Your electrical equipment and networking devices are at risk of damage when a power surge affects your commercial building. This is why you need to take time to protect those assets with surge protectors and other voltage-regulating equipment. You don’t want the power surge to cause your equipment, like your cash register or HVAC system, to fail because it impacts the customer experience. It can also cause complications for your workers as they try to complete their daily tasks and meet their quota expectations. Keep reading to learn why power surges usually occur in commercial spaces and how to prevent them.
Lightning Strikes
Lightning strikes are by far one of the most common reasons that commercial buildings experience power surges. Whether it’s a direct hit to the building or a nearby strike to a power line or transformer, the transient voltage surge can travel through the entire electrical system. Your computers, servers, and production equipment all become vulnerable to damage when this type of power surge takes place. Ensuring the electrical system has proper grounding and adding service-entrance surge protectors is a simple way to reduce the risk of surge-related damage. You may also want to add point-of-use protection to computers, controls, machinery, and networking equipment.
Voltage Spikes During Utility Grid Switching
It’s normal for utility companies to go through a process that balances electrical loads by switching capacitor banks and feeders. During those events, the switching process can create very short voltage transients. In some scenarios, those surges will enter the building, affecting sensitive electronic equipment. With a Type 2 surge protector installed at the distribution panels, there’s a much lower chance of equipment damage because the surge protector clamps those surges before they can reach downstream devices. You may also want to think about having a power-quality meter installed, which can document recurring surge events and help identify whether the problem is originating inside the building or on the utility side.
Elevators and Escalators Changing Operating States
The large motors included in elevator and escalator setups are necessary to start, stop, accelerate, and brake the equipment. But each transition that occurs when those motors change operating states can generate electrical disturbances. This problem tends to be worse when the heavy loads are suddenly disconnected for maintenance or emergency stops.
When the disturbance spreads through the shared distribution equipment or other nearby electronics, the damage may include control board failures, burned PLC input/output modules, and malfunctioning variable frequency drives (VFDs). Adding dedicated circuits for elevators and escalators and making sure each motor has properly sized motor controls along with surge protection at the distribution panels is vital to isolating those motor-generated disturbances.
The best way to protect your commercial building against power surges is to speak with licensed electricians who specialize in commercial electrical work. They can perform a thorough inspection of the building to see which areas need upgrades. They can then install power surge protectors to prevent damage from electrical transients and voltage spikes. When you need commercial electrical services in Rochester, MN, contact Paxton Electric.
