Can you imagine life without electricity? That is impossible. Just imagine, our cell phones, computers, home appliances, lighting, cooling, etc. – it wouldn’t all work. Not surprisingly, electrical installations are the most common installations in the human environment. But what happens when there is a sudden power cut – and then an increased voltage when the power comes back on? Can a power cut damage electrical appliances in your home? We will try to answer this question.Sudden Power Cut: Short-Term Inconvenience Or Long-Term Damage
A power outage in a home is something that happens from time to time. A sudden power cut is usually a short-term consequence of certain difficulties in the power supply. However, power outages can also occur in some other situations – such as major breakdowns, lightning strikes, etc. In most cases, power supply difficulties do not represent serious damage – and are only of a short-term nature. These problems usually occur due to breakdowns in the power system, repairs on the power network – or due to lack of electricity. However, this short-lived power shock can still have an unpleasant consequence – a device failure. Here are some recommendations on how to avoid device failure due to a power cut.
Power Cut And Electrical Appliances
A power cut itself doesn’t hurt your devices much – but what is a problem is the sudden electricity comeback. This problem is especially big if you have experienced a short-lived power outage – since the devices continued to be under latent voltage after the power cut. As a result, there is a risk of damage to any of the assemblies inside the device – or the death of their internal protection. Luckily, according to prominencesupport.co.uk, you can find good service even in emergencies. Real professionals can help you repair a water heater, replace an oven heater, or change a cord in the refrigerator. What the end-user experience in the situation of the power cut off is a complete power outage. However, other issues that are not visible to the naked eye can be quite problematic. By this, we primarily think of the voltage and frequency disturbance that can lead to permanent failure of the electrical device.
Why Do Our Devices Fail When Power Outages?
Although they do not occur often, power cuts can create some problems in operation – both at work and at home. The consequences of such events are most often seen through data loss, security system decline, productivity decline, etc. This is certainly not all. Frequent power outages can also endanger very sensitive electronic equipment – such as computers, security cameras, etc. We also face the same problems at home – because due to falls and sudden jumps in voltage, our home appliances are damaged. Computers, vacuum cleaners, TVs, refrigerators, stoves – very often they break down due to a power outage, and then a sudden power comeback. Although most modern devices have protective elements against the so-called electric shock – this is not a guarantee that something like this will not happen. Thus, although to a lesser extent – the risk of damage or malfunction is still present. And what are the common problems we encounter in situations when there is a power outage? Here are a few examples.
● Power cuts
Power cuts are most often related to problems you may have with the power supply in the house – or due to damaged power infrastructure, for example, a damaged power line, etc. Power losses will usually not cause much damage – because most modern devices have protection against such things. However, some older device models cannot boast of this – so they may be damaged. Some older computer or phone models are not stable enough to withstand sudden drops and surges in voltage.
● Voltage changes
It is not always the power cut that surprises us and does damage to our devices. There is an even more important factor of voltage changes. Namely, a power outage most often causes changes in the power supply system. When the current comes back after an interruption – it often happens that the voltage is not stable but moves from low to high, and vice versa. Then it happens that the devices turn on and off due to jumps and drops in voltage – and then this can cause a so-called surge wave, which will cause serious problems on your devices.
● High voltage surges
This is a slightly more serious problem that creates the greatest inconvenience – especially when in contact with sensitive devices such as computers or mobile phones. This type of sudden and short jumps in voltage most often occurs due to significant electric shocks. Some of them can be caused by lightning – as well as short circuits, static discharge, etc. In such situations, the surge in voltage is usually too high – so it penetrates the material and destroys the electrical insulators. In other words – it will fry your device. Therefore, device failures are far more complex and not always certain to be repaired.
Protection From Risky Situations
For a long time, there are devices on the market – whose main purpose is to protect your devices from sudden voltage. The most famous is certainly UPS (Uninterruptible power supply) – which stores electricity in its battery, which is automatically put into use during a sudden power outage. Namely, the consumer is constantly supplied with electricity via a UPS device – and at the same time, the batteries of this device are charged. That will come as the re30scue when the power supply is interrupted. The most common consumers of this device are computers or control systems in the industry – where the problem in the power supply could cause serious financial, functional, and safety consequences.
Conclusion
If you were wondering if a power outage could endanger our electronic devices – the answer is YES, but indirectly. The power outage itself is harmless. However, changes in voltage, sudden return, and a power outage – can not only damage our devices but also destroy them. So think about buying one of the current stabilizers in time – so that everything doesn’t cost you much more later.
Nina Smith 
Kim Marks