Quentin Wagenfield A n electrical storm can short out your computer, phone system, fax machine, printer, or other electronic equipment. But dirty power can also cause severe problems in sensitive church equipment. What's more, the problem of dirty power is increasing as deregulated utility companies struggle with increasing power demands and the pressure to become more competitive in a crowded market. Here's what can be done to protect your electronic equipment from power problems. These short, sudden voltage increases are caused by the rapid switching off and on of appliances and motors.
Surges can cause data loss.
They can also prompt the premature failure of transistors and other circuit elements. These instantaneous, exceedingly high voltages are caused by lightning strikes or power resumption after a blackout. Brownouts , also known as sags. These short periods of low voltage are caused by the start-up of heavy equipment or the reduction of voltage on utilities to cope with extended periods of high power demand. Brown outs or sags can crash your computer and damage electrical motors and other equipment.