The Nine Common Power Problems & How to Protect Against Them

Electrical power issues can lead to downtime, equipment damage, and data loss. Here are the nine most common power disturbances and how to mitigate them:

• Power Failure: A complete loss of utility power. Solution: UPS backup and generators.
• Power Sag: A short drop in voltage. Solution: Voltage regulators and line-interactive UPS.
• Power Surge: A sudden spike in voltage. Solution: Surge protection devices (SPDs).
• Brownout: Prolonged low voltage. Solution: Automatic voltage regulation (AVR) in UPS.
• Overvoltage: Consistently high voltage. Solution: Power conditioning equipment.
• Electrical Noise: High-frequency interference. Solution: Power conditioners and noise filters.
• Harmonic Distortion: Voltage waveform issues. Solution: Power filters and active harmonic conditioning.
• Frequency Variation: Irregular frequency levels. Solution: Online double-conversion UPS.
• Switching Transients: Sudden changes in power. Solution: Line-interactive UPS with transient suppression.