Different Causes of Large Scale Power Failures
Electricity runs our world today. We depend on it almost constantly, and even small interruptions and blackouts can cause chaos and loss of revenue. There are many critical operations and buildings that constantly require power, such as hospitals, government and military installations, nursing homes, etc.
The causes
Without power in these buildings, sensitive government and military tasks, and the life and health of the patients would be compromised. Needless to say, large scale power failures can be disastrous. But if we know the causes of these failures, we’ll be able to prevent them. So, what causes them?
#1 Natural Causes
Nothing can stand against the force of nature, least of all our electricity systems. You’ll notice that electricity is the first thing to go out during bad weather and that’s because the lines are vulnerable to severe storms, floods, lightning, rain, strong winds, and even dust storms. It’s important to protect your electrical systems from excessive moisture, and dust because these can get inside the systems and damage the electrical circuitry.
One of the best ways to avoid power outages due to weather is to seal your circuit boxes against heavy moisture and dust. That would keep them out of the circuitry and ensure the power runs without any interruption. Of course, extremely bad weather would still cause power outages, but sometimes it can be prevented.
#2 Animal Contact and Human Error
Power lines become a comfortable resting place for animals and birds. But since they are exposed, it puts the lives of these creatures at risk and impacts the electrical systems too. A number of outages are caused by heavy birds and animals that have chosen to perch or crawl onto power lines.
At times, human error can also be the cause of outages. Construction or vehicular accidents, repair errors, and other such problems can easily lead to outages as well.
#3 Short Circuits
You might have heard this phrase often, but do you know what it means? Short circuits are actually one of the most common causes of power outages across the world; but every few understand what really causes the outage. When it travels through a circuit, electricity is meant to take a specific path. If it doesn’t follow that path and takes a short cut to another path, it can lead to an overload and cause a short circuit. This can cause circuit damage, explosions, and fire.
#4 Brownouts
Sometimes, you might notice that the lights in your home or office appear to be dimmer than usual. This can happen during a brownout, where the electricity power supply is low. This might seem harmless, but it can damage sensitive electrical equipment. For example, induction motors can easily overheat during brownouts and even burnout completely.
#5 Blackouts
Blackouts are complete power outages spread across a large geographical area. This generally happens when there’s a massive equipment failure, and it takes a lot of time to repair. There’s not much you can do to prevent blackouts so your only option is to have power backup in the event of a blackout.
#6 Power Surges
Power surges take place when there is an overload of power in your electrical system. The surge causes circuit burnouts and destroys sensitive and expensive equipment. However, if you install circuit breakers and surge protectors, you’ll be able to avoid power surges entirely and keep your system safe.
If you want to know more about causes of large scale power failures or our custom power products and services, don’t hesitate to contact us at KaRaTec Power Supply Pty. You can give us a call at 612 9808 1127. You can also fill in this contact us form and we’ll reply as soon as possible.
Thanks for reading,
Karatec Power Supply Pty
612 9808 1127