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What causes power quality problems?
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A: Most causes can be divided into two categories:
Internal causes: A large percentage of electrical disturbances originate within a business facility.
Potential culprits may include large equipment start-up or shutdown, improper wiring and grounding,
overloaded circuits or harmonics.
External causes: A small percent of power quality problems originate with the utility transmission
and distribution system. The most common cause is a lightning strike; other possibilities include equipment
failure, vehicle accidents, weather conditions, neighboring business, and even normal operation of utility equipment.
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Q: Why is power quality so vital?
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A: because it affects a business in many aspects.
- Lost production: Each time production is stopped, your company loses the margin on the product that is not
manufactured and sold.
- Damaged product: Stoppages can damage a partially complete product, and can cause the items to have to be scrapped.
- Maintenance: Reacting to a voltage disruption can involve restoring production, diagnosing and correcting
the problem and the man hours associated with this undertaking as well as the down time.
- Hidden costs: If the impact of a voltage sag is a control error, this could cause a defect that may not
be discovered until after customer receives it. The damage to a company’s reputation can be significant and hard
to quantify.
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Q: What kind of equipment is vulnerable?
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A: Most electrical equipment is affected by variations in powering and grounding. High-tech equipment,
such as computer networks and phone systems, are extremely sensitive and susceptible to damage.
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Q: How are power quality problems diagnosed?
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A: Sophisticated monitoring and testing are usually required to isolate the specific type of disturbance
and pinpoint the cause. A thorough power quality investigation might include:
- Onsite testing
- Grounding studies
- Infrared Scans
- Wiring verification
- Identify load characteristics
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