Swell/Overvoltage
A swell or overvoltage is the opposite of a sag or undervoltage. It is a situation when the power supply is higher than the demand for it. Swells or overvoltages can cause equipment to overheat and lights to flicker.
Waveform distortion
Waveform distortions are changes in the frequency leading to data loss and equipment failure. The five main types of wave distortion problems are DC Offset, Notching, Noise, Harmonics, and Interharmonics.
Voltage Fluctuations
Voltage fluctuations are situations when voltage rises and falls erratically. Whenever machinery with high power needs is turned on, voltage fluctuations normally occur.
Frequency variations
Frequency variations normally happen in areas powered by a standby generator or areas with an unstable power supply. Equipment connected to these power sources will operate inefficiently.
These power problems can be remedied through the use of appropriate UPS systems available in the market today.
References:
http://www.on365.co.uk/Power__and__Cooling/Most_Common_Power_Problems.aspx
http://www.apcmedia.com/salestools/VAVR-5WKLPK/VAVR-5WKLPK_R1_EN.pdf?sdirect=true
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/6-common-power-problems-ted-ochieng-otieno-cem-?forceNoSplash=true