Power Spike Prevention
Power spikes or surges can be triggered by several events like lightning strikes, power outages, tripped circuit breakers, short circuits, or changes in large equipment on the same line. Diesel generators cannot react swiftly to these spikes, leading to power interruptions. Surge protection is crucial as the surge can damage equipment unless mitigated. Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) can shield loads from spikes, but large enough spikes may cause the UPS to bypass for self-protection. The only solution to protect entire building loads from spikes is a flywheel rotary UPS. For assistance with power spikes on generators, contact Power Continuity.
A power spike or power surge can be caused by many different events.
- Including lightning strikes,
- power outages,
- tripped circuit breakers,
- short circuits or power transitions in other large equipment on the same power line.
A diesel generator cannot respond quickly to a power spike. So you will end up with an interruption of power whilst the generator starts. It is likely the spike would have been and gone by the time the generator is ready to accept the load. The effects of the power surge itself would be passed onto your equipment (unless you have surge protection).
Uninterruptible power supplies are able to stop power spikes from affecting your load (although if the spike is great enough, the UPS will go into bypass to protect itself). Only a flywheel rotary UPS would be able to protect whole building loads (including disruptive loads such as motors).
For more information on rotary UPS’ clickhere.
