Power quality is a complex subject. In its simplest form, electric power quality is defined as the degree to which a power supply conforms to the established standards by maintaining the voltage, frequency, and sinusoidal waveform. It is vital to have a stable power quality. Having a high-power quality helps in reducing the damages caused to electrical equipment due to voltage variations. Here, we will highlight some of the reasons for having good power quality.
What Is Electrical Power Quality?
From a practical perspective, power quality is an analysis and measurement of an electrical distribution system’s ability to support the proper functioning of its connected devices. An electrical signal consists of a sinusoidal wave. The power of this wave is equal to the total energy transported in a second. Perfect power quality will have a pure sinusoidal wave. However, electrical signals usually pick-up certain irregularities or noise along the way that can distort the nature of these signals and impurify the power, hence lowering the power quality.
Why Is Power Quality Important?
Power quality matters for a number of reasons. All electrical equipment is designed to operate at specified voltage levels. Having low quality of electricity supply might result in power lapses that lie outside your equipment’s voltage range. This can be very dangerous as the equipment might malfunction or even fail and require significant time and money to repair or replace. The poor power supply can slowly mar any piece of electronic equipment, resulting in the premature aging and failure of your electrical equipment. Machine failure due to low power quality can be life-threatening in mission-critical applications such as hospitals.
The speed of production in businesses can be affected by the variations in the power supply. This can again result in significant losses to the businesses. According to the Electric Power Research Institute, low quality of power costs the industry up to $188 billion in direct costs and productivity lost annually. Bad power quality also increases energy consumption, which results in expensive energy bills. This is primarily because power suppliers do not consider electrical power quality when charging for tariffs.
In the computing world, power quality is crucial for proper functionality and maintenance of sensitive electrical equipment. Losing your system is painful but losing all the data is dreadful. A sudden surge in voltage levels might result in the equipment going down, leading to data loss. Additionally, electrical noise can disrupt computer signals, leading to corruption or loss of transmitted data. Power failures are one of the top causes of data loss globally. Companies and individuals tend to avoid these mishaps and often have their backup power supply installed to protect their systems against CPU damage.
Conclusion
The benefits of having a good power quality are ample. Emphasizing high-power quality ensures that your electrical tools and equipment are not harmed due to voltage fluctuations or power irregularities. Consumers save costs on power tariffs due to lower consumption. Production and data losses can be minimized, and the overall performance of the company can be improved. If you want to ensure that your equipment is well protected, consider getting a backup power supply along with other power quality assurance equipment to ensure consistent, high-quality power. Check out Energy Control Systems, one of the country’s leading energy solutions providers, for more information.
